Barroso, who’s lying?

Barroso, who’s lying? Your Majesty, again rains the some confusion over who owes what to who? That the promise yet to be delivered on? If you want to ask me: ‘Are you proud of the people around me?’ Are you glad to know them and happy to be in their company?’ I’ll for sure tell you, - No. Unnecessary to remember that even the most wonderful folk, - annoy each other from time to time. If I feel attracted to someone really good, - I can resist even to you, and to yours cold-hearted charms, and you know it. Our relationship isn’t perfect. Because of money, and why the Barroso sleep and dream to see me out of this Planet. No arrangement is possible or is ever ideal. But look, in our heart, we all know the difference between a minor irritation and the major source (like the EU –UK) incompatibility. Only you can decide which of the two it is. Personally, if you think it’s not a big deal, it may be better to move on than to keep trying to move a mountain. The last thought, - I may find yet that I can (should), in my “sort” of way to handle this happily…

Jewellery stolen from two London stores. Sunday, August 15 08:39 am. Jewellery was stolen in a smash-and-grab raid from two shops at an exclusive shopping centre, police have said. Burglars broke into De Beers and Omega at the Royal Exchange in the City. City of London police said they did not yet know the value of the stolen jewellery. A spokesman said: "Just after 10pm last night De Beers and Omega were broken into at the Royal Exchange and a burglary took place. "Police are now investigating the incident." The Royal Exchange, built in 1565, is located between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill and boasts more than 30 luxury stores.

Filha do milionário Tomé Feteira diz que Duarte Lima terá recebido 5 milhões

Filha do milionário Tomé Feteira diz que Duarte Lima terá recebido 5 milhões
Wednesday 11/08/2010. Money was in Switzerland and have been transferred to the lawyer's bill by Rosalina Ribeiro, who was murdered in December. The daughter of Lucius Thomas Fern, the Portuguese trader who died ten years ago and whose fortune has been partly diverted by the former secretary and companion (though murdered at the end of last year, in Brazil), said yesterday the public that the lawyer Domingos Duarte Lima will have received in 2001 in five transfers, more than 5.2 million.That money, according to the daughter of the entrepreneur, may be part of the many millions who disappeared from his father's accounts in Switzerland. "I do not know if Lima Duarte was a lawyer Rosalina [Rosalina Ribeiro was the secretary of Fern Thomas for about 30 years] because I never saw him in court. What I know is that Rosalina pulled out all the money, either in Switzerland or in England either in the United States, and made transfers to Lima Duarte, "said Fern Olympia. The heir to the industry, died in 2000, finds it odd that the lawyer could receive fees in excess of 5.2 million euros (this is the sum of five transfers from banks in Switzerland) and ensures that there is much more money diverted from other accounts and other countries. "For now I do not want to dwell too much on the subject, since we [the family Fern and their attorneys] to finalize a communication in this case," said Fern still Olympia. After the death of Lucius Thomas Fern popped the controversy concerning the inheritance. Rosalina Ribeiro will have lost an action in a Brazilian court, where he claimed part of the fortune is supposed to have lived maritally with the businessman.However, the court gave no reason. The daughter of businessman wanted since then to know why the father's accounts were handled by his former secretary and questioned the fate of the money that is not possible, for now, count should exceed 30 million. The December 7 last year, Lima Duarte, who represented Rosalina Ribeiro, moved to Rio de Janeiro to have a meeting with her work. In principle they would handle issues related to the assets of the former secretary. Have dined together, and 15 minutes after they had separated in a deserted spot where Rosalina will request to be taken, the woman, 74, was eventually shot. He died with two bullets in the chest and one in the head. The gun used was a .38 caliber revolver, the same as the Mafia uses in its crimes.Also the shots (all fatal and one addressed to the head) suggest, somehow, the mode of action of the same conspiracy. Lima Duarte stated that only came to have knowledge of the death of Rosalina December 21, at a time that was already in London and was preparing to travel to Hong Kong. Then, as told PUBLIC sent a written statement to the police in Rio de Janeiro explaining all the steps that gave the victim the day it was killed. The PJ has made several efforts in Switzerland to try to find out what drives the money of Thomas Fern. After numerous requests and correspondence have been established that will have been Rosalina who handled the money and that it will have been partially remitted to an account of Duarte Lima. In April 2001 there was yet another shipment of 1.1 million euros, which have been made to the account of a man not yet fully identified. THE PUBLIC has made several efforts to collect testimony from Lima Duarte, without, however, no call has been answered or that the questions submitted electronically have been answered. On Monday, by telephone, former member of the PSD had said could not dwell on the process since it is under investigation.

The European natural gas market

The European natural gas market as being driven by three components – a) economic development, b) substitution from coal and nuclear to natural gas for electricity generation, and c) weather. Substitution from coal and nuclear could be what now primarily drives European demand for natural gas.
• It is projected that between now and 2020; Europe will need to develop additional natural gas supplies of approximately 120 – 150 Gcm/a (thousand million cubic meters per year) from more distant sources, if demand as projected by EIA and IEA is to be met.
• As of 2009 Europe obtained approximately 47% of its natural gas supplies from distant sources; this is projected to grow to more than 70 % by 2020.
• Europe’s growing dependence on natural gas from more distant sources may also impact its future policies to ensure security of energy supplies.
• If additional supplies fail to appear, Europe could see an imbalance in natural gas supply and demand starting as early as 2011/2012.
EU and Norway’s collective proven natural gas reserves appear to have peaked in 2001 and have since been in decline. As of end of 2009, the Netherlands held around 75 % of EU’s proven natural gas reserves.

Warsaw pulls signing gas agreement with Moscow. Wednesday, 04 August 2010. 5:47. WARSAW, Aug. 4. Poland should be "a little more time" to set the optimum form of additions to the gas agreement with Russia. According to ITAR-TASS news agency, told a press conference, Prime Minister Donald Tusk. "We will try to optimize the solution so that gas from Russia needed the Polish economy and consumers, was possible and cheaper to make our relationship (under contract) are flexible," - he said. "We do not rule out that the agreement will be signed in the form of which we have already agreed," - added the Premier. Terms of additions to the gas agreement with Russia from 1993 on increased supplies of natural gas to 10.3 billion cubic meters per year and extend the contract up to 2037 have been agreed between Russia's Gazprom and the Polish gas company PGNiG few months ago. In April, long-term supply agreement was reached during a meeting of the prime ministers of two countries, but the intergovernmental agreement has been signed. According to Tusk, is due to the necessity of compliance with the contract law of the European Commission, which has criticized some of his points, as well as doubts about the Polish expert on long-term time frame agreements and gas prices. "We do not want to make a mistake" - he said. Polish Minister of Economy Waldemar Pawlak, who was responsible for signing the contract and declared that "it is a matter of weeks, has transferred its powers in this matter to Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski republic. According to him, such a decision due to the fact that the document "has acquired an international dimension." How to declare local experts by October Poland will spend the entire amount of natural gas specified in the contract with the Russian side for this year and will face difficulty in securing its energy consumers in the winter. Earlier, the President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski said that the republic will be able to refuse to supply gas from Russia, if it finds itself in sufficient supplies of shale gas. According to him, the first well in Poland will be ready in a few months. Assessment of shale gas will take several years. Poland require 14 billion cubic meters of gas annually, two thirds of this amount it receives from Russia. Earlier, the representative of the Ministry of Economy of Poland, warned that Warsaw may be left without Russian gas in October, if not sign the treaty in the coming months.

EU Seeks Turkmen, Azeri Gas Pact to Reduce Russia Dependence. Aug 3, 2010. The European Union is seeking an agreement on a natural-gas pipeline between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan as the 27-nation bloc aims to import Caspian fuel and reduce its dependence on Russia. The EU regulator’s energy unit drafted a document the parties could use as the basis for a deal on building at least one pipeline across the Caspian Sea, according to a copy of the non-binding paper obtained by Bloomberg.
The EU, seeking less reliance on Russia, wants Turkmen gas for the proposed Nabucco pipeline. Turkmenistan, where foreign investment was held back until the 2006 death of isolationist President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov, ships gas to Russia and Iran, and opened a pipeline to China last year. Plans to build a link across the Caspian Sea have been frustrated by unresolved marine borders and opposition from Russia and Iran. “Without Turkmen gas, Nabucco wouldn’t make sense,” said Alexander Rahr, a Russia and Eurasia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. “The EU is trying to get this pipeline through, but they’re running out of time as the Turkmen are sending more gas to China.”
Azerbaijan attended an EU-hosted meeting in Brussels with Turkmenistan and no agreements were signed, said Vagif Aliyev, head of investment at The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan. Marlene Holzner, a spokeswoman for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, declined to comment on the document. Phone calls to Turkmenistan’s department of foreign economic relations went unanswered.
No Concrete Proposal. Azerbaijan has yet to receive a concrete proposal from Turkmenistan, holder of the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves, Aliyev said by phone from Baku. “We are ready to provide transit for Turkmen gas,” he said. The EU must get “serious” about Nabucco to compete with Russia’s OAO Gazprom for Caspian natural gas, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said in January. Nabucco lacks a clear leader able to attract the necessary financing or hold talks with suppliers and transit countries, Aliyev said.
“The European Commission is showing that a way can be navigated through this tangle of countries and we actually are in the course of doing so,” EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in a copy of a July 27 speech the regulator posted on its website. “We may need extraordinary measures to achieve success, such as the Caspian Development Corporation or the building of a trans-Caspian pipeline link.”
Optimal Use. Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan would have to assure that the owner of the link maintains optimal use of the asset subject to market conditions, according to the draft document. The owner wouldn’t be able to refuse to offer free capacity or reject requests to use available capacity, according to the paper, which does not specify the capacity or route of the pipeline. The two governments would have to consult one another before designating entities that can request to use the pipe, the energy department’s draft said. The link could be used to transport gas in either direction, according to the document. After Niyazov’s death, governments from the EU to Asia jostled for access to Turkmenistan’s gas reserves, estimated at 8.1 trillion cubic meters by BP Plc. That’s enough to meet current German demand for more than a century. Russia wants Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to build a new gas pipeline along the Caspian coast to keep control over the former Soviet republics’ energy exports. Iran has presented an alternative plan envisioning a network of shipping routes and pipelines that would turn the country into a regional hub for Caspian energy exports. East-West Link. Turkmenistan is building a $2 billion East-West pipeline that will carry about 30 billion cubic meters of gas from the country’s biggest fields toward the Caspian coast when opened in June 2015 as it seeks to increase fuel exports.
The 7.9 billion-euro ($10.4 billion) OMV AG-led Nabucco pipeline is planned to stretch more than 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) from Turkey to Austria to send gas to Europe and reduce the region’s dependence on Russia. Nabucco is also seeking to source gas from Azerbaijan and Iraq. The Nabucco partners, which also include Essen, Germany- based RWE AG, Budapest-based Mol Nyrt., Bulgargaz EAD, Romania’s Transgaz SA and Ankara-based Botas, have said they’ll decide on the investment by the end of this year. Construction is set to begin in 2011 and shipments may start at the end of 2014, according to the venture’s website. While Nabucco welcomes increased support from the EU for a southern gas corridor, the venture doesn’t have any formal knowledge of efforts to push for an Azeri-Turkmen deal on a pipe between the countries, spokeswoman Gabriele Egartner said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Sub-soil Jurisdiction. The proposed framework isn’t to be interpreted as affecting Azerbaijan or Turkmenistan’s jurisdiction over sub-soil resources or their sovereign rights under international law to the Caspian Sea, according to the document. The delineation of the Caspian Sea became an issue after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, when Iran found itself with four neighbors on the body of water instead of one. “We think that defining the borders is not the main problem blocking such a project,” Vagif Aliyev said. The main issue is coming up with a commercial project that will be profitable to investors, he said. “We, as investors, are not ready at this moment.”

BP agrees to sell Colombian business to Ecopetrol. Wednesday 4th August, 2010 BP has agreed to sell its oil and gas exploration business in Colombia. The company has announced the sale for $1.9 billion to a consortium of Ecopetrol, Colombia's national oil company, and Talisman of Canada. BP recently announced plans to sell a number of worldwide assets to help cover the costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It has said it needs to raise around $30 billion from assets. In the next round of sales, interests in Pakistan and Vietnam will also go.

The Councillor Troy from the 19_11 team.

The Councillor Troy from the 19_11 team. If I run the show, how can I restore the ‘universal’ balance and harmony? The true is, - that I cannot just sit by (and still receiving hitting in my head) while the “friends”, “partners”, “co-workers” and those in “authority” try to rule the roost. And me, yours stupid ass, dauntingly moving (very secretly) simultaneously – the “house” and the all folks? In and out? You know, it happens to me before, that theirs (those in “authority”) bark may be worst than their bite? Should I try to favour some victory, even if my “mum” is not my keeper? Or just carry on and bide “my time”? Be for four-five days in such rude way rushed, pushed, and angst-ridden had had a price… It does not just know that I’m still ‘in the running’. It’s a personal responsibilities’ which eventually bestow a certain leeway to don’t die in my uninterrupted sleep too.

1). Xstrata Profit More Than Triples, Beating Estimates, as Metal Prices Jump. Aug 3, 2010. Xstrata Plc, the largest exporter of coal used for power, said first-half profit more than tripled after metal prices jumped from a year earlier. Net income rose to $2.3 billion from $690 million a year earlier, the Zug, Switzerland-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $2.1 billion average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales advanced 43 percent to $13.7 billion. Chief Executive Officer Mick Davis is spending $14 billion to expand output 50 percent by 2014, betting on a revival in metal and coal demand as the global economy recovers from last year’s recession. Metal prices were on average 66 percent higher in the first half than in the same period a year ago, according to a measure of six metals on the London Metal Exchange. “We remain very confident in the buoyant outlook for Xstrata’s commodities in the medium term,” Davis said in the statement. “In particular, I am encouraged by the outlook for thermal coal and copper, our two core commodities.” Xstrata rose 59.5 pence, or 5.9 percent, to 1,075 pence at the close of trading in London yesterday. The company will pay an interim dividend of 5 cents. Operating profit excluding exceptional items doubled to $3.2 billion, Xstrata said. The company is on schedule to meet the targeted 50 percent jump in output by 2014 after approving $8 billion in new projects in the first half, it said. Xstrata today approved the $4.2 billion Las Bambas copper project in southern Peru and the $1.1 billion Ulan West coal venture in Australia, the company said in separate statements. Last month Xstrata approved investment of $1.5 billion to develop the Antapaccay copper mine in Peru.

2). Kinross to buy Red Back Mining for $7.1bn. Traverse City, Michigan. August 3 2010 04:13. Kinross Gold of Toronto is set to take full control of Vancouver-based Red Back Mining in a deal valued at $7.1bn, broadening Kinross’s reach to west Africa, where Red Back’s operations are focused. Kinross said the agreed all-share acquisition would match its own high-quality mines and proven track record with Red Back’s early-stage projects and potential for expansion. According to Kinross, analysts expect the combined company’s annual gold production to reach about 3.9m ounces after Red Back’s two key projects in Ghana and Mauritania come on stream in 2015. In comparison, Barrick Gold, the world’s biggest producer, estimated last week that its output will total between 7.6m and 8.1m ounces this year.
The acquisition follows a well-worn pattern in the gold mining industry in which entrepreneurial exploration companies seek capital and expertise from more seasoned operators to develop their mineral deposits. Kinross took a 9.4 per cent stake in Red Back earlier this year. Tye Burt, chief executive of Kinross, said that “the significant upside in reserves that we believe exists at Red Back, and Kinross’s ability to accelerate that potential, makes this an outstanding prospect for shareholders of both companies”. Kinross currently has operating mines and exploration projects in Canada, the US, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Russia. Under the proposed deal, Red Back shareholders will receive 1.778 Kinross common shares and 0.110 of a Kinross common share purchase warrant for each Red Back share. Current Kinross shareholders will own about 63 per cent of the combined company. Lukas Lundin, Red Back’s chairman, and Richard Clark, chief executive, will join the Kinross board.

3). Kremlin advised Deripaska and Potanin share of Norilsk Nickel from a third party. Reuters 03/08/2010, 10:58. The Kremlin ordered prosecutors to understand the conflict of shareholders "Norilsk nickel "and suggested that Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin to share the property with a third party, excluding the participation of the state capital of the world largest producer of nickel and palladium, the Russian news agency quoted a source in the Kremlin. Owners blocking "Norilsk Nickel "- UC Rusal and Deripaska "Interros"Vladimir Potanin - quarreled for the third time in recent years after the shareholders 'Norilsk Nickel, which UC Rusal has lost one seat on the board of directors. Both sides want to buy packages from each other, but not out of hand, but as one of the options out of the situation, analysts and sources discussing the sale of shares to the state. ""Norilsk Nickel"- a private company. So in the future should be. The company must be in private hands "- link made in the Kremlin, Russian agency a source in the presidential administration. "theoretically optimal way would be buying a package by a third party. At the same time in the Kremlin believe that this should not be the state, including state corporation "Russian Technologies", - transmits "Interfax source said. RIA "News "wrote that President Dmitry Medvedev has received from Deripaska to set out its position in the conflict. "The President instructed the Prosecutor General's office investigate. No wonder there had been violations or not, each side has its own truth. But a large company, and not very good that there is such a serious conflict between the shareholders ", - quotes agency source.

4). Plane crash in Siberia in 1911 claimed the lives. Tuesday, August 3, 2010 8:14 MSD
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Eleven people died and four remain in hospital in the crash of passenger plane An-24 airlines KatekAvia that occurred on Tuesday night when landing at the airport Igarka Krasnoyarsk region, Russian news agencies broadcast. On board were 15 people - four crew and 11 passengers. As a result of the crash, according to latest figures, killed 11 people, including a child and hostess. According to investigators, the accident could have occurred because of heavy fog: "During the initial inquiry, and conducted the initial investigation revealed that on August 3 at 01.19 local time in the airport Igarka Krasnoyarsk Territory during landing because of heavy fog wrecked aircraft AN-24, following a flight number 9357 Airport Cheremshanka "Krasnoyarsk - Airport Igarka" - ITAR-TASS referring to the investigative committee of the Procuracy of the RF. The plane flew from Krasnoyarsk on Monday at 21:41 local time, in the crash, he burst into flames. The four survivors are in a plane crash in central Igarka District Hospital, among them police - flying Igarka on a business trip and three crew members - aircraft commander Nikolai Kozlov, Igor Kabanov copilot and flight engineer Eugene Pertunin. Their condition is satisfactory.

The nails.

I can start with Galp Energia. The guys who want sale the part of its gas distribution business. I can start with consumer’s price (again, - of the gas) which seriously jump from 1 of August in Ukraine. Or, how the Minregion (i.e. the Ministry of Regional Development) after the 20 years from the start of the TACIS and PHARE Programmes, - ‘resolve to do something’. To officialise a new rule by which the price of communal services (water and gas) for those who do not have meters, from 1 of January 2011 will grow by half, and in 2012 – four times. But, in any way, all this fuss are “they”, not the “us”. The “us”, don’t sleep all night from Friday to Saturday (30 to 31). IMPORTANT: I never experienced such big angst in my life. I try and can’t sleep because of uninterrupted biting and nightmares. Well, the biting is regular, like you know. But this time, the all dreams (after biting) – where of pure anxiety, worry, sorrow and fear. For many hours after wakeup, I was frightening and with heavy transpiration. All Saturday can’t compose my self! Doing nothing, just feeling amorphous, feeling paralyzed. I wrote in facebook one of the nightmares. Because they all were short and quite clear. Like the small messages. In one of them, I saw myself to giving money to the big snail. (To see others giving money away, suggests that you are feeling ignored, overlooked or neglected. Someone is not paying enough attention and showing enough affection toward you.) In the other, I’m with black Nicole Sarkozi in the garage (To dream that you are in a garage, signifies a period of inactivity and idleness in your life. You feel that you are lacking direction or guidance in achieving your goals.) She’s very smiley after ‘the rocket science’… Than, I try to put my boots on and see how they all full of nails. (To see nails in your dream, symbolize long and hard work for little compensation and pay. It may also be analogous to some rugged or tough force.). (Black symbolizes the unknown, the unconscious, danger, mystery, darkness, death, mourning, rejection, hate or malice. The color invites you to delve deeper in your unconscious in order to gain a better understanding of yourself. It also signifies a lack of love and lack of support.). Dam you the all Elizabeth the II of the world. I’m mortal. I’m not deity, mentalist, or guru. I’ve never pretend to be. If my writing are messing with you, who’s in key position, - say so! At least, - you know my numbers. I have no time, or health, or too many options to going fencing with you around. Save time for both of us.

Secret Haider-million discovered in Liechtenstein. © sueddeutsche.de - published on 07.31.2010 15:22 clock. Vienna (dpa) - The investigation into Hypo Group Alpe Adria now cast a new light on the financial policies of the late Austrian right-wing populist Joerg Haider. In the course of account openings in Liechtenstein front companies from twelve o'clock Haider was found, in which 5 million euros have been reserved, as the Austrian magazine "profil" reported on Saturday. According to current Ermittlungsstand to the property originally have amounted to € 45 million. Where the money comes from and who it to benefit in, a check according to the report today.Claudia Haider, widow of former Carinthian Governor told the press agency APA that they knew nothing of the accounts. Investigators from Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein are currently investigating possible cases of embezzlement, fraud and corruption around the sale of the now nationalized Carinthian Hypo Group at BayernLB in 2007, and a possible case of corruption around the Austrian ex-finance minister and Haider's friend Karl -Heinz Grasser. About Liechtenstein black money to decision-makers could have flowed. A total of 46 front companies in Vaduz and Schaan were opened. Money flows to political parties and politicians in Austria is difficult to understand.Larger donations must still be reported to the Court, but there are under wraps.Haider was known to his accident in 2008 for his extravagant lifestyle and expensive election campaigns.

Li Ka-shing buys EDF arm for £5.8bn. By Ed Crooks. Published: July 30 2010 00:10 | Last updated: July 30 2010 07:29. EDF of France is to sell its UK electricity networks business to Cheung Kong Infrastructure of Hong Kong for £5.8bn ($9bn) – 45 per cent more than the price originally suggested for the deal. The state-controlled French electricity group announced the sale with its half-year results on Friday morning. The deal at a stroke reaches the €5bn ($6.5bn) target the French utility set for disposals by the end of 2011. CKI, controlled by Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong billionaire, outbid a consortium of Macquarie of Australia, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Canada Pension Plan. In EDF Networks, it has acquired low-voltage electricity distribution networks in the east and south of England, and long-term contracts with businesses such as the London Underground, Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and the Channel tunnel. Vincent de Rivaz, EDF’s chief executive in the UK, had previously opposed the sale plan, arguing that the networks business had great potential for the development of “smart grids”, using information technology to save energy and make it easier for customers to generate their own power. The sale was proposed under Pierre Gadonneix, the previous EDF group chief executive, and for months it was unclear whether Henri Proglio, who succeeded him last year, would go through with it. The attractive price offered – well above the threshold of about £5bn suggested recently – appears to have convinced him. CKI holds a 39 per cent stake in Hongkong Electric, the electricity supplier, and the two companies will be teaming up to run EDF Networks, as they have done for other energy assets in the UK, including Northern Gas Networks, a gas distribution business that was acquired in 2004. The price achieved for EDF Networks, which represents a 27 per cent premium to the regulated asset value of the business, is a sign the market for European energy companies may be improving, and could encourage other companies with network assets in Britain, such asEon of Germany and Iberdrola of Spain, to put their similar businesses up for sale. CKI was advised by RBS, EDF by Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and BNP. EDF reported on Friday a 47 per cent drop in first-half profit after making a provision on nuclear development in the US because of financing delays. Net income was €1.7bn in the first half compared with €3.1bn the previous year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 4 per cent to €10.4bn, EDF said. The utility took a provision of €1.1bn for its North American activities due to delays in developing nuclear reactors and said building its Flamanville EPR model in France would cost more and be delayed. EDF is also expected to make a statement on Friday on taking a larger stake in Areva, the French nuclear engineering group, after the French government this week urged the two companies to form a more effective strategic partnership to win overseas contracts. Areva has been given the go-ahead for a 15 per cent capital increase, in which EDF could raise its 2.4 per cent stake to 7 per cent, according to officials.

BP may sell German gas stations for $2.6 billion. Sat Jul 31, 5:59 am ET. VIENNA (Reuters) – BP Plc is seeking to sell its German petrol station chain Aral for around 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday, citing investment bankers familiar with BP's plans. Wirtschaftswoche said France's Total, Russia's Rosneft and Avia, an independent chain of filling stations, were among the possible buyers. Rosneft would also be interested in BP's two German refineries, it said. Aral is the market leader in Germany where around 2,400 filling stations operate under its brand, it says on its website. BP bought the chain in 2002 as part of a larger deal with German energy group E.ON. BP was not immediately available for comment.