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Missing commentator hunt body found. Monday, June 14 07:46 am. Police searching for a missing racing commentator confirmed they have found a body. Doug Fraser, 54, was well-known in the racing world for his commentaries for betting shops, radio and TV from courses in the North of England and Scotland. The alarm was raised on Saturday June 5 when Mr Fraser, whose full name was George Douglas Fraser, failed to turn up at Hexham Races where he was due to work. West Yorkshire Police said a body was found in the River Aire in central Leeds at about 4pm on Sunday. A force spokesman said: "Police searching for George Douglas Fraser recovered a body from the River Aire in Leeds. "The body was recovered from the river close to the Millennium footbridge. "Positive identification is due to take place on Wednesday as part of the post-mortem." Mr Fraser was booked to work for broadcasting firm RaceTech at Hexham and the company's chief executive, Brad Higgins, said he raised the alarm when all attempts to contact him failed. Mr Higgins said last week it was "completely out of character" for him to fail to show up for work.

Government is considering a "lottery ticket" in horse racing. segunda-feira, 14 de Junho de 2010 | 08:16. The Government is considering a new proposal for the launch of betting on horse racing in the country, according to reports the Economic Daily on Monday's edition. The Portuguese League Breeders and Owners Horse Racing and Equestrian Federation Portuguese are the promoters of the project, which proposes a model similar to betting Euromillions. This is yet another attempt to amend the 1956 law establishing the legal betting on horse races in Portugal and is confined exclusively to the racetrack. According to Jorge Eduardo Serra, Legal Adviser of the project, the idea being discussed calls for "changing the existing legal framework" because the "betting on horse races have no economic viability" of the current regime, proposing that "function as one of the Euromillions Horses "in which bets integrate races in Portugal and abroad. The model is on the table requires wagers can be performed in various places and means from the premises of race, interactive kiosks and the Internet. According to Jorge Sierra, the SCM "was interested in following the process."

UZBEK: The main owner of the BRIC sold a controlling stake. 14/06/2010 13:20 -Primary owner Uralkali Dmitry Rybolovlev sold a controlling stake in the company. According to the report "BRIC", the shares purchased by business entities, Suleiman Kerimov, Alexander Nesis and Filaret Galcheva. "Beneficial owners of companies Kaliha, Aerellia and Becounioco are gentlemen Suleiman Kerimov, Alexander Nesis and Filaret Galchev respectively," - said in Uralkali. They stressed that the largest (25%) share in the company got the structure Kerimov. RIA Novosti

BP Bankruptcy Would Be No Protection From Gulf Spill Costs. June 15 (Bloomberg) --BP Plc, whose potential liability for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has lawmakers and analysts raising the specter of bankruptcy, would be unlikely to avoid paying claims by seeking court protection, restructuring experts said. The spill, the worst in U.S. history, threatens wetlands, wildlife, fishing and tourism in five states. BP has spent more than $1.43 billion to stop the leak and clean it up, and to compensate local businesses and residents since the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The U.K. energy company faces more than 200 lawsuits, and the U.S. is assessing the cost of restoring natural resources destroyed or fouled by the spill. BP’s liabilities include $37 billion in cleanup and potential litigation expenses, according to a June 2 Credit Suisse report. While a U.S. bankruptcy may halt many claims, it wouldn’t allow BP to avoid paying for most of the cleanup and damages, said New York bankruptcy lawyer Martin Bienenstock of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. “It’s highly unlikely the claims would be so large that BP would pay any valid claims less than in full,” said Bienenstock, who advised General Motors Co. and Chrysler Financial Corp. in their bankruptcies. “The environmental claims and other claims would all ride through bankruptcy and be paid in the normal course.” BP said it won’t seek court protection. “We categorically deny those rumors,” said David Nicholas, a company spokesman.

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Tanker Monte Carlo absconds from Lobito. Monday, June 14, 2010 More articles in Accidents. A products tanker, the MONTE CARLO (IMO number 8420232, Call Sign 9VGD9, of 27,821-dwt, built 1987) is reported to have absconded from Lobito harbour in Angola without payment of certain fees or authority to sail. The vessel, which is owned by BMP Shipholding of Singapore and managed by Thome Shipping also of Singapore, reportedly issued a MAYDAY while en route to Lagos in position Latitude 12º51 S, Longitude 11º14 E wich is around 170 n.miles from Lobito. Lobito port authorities organised a rescue mission which went to the aid of the tanker on 22 May, with the ship being towed into port on 26 May. African Steamship, a division of Hull Blyth was appointed as agent for the vessel. On 12 June the Monte Carlo slipped out of Lobito, apparently without notifiying the authorities of their intention. This was said to be between the hours of 02h00 and 05h00. Not only were certain accounts unpaid but the port bill was similarly unpaid. Once alerted to the ship’s disappearance Lobito port authorities were able to ascertain that the vessel was some 50 n.miles north of the port, minus ship’s papers which are in the possession of the port harbour master. Attempts are being made by various Angolan authorities to have the ship return to Lobito.

El presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, propuso este domingo en declaraciones en su programa dominical 'Aló, presidente' cambiar el significado de las siglas de la petrolera estatal, PDVSA. El mandatario afirmó que se podría cambiar su significación actual (Petróleos de Venezuela Sociedad Anónima) por el de "Petróleos de Venezuela Socialista".
Petrobras plans $25bn rights issue. Published: June 13 2010 19:50 | Last updated: June 13 2010 19:50. Petrobras, Brazil’s national oil company, is preparing a share issue to raise an estimated $25bn as early as next month in a crucial step for developing its “pre-salt” oil fields – so called because they are trapped under several kilometres of sea water, rock and a hard-to-penetrate layer of salt – that promise to make the country one of the world’s biggest oil exporting nations. Details of Petrobras’s capital plans are still sketchy, but an offering of that size would be the world’s biggest so far this year, trumping Agricultural Bank of China’s planned initial public offering next month, which looks set to raise about $20bn. If the issue is successful, the new capital would allow the company to borrow more to fund the pre-salt development, without the company putting its valuable investment grade credit rating at risk.
Brazil’s Senate gave the plan the go ahead last week when it approved a package of legislation governing the pre-salt fields, which were discovered in 2007. International oil company executives have likened them to the North Sea discoveries of the 1970s in their potential to transform the industry. Parts of the fields were put out to concessions under existing rules before their potential was understood. The government wants the rest to be subject to production sharing agreements that it says are needed to maximise government income and increase its control over production. Under the proposals, Petrobras would be the sole operating company in the pre-salt area. A successful share issue of this size would also be another sign of the ebullience of Brazil’s capital markets. Last year the São Paulo stock exchange hosted two of the biggest initial public offerings worldwide, from credit card company VisaNet ($4.3bn) and the local unit of Spanish bank Santander ($7bn). “Brazil is still one of the strongest stories out there,” says Flavia Cattan-Naslausky of RBS Securities. “It’s extremely liquid and is one of the main channels for both bearish and positive sentiment.” Petrobras’s issue represents about a 16 per cent expansion of its current market capitalisation. The plan is central to its ambitious investment programme, which includes R$88.5bn ($49bn) this year alone. As work proceeds in the pre-salt region over the coming five years, the company plans to invest an enormous $200bn to $220bn – the biggest capital expenditure programme in the global oil and gas industry. The share issue will be a complex process designed to achieve a simple end; to avoid the government having to spend cash to recapitalise the company. To make that possible, the government will sell Petrobras the rights to 5bn barrels of oil in the pre-salt fields. This, it is hoped, will encourage investors to take part in the share issue, to which the government will also subscribe. It owns about 40 per cent of Petrobras’s share capital, including a majority of its voting shares, both directly and through public sector companies. The idea is that the government will pay the same amount for its new shares as Petrobras will pay the government for the rights to the 5bn barrels, leaving Petrobras to pocket additional funds raised from minority shareholders. This will strengthen its balance sheet and allow it to borrow while keeping its ratio of debt to equity below 35 per cent, which is considered the threshold for its investment grade rating. Success hinges on the price of the 5bn barrels. Petrobras has commissioned an independent valuation and the ANP, Brazil’s oil industry regulator, will commission another. This will be ready only after the share issue but the process allows for adjustment. The price will value the oil where it is now, with all the risks of bringing it to the surface. It is expected to be in a range of $3 to $7 per barrel. If minority shareholders perceive the price as too high, they may prove unwilling to invest. Too low, and the government could be accused of handing a favour to private investors at the expense of the national interest. Ms Cattan-Naslausky says: “There is great sensitivity to the level of government participation and the government knows that.” So far, the government’s plans have also proved to be immune to the reverberations from the BP disaster in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Officials from Petrobras and the ANP have visited the Gulf as observers. Industry analysts believe Petrobras and Brazil’s regulatory regime are probably as well prepared as they could be for any event.
“Petrobras’s expertise [in deep waters] is top of the field,” says Christopher Garman of Eurasia Group. “Regulations on what blow-out preventers are required are as tough or tougher than anywhere in the world, and environmental regulations are probably more stringent than they are in the US.”