Sony buys full control of mobile phone venture Sony Ericsson

October 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sony Corp is to take full control of its Sony Ericsson mobile phone joint venture with Swedish mobile phone network gear maker Ericsson as it seeks to catch up with other makers of smartphones and boost its offering of consumer eletronics, the companies said on Thursday.

Ericsson is to receive 1.05 billion euros in cash for its 50 percent share of the venture, which was set up in 2001. It initially thrived with an array of camera and music phones, but later lost out in the smartphone race.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

SOLVAY : Operating result from the Chemicals and Plastics activities for the second quarter of 2010 (EUR 183 million)

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, Jul 29 (MARKET WIRE) —
EMBARGO: July 29, 2010 at 7:30 AM

REGULATED INFORMATION

Operating result from the Chemicals and Plastics activities for the second
quarter of 2010 (EUR 183 million) significantly higher compared to both
the second quarter of 2009 (EUR 63 million) and the first quarter of 2010
(EUR 115 million)

– Sales (EUR 3,761 million): Up by 25% compared to the first half of 2009,
not including the pharmaceuticals activities, thanks to a more sustained
global activity; up by 32% in the second quarter

– Operating result (1) (EUR 329 million)

– Overall, the operating result benefited from efforts to control costs

– Chemicals (EUR 147 million): up by 10% compared to the first half of
2009 thanks to improvement in sales volumes across all activities

– Plastics (EUR 173 million): clearly improved compared to the first half
of 2009 (EUR 14 million) especially thanks to significant increase in
sales volumes in Specialties

– Pharmaceuticals (EUR 31 million from January 1 to February 15, 2010)
shown as “discontinued operations”

– Net income of Group (EUR 1,789 million) up compared to the first half of
2009 thanks to the capital gain realized in the 1st quarter of 2010 on the
sale of the Pharmaceuticals activities (EUR 1.7 billion net of taxes)
(sale closed on February 15, 2010)

Group sales for the first half of 2010 amounted to EUR 3,761 million. They
were up by 25% compared to the first half of 2009, not including the
Pharmaceuticals activities; compared to the first quarter, sales from the
second quarter improved by 16%. Sales from the Chemicals Sector (EUR 1,444
million) were slightly up (+3%) compared to the first half of 2009, with
the improvement in sales volumes (+16%) compensating for the lower sales
prices (-16%). Sales from the Plastics Sector (EUR 2,005 million) clearly
improved (+48% compared to the first half of 2009), especially thanks to a
significant increase in sales volumes in the “Specialties” cluster. Thus,
sales volumes of Specialty Polymers in the first half were up by 45%
compared to last year and, in the second quarter, were up by 15% compared
to the first quarter.

Recurring Group operating result (REBIT (1)-(2)) from the first half of
2010 amounted to EUR 329 million. Not including Pharmaceuticals
activities, it significantly improved compared to last year (EUR 298
million in the first half of 2010 compared to EUR 126 million in the
first half of 2009). In the second quarter (EUR 183 million), it was up
by 193% compared to the second quarter of 2009 (EUR 63 million) and by
59% compared to the first quarter of 2010 (EUR 115 million).

The Group’s operating margin (REBIT on sales), excluding the
Pharmaceuticals activities, was 8.6% in the first half of 2010 compared to
4.6% in the first half of 2009; it amounted to 9.9% in the 2nd quarter
2010.

The net income of the Group (EUR 1,789 million) was up compared to the
first half of 2009 due to the capital gain realized on the sale of the
Pharmaceuticals activities (EUR 1.7 billion net of taxes). The net income
of the Group for the second quarter is down by EUR 26 million in
comparison with last year, due to an increase of EUR 37 million in non
recurring items.

The REBITDA (1)-(3) of the Group amounted to EUR 549 million. Excluding
the Pharmaceuticals activities, it improved by 63% compared to the first
half of 2009.

Following receipt of the payment for the sale of the Pharmaceuticals
activities on February 15, 2010 and in anticipation of reinvestment of
these funds in industrial activities, the Solvay Group is in a net cash
surplus situation (EUR 2,526 million, or 36% of equity). The significant
efforts made by the Group last year in terms of cost reduction and
improvement of operating cash flow are continuing. Thus, as previously
announced, the Solvay Group is working on a study (the “Horizon” project)
aiming to optimize the effectiveness of its organization and to prepare
for its future growth.

Chemicals Sector sales from the first half of 2010 (EUR 1,444 million)
were slightly up (+3%) compared to the first half of 2009, with the
increase in sales volumes (+16%) compensating for the lower sales prices
(-16%), primarily in soda ash and caustic soda. Compared to the first
quarter of 2010, sales improved by 12% in the second quarter in a context
of slight improvement in sales volumes. Operating result from the first
half (EUR 147 million) was up by 10% compared to the first half of last
year (EUR 133 million); in the second quarter, it amounted to EUR 80
million, compared to EUR 72 million in the second quarter of 2009 and EUR
67 million in the first quarter of 2010. It benefited from the better
utilization rates in the context of a more sustained global activity than
last year and energy expenses that were under control. The clear
improvement in results from fluorinated products and peroxides should be
noted. The strong integration of the Chemicals Sector in raw materials
enabled it to avoid a material impact from input cost increases.
Additionally it should be noted that in line with the IFRS, following the
decision to terminate the sale of the precipitated calcium carbonate
activity, this activity was reintroduced in June 1 The cost of
discounting provisions (EUR 33 million on June 30, 2009 and EUR 26
million on June 30, 2010) was transferred to financing rather than
operating charges in line with IAS19, considering the financial nature of
this item. 2 REBIT: measure of operating performance (this is not an IFRS
concept as such) 3 REBITDA: REBIT, before recurring depreciation and
amortization of 2010 into the Chemicals Sector while it had been shown as
“assets and liabilities associated with asset held for sale” since October
2008. Consequently, the cumulative depreciation of the assets involved,
since this date, were expensed in the second quarter of 2010, with a
negative impact on the Sector’s operating result of EUR 10 million.

Plastics Sector sales for the first six months of the year (EUR 2,005
million) were significantly higher (+48%) than those of last year. They
continued to improve in the second quarter (EUR 1,088 millions, +19%
compared to the first quarter of 2010). This can be explained by the sharp
increase in sales volumes in the “specialties” cluster (Specialty Polymers
and Inergy Automotive Systems), while prices remained globally stable.
Although all regions of the world were involved, this improvement was
particularly notable in Asia. In Vinyls and at Pipelife, the improvement
in demand remains limited in the context of a stagnant European
construction sector. The operating result for the Plastics Sector in the
first half of 2010 (EUR 173 million) clearly improved compared to last
year (EUR 14 million). That of the second quarter (EUR 114 million) is
significantly higher than that of the first quarter 2010 (EUR 59
million). This improvement derived primarily from the “Specialties”
cluster. The operating result for Vinyls improved compared to the low
level of last year but it continued to be penalized by the low level of
margins in Europe and Mercosur and by the absence of a resumption of
demand in construction in Europe.

It is interesting to note that many innovative Specialty Polymers find
their application in the solar airplane Solar Impulse which recently
achieved its first night flight.

On July 28, 2010, Plastic Omnium and Solvay signed a binding agreement for
purchase in the second half of 2010 by Plastic Omnium of Solvay’s stake in
Inergy Automotive Systems. Solvay will receive for its shares EUR 270
million in cash. This represents an Enterprise Value of about EUR 330
million for the 50% stake of Solvay taking into account the assumption of
debt and other liabilities for an adjusted value of about EUR 60 million.
Consequently, the assets and liabilities of Inergy Automotive Sytems are
transferred to “Assets held for sale” and “Liabilities linked to assets
held for sale” in the balance sheet as of the end of June 2010.

The 1st half of 2010 was characterized by demand recovery. At current
market conditions, the Chemicals Sector should realize a recurring
operating result in line with that of last year, notwithstanding the price
decreases; in Plastics, the volume growth should support sharp REBIT
expansion. The priority goes this year to the optimal reinvestment after
the disposal of the pharmaceuticals activities.

SOLVAY Group – Summary Financial
Information

+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Million EUR (except for |1st half |1st half 2010 |1st half 2010/ 1st |
|per-share figures in EUR)|2009 | |half 2009 |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Sales | 4,051 | 3,761 |-7% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBIT | 339 | 329 |-3% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBIT – continuing | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|operations | 126 | 298 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBIT- discontinued | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|operations | 213 | 31 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBIT/Sales | 8.4% | 8.8% |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Non-recurring items | -34 | -116 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|EBIT (4) | 305 | 213 |-30% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Charges on net | -104 | -91 |-12% |
|indebtedness | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Income on investments | -3 | 1 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Capital gain Pharma | 0 | 1,695 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Earnings before taxes | 198 | 1,818 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Income taxes | -16 | -29 |77% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Net income of the Group | 181 | 1,789 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Net income (Solvay share)| 168 | 1,769 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Total depreciation | 262 | 258 |-1% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBITDA | 586 | 549 |-6% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Cash flow | 443 | 2,047 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Results per share (5) | 2.05 | 21.65 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Net debt to equity ratio | 40% | -36% | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+

+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Million EUR (except for |2nd quarter 2009 |2nd quarter 2010 |
|per-share figures in EUR)| | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Sales | 2,067 | 1,849 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBIT | 181 | 183 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBIT – continuing | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|operations | 63 | 183 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBIT – discontinued | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|operations | 118 | 0 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBIT/Sales | 8.8% | 9.9% |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Non-recurring items | -31 | -68 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|EBIT (4) | 150 | 115 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Charges on net | -61 | -45 |
|indebtedness | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Income on investments | -3 | 1 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Capital gain Pharma | 0 | -1 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Earnings before taxes | 86 | 70 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Income taxes | -2 | -13 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Net income of the Group | 83 | 57 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Net income (Solvay share)| 77 | 44 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Total depreciation | 132 | 127 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBITDA | 308 | 300 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Cash flow | 215 | 184 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Results per share (5) | 0.93 | 0.60 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Net debt to equity ratio | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+

+————————-+——————–+
|Million EUR (except for |2nd quarter 2010/ |
|per-share figures in EUR)|2nd quarter 2009 |
+————————-+——————–+
|Sales |-11% |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBIT |1% |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBIT – continuing | |
+————————-+——————–+
|operations |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBIT – discontinued | |
+————————-+——————–+
|operations |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBIT/Sales |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Non-recurring items |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|EBIT (4) |-23% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Charges on net |-27% |
|indebtedness | |
+————————-+——————–+
|Income on investments |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Capital gain Pharma |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Earnings before taxes |-18% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Income taxes |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Net income of the Group |-32% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Net income (Solvay share)|-43% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Total depreciation |-4% |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBITDA |-3% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Cash flow |-14% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Results per share (5) |-36% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Net debt to equity ratio | |
+————————-+——————–+

Notes on Solvay Group summary financial information

Non-recurring items amounted to EUR -116 million in the first half of
2010. They included among others an asset write-off of EUR 20 million
related to the closed hydrogen peroxide unit at Bitterfeld, other
restructuring 4 EBIT: results before financial charges and taxes 5
Calculated on the basis of the weighted average of the number of shares
in the period, after deduction of treasury shares and own shares
purchased to cover the stock option program, or a total of 82,134,172
shares for the first six months of 2009 and 81,679,218 shares for the
first six months of 2010 charges and an environmental provision of EUR 19
million for remediation and containment works in Spinetta (Italy).

Charges on net indebtedness amounted to EUR -91 million at the end of June
2010 compared to EUR -104 million at the end of June 2009. Charges on
borrowing amounted to EUR -70 million. Gross financial debt is covered at
81% at the average fixed rate of 5.1% with a duration of 5.7 years; the
first significant maturity for debt reimbursement will not occur until
2014. Interest on cash deposits and investments amounted to EUR 9 million.
It should be recalled that the proceeds from the sale of the
pharmaceuticals activities have been invested in short duration government
bonds and highest rated treasury instruments since February 15, 2010.
Annual cash yield in the first half of 2010 was 0.41%.

The capital gain realized on the sale of the Pharmaceutical activities
amounted to EUR 1.7 billion net of taxes.

Income taxes amounted to EUR -29 million compared to EUR -16 million in
the first half of 2009; excluding the capital gain realized on the sale
of the Pharmaceuticals activities, the effective tax rate is 24%.

The net income of the Group (EUR 1,789 million) improved compared to the
first half of 2009 thanks to the capital gain realized on the sale of the
Pharmaceuticals activities (EUR 1.7 billion EUR net of taxes). The “non-
controlling interests” amounted to EUR 20 million. The net result per
share amounted to 21.65 EUR (compared to 2.05 EUR at the end of June
2009).

The Free Cash Flow from continuing operations amounted to EUR -293 million
at the end of June 2010. It includes an amount of EUR -206 million related
to the substitution of a previously issued guarantee by a prepayment in
the first quarter 2010 of fines imposed in 2006 by the European Commission
concerning peroxygen antitrust cases (still in appeal). It should be noted
that the Group continues its efforts regarding the rigorous management of
working capital. At the end of June 2010, the industrial working capital
amounted to EUR 1,251 million, slightly up (EUR +113 million) compared to
the end of June 2009 (excluding pharmaceuticals activities) in a clearly
improved sales context (+25%).

RESULTS BY SEGMENT (6)

+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|
Million EUR |1st half |1st half 2010 |1st half 2010 / 1st |
| |2009 | |half 2009 |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|GROUP SALES(7) | 4,051 | 3,761 |-7% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Chemicals | 1,406 | 1,444 |3% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Plastics | 1,353 | 2,005 |48% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Sales – continuing | 2,759 | 3,449 |25% |
|operations | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Discontinued Operations | 1,292 | 312 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBIT GROUP | 339 | 329 |-3% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Chemicals | 133 | 147 |10% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Plastics | 14 | 173 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Corporate and Business | -10 | -10 |-1% |
|Support | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|New Business Development | -11 | -12 |11% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBIT – continuing | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|operations | 126 | 298 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Discontinued Operations | 213 | 31 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBITDA GROUP | 586 | 549 |-6% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Chemicals | 216 | 246 |14% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Plastics | 119 | 290 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Corporate and Business | -6 | -6 |6% |
|Support | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|New Business Development | -11 | -12 |12% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|REBITDA – continuing | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|operations | 318 | 518 |63% |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | | | |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+
|Discontinued Operations | 268 | 31 |ns |
+————————-+———+————–+——————–+

+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Million EUR |2nd quarter 2009 |2nd quarter 2010 |
| | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|GROUP SALES(7) | 2,067 | 1,849 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Chemicals | 683 | 762 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Plastics | 724 | 1,088 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Sales – continuing | 1,406 | 1,849 |
|operations | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Discontinued Operations | 661 | 0 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBIT GROUP | 181 | 183 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Chemicals | 72 | 80 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Plastics | 8 | 114 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Corporate and Business | -12 | -5 |
|Support | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|New Business Development | -5 | -6 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBIT – continuing | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|operations | 63 | 183 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Discontinued Operations | 118 | 0 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBITDA GROUP | 308 | 300 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Chemicals | 114 | 135 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Plastics | 63 | 175 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Corporate and Business | -10 | -3 |
|Support | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|New Business Development | -5 | -6 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|REBITDA – continuing | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|operations | 162 | 300 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | | |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+
|Discontinued Operations | 146 | 0 |
+————————-+—————–+—————–+

+————————-+——————–+
|Million EUR |2nd quarter 2010 / |
| |2nd quarter 2009 |
+————————-+——————–+
|GROUP SALES(7) |-11% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Chemicals |12% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Plastics |50% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Sales – continuing |32% |
|operations | |
+————————-+——————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | |
+————————-+——————–+
|Discontinued Operations |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBIT GROUP |1% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Chemicals |11% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Plastics |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Corporate and Business |-60% |
|Support | |
+————————-+——————–+
|New Business Development |19% |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBIT – continuing | |
+————————-+——————–+
|operations |Ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | |
+————————-+——————–+
|Discontinued Operations |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBITDA GROUP |-3% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Chemicals |18% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Plastics |ns |
+————————-+——————–+
|Corporate and Business |-71% |
|Support | |
+————————-+——————–+
|New Business Development |21% |
+————————-+——————–+
|REBITDA – continuing | |
+————————-+——————–+
|operations |85% |
+————————-+——————–+
|Pharmaceuticals – | |
+————————-+——————–+
|Discontinued Operations |ns |
+————————-+——————–+

It should be noted that the “New Business Development” (NBD) segment
in 2009 showed a REBIT of EUR -25 million, constituted for the most part
of research costs. Included in 2009 in the “Corporate and Business
Support” segment, it has been part of specific reporting since January 1,
2010.

The R&D budget for NBD in 2010 amounts to about EUR 30 million.

(1) The cost of discounting provisions (EUR 33 million on June 30, 2009
and EUR 26 million on June 30, 2010) was transferred to financing rather
than operating charges in line with IAS19,considering the financial
nature of this item.

(2) REBIT: measure of operating performance (this is not an IFRS concept
as such)

(3) REBITDA: REBIT, before recurring depreciation and amortization

(4) EBIT: results before financial charges and taxes

(5) Calculated on the basis of the weighted average of the number of
shares in the period, after deduction of treasury shares and own shares
purchased to cover the stock option program, or a total of 82,134,172
shares for the first six months of 2009 and 81,679,218 shares for the
first six months of 2010

(6) Results by segment include results from the five segments of the Group
(until February 15, 2010 for Pharma).

(7) These are sales after elimination of inter-company sales.

PATRICK VERELST
Head of Investor Relations
SOLVAY S.A.
Tel. +32 2 509 7243
patrick.verelst@solvay.com
www.solvay-investors.com

The full press release is available on

http://www.solvay-investors.com/

This information is provided by HUGIN

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Templeton cuts stake in Singapore’s Parkway to 4.97 pct

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 19 (Reuters) – U.S. fund manager Templeton, one of Parkway Holdings’ (PARM.SI) largest institutional shareholders, has cut its stake in the Singapore healthcare firm following a series of sales earlier this month.

Malaysian state investor Khazanah and Indian healthcare giant Fortis (FOHE.BO), which each own around 25 percent of Parkway, are currently tussling for control of the Singapore firm.

Templeton now owns 4.97 percent of Parkway, down from 5.04 percent previously, after selling about 357,000 shares between July 8 and July 14, Parkway said in a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange.

For a factbox on Parkway, please click [ID:nSGE6600DM]

(Reporting by Kevin Lim)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-Kent Reliance confirms in talks with J.C. Flowers

July 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) – Kent Reliance Building Society (KRB_p.L) confirmed on Monday it was in talks with U.S. private equity firm J.C. Flowers and Co on creating a joint-venture to bolster its balance sheet while remaining a mutual organisation.

Kent Reliance said the new structure would allow for substantial new capital investment to support the 150-year old building society, which is owned by its members.

Sources told Reuters on Sunday that J.C. Flowers, which previously tried to buy Britain’s stricken bank Northern Rock, would combine a 50 million pound ($75 million) investment with the assets of the British building society in a new vehicle. [ID:nLDE66A0B1]

The building society would retain control with a 51 percent stake, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Kent Reliance, which is the only building society based in the south-east England county of the same name, made a pretax profit of 2.26 million pounds in 2009 and had assets of 2.26 billion pounds at year-end.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India’s Fortis revokes 39 mln pledged shares

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 5 (Reuters) – Fortis Healthcare (FOHE.BO), locked in a battle to take control of Singapore’s Parkway Holdings (PARM.SI), said on Monday the owners of the Indian hospital chain had revoked about 39 million pledged shares, or nearly 10 percent of total outstanding equity.

After the transaction, the percentage of shares pledged to total number of Fortis’ outstanding shares was roughly 31 percent, the company said in a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It did not provide details of the transaction in the stock exchange filing.

Companies usually pledge shares to raise funds and the agreement is revoked when the loans are repayed.

Fortis, which controls just over 25 percent of Parkway, had intended to build a controlling stake in the Singapore firm before Malaysian state fund Khazanah made a surprise $835 million partial offer in May to lift its stake to 51.5 percent. [ID:nSGE64Q042]

Analysts say billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, who control Fortis, have the access to capital to challenge the Malaysian fund, although Khazanah has far deeper pockets, with $28 billion in assets. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

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Millicom says to consolidate Honduras ops

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 1 (Reuters) – Emerging markets telecoms firm Millicom (MICC.O) (MICsdb.ST) will take full control of its Honduras subsidiary, leading to a pro forma boost in revenues, core profit and free cash flow, it said on Thursday. Under a revised shareholders’ agreement, Millicom’s local partner has given Millicom an unconditional call option for its 33 percent stake in Celtel for the next five years.

Millicom has granted a put option to its partner for the same period in the event of a change of control of Millicom.

The deal, which will see the Honduras operations consolidated from the third quarter, will have no impact on reported net profit for Millicom.

The pro forma impact on reported figures for the year to December 2009 increases revenues by 6 percent, EBITDA by 7 percent and operating free cash flow by 9 percent.

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Yuan slips after state bank selling blocks advance

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SHANGHAI, June 22 (Reuters) – The Chinese yuan slipped on Tuesday as big state-owned banks heavily bought dollars, a move that suggests the central bank has adopted a new strategy to control the pace of yuan gains.

The yuan jumped initially after the People’s Bank of China set the mid-point start to trade at a surprisingly strong 6.7980 CNY=SAEC, little changed from Monday’s close and catching market players off guard who had thought it would try to nudge the currency lower after the previous day’s surge.

The heavy dollar buying quickly drove the yuan well off a low of 6.7900 — the lowest since the 2005 revaluation — and up as high as 6.8229 on the day, a drop of 0.37 percent. The yuan last traded at 6.8189 CNY=CFXS.

On Monday, the currency posted its biggest one-day rise since the revaluation, rising nearly half a percent and almost touching the upper it of its daily trading band on either side of the mid-point.

Some traders believe the buying by state-owned banks was on behalf of the PBOC to avoid direct market intervention, as it had often done in the post-revaluation appreciation phase and de facto dollar peg of the past two years.

By letting state-owned banks buy dollars, the PBOC is effectively limiting the market’s ability to short dollar/yuan — especially because banks are not allowed to hold short positions overnight in the spot currency market.

“It appears a new strategy,” said a senior dealer at a European bank in Shanghai. “The central bank needn’t intervene in the market, but it can still keep the pace of yuan appreciation under control via a control of supply and demand.”

Because the state-owned banks were scooping up dollars at a wide variety of levels, it suggested that they were not trying to defend the yuan at a certain level, traders said.

But since the peg to the dollar was ditched over the weekend, the PBOC appears to be trying to foster much more two-way trade within the daily trading band, seeking to get banks and companies used greater volatility and hedging currency risks.

During the 2005-2008 managed float against a trade-weighted currency basket and subsequent peg to the dollar, the PBOC often squashed intraday volatility via direct intervention, guidance through the mid-point and dollar purchases by state-owned banks.

Now it appears to be backing away from direct intervention unless the extremes of the daily trading band are tested.

The PBOC has made clear that it would not allow the yuan to appreciate sharply in its statements over the weekend announcing the latest reforms of the yuan, ruling out a one-off revaluation. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Full coverage [ID:nCHINATAKE] PDF on yuan: r.reuters.com/pys23m Yuan microsite: china.thomsonreuters.com/yuan/ Yuan graphics: r.reuters.com/byq23m Insider TV

-- Yuan to rise before G20 link.reuters.com/jes92m

-- Yuan shows confidence link.reuters.com/hyc33m

-- Some see delay tactic link.reuters.com/xad33m ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

BASKET

Despite the announced intention of controlling the pace of yuan appreciation against the dollar, the PBOC showed it was backing its words with deeds by allowing the yuan to rise against European currencies on Tuesday.

The PBOC set the yuan’s mid-point higher against the euro EURCNY=SAEC, at 8.3816, and against sterling GBPCNY=SAEC after the currencies weakened overnight. That set the tone for the yuan to trade higher against the euro EURCNY=CFXS at 8.3764 at midday on Tuesday from a close of 8.4325 the previous day.

The yuan can rise up to 3 percent against currencies besides the dollar.

“The question is how far the yuan can go,” said a senior dealer at a North American bank in Shanghai. “We believe the central bank must have some limits, which may gradually become clear over time after the G20 summit.”

Offshore dollar/yuan forwards rose back up after initial falls that had implied more yuan appreciation, buoyed by the dollar/yuan mid-point setting.

Some players in the NDF market have turned cautious about shorting dollar/yuan, worried that this week’s yuan move was done primarily to appease critics before the G20 summit late this week, and later moves may be more subdued.

Three-month dollar-yuan non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) CNY3MNDFOR= were quoted at 6.7380, implying a yuan rise of 0.89 percent after they fell to a low of 6.7080 in early trade.

One-year NDFs CNY1YNDFOR= rose back to 6.6300 after hitting an initial low of 6.5970, trimming implied appreciation to 2.53 percent from 3.05 percent the previous day. (Editing by Eric Burroughs & Jan Dahinten)

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Leak at Norway’s Kaarstoe under control -Statoil

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 1 (Reuters) – The gas leak at Kaarstoe, one of Norway’s biggest gas processing plants, has been controlled, plant co-owner Statoil said on Tuesday.

“The gas leak is under control,” Statoil spokeswoman Tori Lindboel told Reuters. “Everything is calm and under control.”

Lindboel did not know when full production at the plant would resume.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche)

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G20 to discuss bank levy, capital controls -S.Korea

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 1 (Reuters) – The proposed introduction of a bank levy and possible ways to control cross-border capital flows will top the agenda at this week’s G20 finance ministers meetings, host South Korea said on Tuesday.

Currencies | Bonds | Global Markets

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun also told an unscheduled media briefing that the euro zone’s debt crisis was becoming a factor that would delay policy “exit strategies” in some countries.

Regarding the domestic economy, Yoon said the government’s position was to maintain its existing economic policy because private sector recovery was not yet fully self-sustaining. (Reporting by Lee Shin-hyung, writing by Yoo Choonsik; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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RPT-Fortis advised to keep silent on Parkway issue -exec

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

May 31 (Reuters) – India’s Fortis Healthcare (FOHE.BO) has been legally advised to keep silent on the Parkway Holdings (PARM.SI) issue for now, managing director Shivinder Singh said on a conference call on Monday.

Fortis owns 25 percent of Parkway, having bought a stake in the Singapore company two months ago.

Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah launched an $835-million bid for control of Parkway on Thursday, potentially pitting it against Fortis Healthcare in a battle for Singapore’s largest private healthcare provider. (Reporting by Sanjeev Choudhary)

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Fortis advised to keep silent on Parkway issue -exec

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

May 31 (Reuters) – India’s Fortis Healthcare (FOHE.BO) has been legally advised to keep silent on the Parkway Holdings (PARM.SI) issue for now, managing director Shivinder Singh said on a conference call on Monday.

Healthcare

Fortis owns 25 percent of Parkway, having bought a stake in the Singapore company two months ago.

Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah launched an $835-million bid for control of Parkway on Thursday, potentially pitting it against Fortis Healthcare in a battle for Singapore’s largest private healthcare provider. (Reporting by Sanjeev Choudhary)

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NBA – Magic keep playoff hopes alive by beating the Celtics

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Orlando Magic again staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference final with a commanding 113-92 win against the Boston Celtics in Game Five on Wednesday.

Two days after beating the Celtics 96-92 in an overtime thriller in Boston to stay alive, the Magic delivered a confident display on their home court to trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Guard Jameer Nelson top scored for Orlando with 24 points while muscular center Dwight Howard weighed in with 21 points, along with 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Rasheed Wallace contributed 21 points to lead the way for Boston, who had appeared to have the series firmly in control after winning the first two games in Orlando.

Game Six is in Boston on Friday when the Celtics need just one more win to advance to the NBA finals.

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Local hope Rezai struggles into French Open third round

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

France’s Aravane Rezai battled past German Angelique Kerber to book her place in the third round of the French Open with a 6-2 2-6 6-3 win on Wednesday.

The 15th-seeded Rezai took control of the match but suffered a dip in concentration as play resumed following a rain break, allowing Kerber back into the contest.

Rezai, who beat Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams earlier this month to win the Madrid Open, eventually prevailed on her first match point with a backhand winner after one hour and 43 minutes.

She will next face the Russian 19th seed Nadia Petrova for a place in the fourth round.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Miles Evans;

To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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NBA – Suns shoot down Lakers to even series 2-2

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Phoenix Suns rained three-pointers in a 115-106 home victory over NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday to level their Western Conference series and re-ignite their title hopes.

The Suns pulled away in a rampant fourth-quarter phase to win their second straight and send the best-of-seven series back to Los Angeles tied at 2-2.

Amare Stoudemire led a balanced Phoenix attack with 21 points and Channing Frye broke through with 14 points and four three-pointers after making only 1 of 20 shots in the first three games.

Kobe Bryant sparkled with 38 points and 10 assists but the Lakers were left behind in a cloud of smoke when the Suns made three straight three-pointers to take control with an 98-89 lead in the fourth.

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Drew Barrymore to direct Wizard Of Oz sequel?

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 20 (ANI): Actress Drew Barrymore is said to have again decided to go behind the camera to direct another OZ sequel.

The actress was originally listed to act in the project when it was first proposed back in 2002.

She would have played the great great granddaughter of Dorothy, a young woman who has to learn how to use the power to keep the Wicked Witch of the West from taking control of the kingdoms of Earth and Oz, reports the Daily Star.

But now she has agreed to helm the project, following her directorial debut with last year”s (09) ‘Whip It’.

It is still unclear if she still intends to take on the lead role. (ANI)

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Men faster, riskier behind the wheels: Study

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, May 20 (ANI): Although women drivers are involved in more crashes, accidents involving men drivers are far more fatal, as they tend to take more risks on road, according to a survey.

The AA Insurance Drivers Index surveyed 4336 drivers aged between 18-65 and found that 24 per cent of men admitted breaking the speed limit most of the time, com-pared with 16 per cent of women.

While women avoid speeding because of safety, men fear demerit points.

More men feel okay about drinking before driving, compared to women. And it is men who alter their driving route to avoid police checkpoints.

The average claim for accidents involving men is $2450, whereas it is the average claim is 2450 dollars, whereas women”s claims, when at fault, average 2257 dollars in women”s claims.

“I don”t feel safe when he”s driving,” Nzherald.co.nz quoted Antje Schomacker, 28, who has been driving for 10 years compared to her partner”s two, as saying.

“It feels like he doesn”t have the car in control. We were travelling through New Zealand in a campervan and I was like ”no, no, no, you get out” because I was scared … he”s driving too fast around the corners like ”oh, this is fun” and you can feel he doesn”t have control.”

Scott Douglas, her husband agrees.

“Sometimes I scare myself driving. She”s the better driver – way better.”

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Robert F. Kennedy Junior””s wife charged with drink driving

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 19 (ANI): Mary Richardson Kennedy, the wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was charged with drink driving in New York last weekend after she drove over a curb outside a school in her station wagon.

Westchester””s Journal News reported on Tuesday that 50-year-old Kennedy was arrested on Saturday night – and that police records showed a ””domestic incident”” at the couple””s home in tony Bedford two days earlier.

“She””s out of control and that””s all that it had to do with – but it””s her demeanor not Bobby””s. It””s very sad,” said a source close to Robert Kennedy.

””The officers spent 48 minutes at the Kennedy home on Thursday, and filed a state “domestic incident report,” the paper said.

“They had spent 1 hour and 17 minutes at the home on another call three days earlier,” The Politico reports.

Kennedy””s spokesman Ken Sunshine, however, refused to comment on the report. (ANI)

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Disgraced soccer star King takes up art classes to control temper

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 16 (ANI): Disgraced soccer star Marlon King, who is serving an 18-month sentence for molesting a 20 girl at London’s Soho Revue Bar and breaking her nose when she tried to resist his advances, has taken up Art classes to help control his temper as he serves time behind bars.

Former Wigan striker King spends an hour each morning painting with watercolours.

“Marlon says it calms him down. He gets so pent up and aggressive – he just flips,” News of the World quoted a prison source, as saying.

“Every morning after his exercises and breakfast, he goes down to the art room. He started off doing bits of fruit and last week he painted a model car.

“The other inmates find it hilarious but he says he likes the peace and tranquillity of it down there,” The source added.

King was persuaded to take up the hobby by staff at HMP Wayland, Norfolk, where he is serving an 18-month sentence. (ANI)

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Michael Jordan ‘advised Tiger Woods to control himself’

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 16 (ANI): Basketball star Michael Jordan asked Tiger Woods to control his wild behaviour, according to a new book.

Sports writer Robert Lusetich’s new book ‘Unplayable’ talks how the NBA star advised the golfer, whose private life got ruined after the exposure of his multiple affairs, to keep himself under control.

Back in 2008, Jordan apparently read a text message from Woods and, according to a source who was there, shook his head and said Woods had grown “out of control”.

The tome further reveals that Woods remained poised on the Kingston Heath Golf course in Australia despite the chaos off it and that Jordan tried to talk Woods into being more discreet, but he did not listen, reports News.com.au.

Lusetich also claims in the text that Woods tried to pay hush money to stop his affair with Rachel Uchitel being exposed. (ANI)

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Coach Flower asks KP to control bad temper ahead of T20 final

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, May 15 (ANI): England coach Andy Flower has put his star batsman Kevin Pietersen on notice, urging him to control his temper before and during the World Twenty20 final against Australia.

Pietersen, who travelled back to London for the birth of his son and returned in time to score an unbeaten 42 from 26 balls in England’s semi-final win over Sri Lanka on Thursday in St Lucia, is known to have a short fuse.

Pietersen knows that Australia is gunning for him.

Pietersen was seen giving his teammates stick for their sloppy fielding during the Sri Lanka match, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“There is a fine line between demanding high standards of your fielders which is a healthy place to be for a side and then stepping over that line into a petulant world, and a world that damages the team in any way,” Flower said.

“We are constantly on at our guys to stay the right side of that line,” he said.

Flower said he was always confident Pietersen could skip a game in the Super Eights and slot neatly back into the side without drama.

“We were quite lucky with the way it fell but I suppose we got two good results in the first two Super Eights games so we made our own luck,” he said. (ANI)

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