July 22 (Reuters) – Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX)(CS.N) posted net profit of 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.52 billion), above forecasts, and continued to attract money from wealthy clients, the company said on Thursday.
Brunei investor eyes $1 bln bid for Club Med-paper
July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
July 18 (Reuters) – Brunei investment firm BMB Group is considering a bid for Club Med (CMIP.PA) that would value the French-listed holiday firm at about 800 million euros ($1 billion), the Sunday Times reported.
BMB Group, an investment office that manages money for the Sultan of Brunei’s family, has the support of three of Club Med’s four major shareholders, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources close to the situation.
Talks with the fourth and largest shareholder, Fipar, are expected to be finalised this week, it added.
Neither BMB Group nor Club Med could immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.7706 Euro)
China stocks slide over 4 pct as AgBank IPO nears
July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
June 29 (Reuters) – China’s key stock index tumbled more than 4 percent to a 14-month low on Tuesday as money flew out of existing shares to subscribe to a major initial public offering by Agricultural Bank of China [ABC.UL].
The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC dropped to 2,430.3 points, its lowest since April 2009, heading for a quarterly loss of about 22 percent.
Institutions will start subscribing to the Shanghai portion of AgBank’s IPO on Thursday, while retail subscriptions are scheduled for early next week.
“The market is short of funding,” said Wen Lijun, analyst at Nanjing Securities. ($1 = 6.83 yuan) (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
Court acquits Chandraswami in FERA case
June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
New Delhi, June 5 — A Delhi court, on Saturday, acquitted self-styled godman, Chandraswami, in a 14-year-old Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had accused the godman of violating the FERA terms in a defamation suit filed by him 26 years ago.
Additional Metropolitan Magistrate A.K. Pandey said the ED failed to establish that the “accused Nemi Chand Jain alias Chandraswami had the knowledge about deposit of the money (6,000 Euros) in a defamation suit filed by him in 1986 in London against Lakhu Bhai Pathak.” Counsel for Chandraswami, Santosh Chauriah, said, “They did not know exactly who paid the money on his behalf.
TPG top China partner departs to start Asia fund-FT
June 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment
June 2 (Reuters) – Private equity firm TPG Capital’s [TPG.UL] high-profile partner in China, Weijian Shan, is leaving the firm to launch an Asia-focused investment fund, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News | Private Capital | Financials
TPG is expected to participate in the funding of Shan’s new venture and co-invest in some deals while Shan will remain a senior adviser to the U.S. buyout firm, the newspaper said.
The fund will invest in markets across Asia and may favour a buy-out strategy for deals. Shan declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
In May, TPG, led by Shan, made sixteen times its money on a six-year investment in a Chinese lender, Shenzhen Development Bank.
No biz angle to marriage: Posh Beckham
May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Former Spice girl Victoria Beckham has dismissed reports that her marriage to footballer David Beckham has been reduced to a business arrangement.
Dismissing that she has never recovered from an affair allegation in 2004 around the soccer star, the 35-year-old star insists their union is still very healthy, Ok! Magazine reported.
“We are working on things together but our marriage is absolutely not a business arrangement, Victoria said.
The couple got married in 1999, but five years later David was accused of having a four-month romance with his personal assistant Rebecca Loos.
The English midfielder branded the allegation “ludicrous” and the couple sticked together, but it has long been speculated they only kept their marriage intact for their three children and their business empire.
“I know David has never cheated on me. I really do believe deep down that I have the most faithful husband I could hope for. I can honestly say I am really lucky to have him. I couldn’t live a lie and it would be unfair on the children. We are working on things together but our marriage is absolutely not a business arrangement. Could you, for all the money in the world? I couldn’t,” Victoria said.
PETA pays octomom Nadya Suleman $5K to promote pet family planning
May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, May 20 (ANI): PETA is paying octomom Nadya Suleman 5,000 dollars to put a 3-foot-by-4-foot plastic sign on her front door that reads— “Don”t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter.”
The sign will adorn Suleman’s door until June 9, the deadline when city officials say it must be removed.
The organisation is also throwing in a month”s supply of veggie hot dogs and burgers for her and her 14 children.
Suleman, 34, acknowledged she put the sign on her door partly for the money but added that her support of PETA is genuine.
“I love animals and I do believe they should be spayed or neutered. Humans of course are much different,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.
Suleman said that her children, the oldest of whom is nine, want a dog and she has told they can have one when they are old enough to care for it.
Suleman already had six children when she gave birth 16 months ago to octuplets conceived by in vitro fertilization.
And since then she has been trying hard to pay her bills and was in danger of losing her home earlier this year.
Her lawyer has since negotiated an extension on a 450,000 dollars mortgage payment that had been due in March.
“It”s really a win-win situation for everyone,” PETA campaign coordinator Amanda Fortino said of the sign.
Fortino said the agreement allowed PETA to do its part to help Suleman financially and at the same time they could spread the word that more than 7 million cats and dogs enter shelters every year, where more than half are put to death. (ANI)
Nankana Sahib residents demand action against criminals by Pak Punjab govt
May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Lahore, May 19 (ANI): Hundreds of protesters in Nankana Sahib demonstrated outside the Punjab Governor’s residence demanding immediate action against a criminal gang, which has killed about a dozen people in the region.
Angry protestors blocked the road in front of the Governor’s House for several hours with the body of one Muhammed Shafi, who is said to have been killed by the criminal gang.
Later, on the assurance of local Member of National Assembly (MNA) Rana Arshad the mob agreed to end their protest.
Arshad assured the aggrieved family that the provincial government had already announced a head money of 300,000 rupees on the accused and that he would personally pursue the case to ensure that justice is delivered.
Shafi’s close relative Shahid Nawaz told The Daily Times that they have filed several cases against one Sarfaraz Ishtiaq, a noted criminal of the region who is believed to have murdered Shafi, but the police have failed to take any action in this regard. (ANI)
UN warns ‘donor fatigue’ hampering rehabilitation of Lankan Tamils
May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, May 19 (ANI): The UN has warned that the needs of displaced Tamils wanting to return to their homes in Sri Lanka are still huge a year after the war ended, and shortage of funds from donors has hampered the process.
The UN has warned that “donor fatigue” in Sri Lanka has meant that it has received only 24 percent of the donor funds it needs to help displaced Tamils, the BBC reports.
About 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in camps in the north of Sri Lanka at the height of the war, which ended on May 19, 2009.
The UN said that it is facing an uphill battle as it strives to facilitate the return of thousands of war-displaced Tamil people to their homes, because many have been destroyed and their villages and fields mined.
“There has been a serious shortage of funding from donors and if the international community doesn’t come forward soon, we are likely to run out of money for some key needs by June,” Sri Lanka UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator Neil Buhne said.
He said that more than 60 percent of homes in the north had been seriously damaged by the fighting, and the number of people affected combined with the impact on the local economy, made the situation more grave than it was in the aftermath the December 2004 tsunami, which killed 35,000 people, the BBC reports. (ANI)
NY bomb trail leads to 3 more Pak men
May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
New York, May 14 — Three more men, reportedly all of Pakistani origin, were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday in connection with the failed bomb attack at Times Square on May 1. All three are allegedly believed to have provided part of the funding for the bomb planted by Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American already in custody.
Two of the men, who have not been identified, were held in the suburbs of Boston: a taxi driver and a petrol pump attendant. The third was detained in Maine.
Federal investigators also believe that the money could have been sourced through hawala networks that are often used for transfer of money by South Asians in the US. Shahzad paid in cash for the Nissan Pathfinder vehicle he left parked at Times Square with the bomb in it. He paid in cash for the air ticket to Dubai as well which he had boarded when he was arrested.
Berbatov fears new striker at Man U
May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, May 14 (ANI): Manchester United out of form striker Dimitar Berbatov fears that his career will come under more pressure if the club buys a new striker.
Bulgarian Berbatov, who quit international football on Thursday, has been a flop since his 30.75 million pounds move from Spurs two seasons ago.
Boss Alex Ferguson is already looking to sign either Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka or Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema for the next campaign, The Sun reports.
“I’m sure United will buy a new striker – but I am there and that’s important. I will try to fulfil my contract because where would I go after United? I have reached the top with them. I do not know about interest from other clubs and I have had no meetings,” Berbatov said.
“In my two years, things could have been better but they could have been worse, too. I have had my moments. I have won the title and the Carling Cup but people had great expectations for the money it cost to sign me. We do not know what will happen in the third year,” said Berbatov, who has two years left on his deal. (ANI)
Cannes’ LiLo ‘snub’
May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
New York, May 13 (ANI): Lindsay Lohan has been trying to swing a free trip to the Cannes film festival to wrangle money for her new Linda Lovelace biopic, ‘Inferno,’ but no one”s willing to pay for her, it has emerged.
“She”s been asking around, but hasn”t had any takers,” the New York Post quoted a source as saying.
The ‘Mean Girls’ star was well-behaved when she showed up at the Valentino-sponsored fete for the Lincoln Center Institute at the Hudson Hotel this week.
Director Matthew Wilder of the Lovelace flick says: “It”s not something I can imagine that anybody would ever be turned on by, unless they”re really sick.” (ANI)
Lara Bingle dumped as Vodafone’s brand ambassador
May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Melbourne, May 13 (ANI): Things seem to be getting worse for Lara Bingle, who was recently dumped by her Aussie cricketer fiancee Michael Clarke.
The Aussie model is losing lucrative contracts.
Vodafone has confirmed that it has dumped Bingle as a brand ambassador.
The company has terminated its one-year contract with her.
“Following the natural completion of the agreement in December 2009, Vodafone did not renew the sponsorship,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Vodafone director of marketing John Casey as saying.
“We greatly valued Lara Bingle””s support for Vodafone over the time of our sponsorship, and we remain on good terms with her,” he added.
When Bingle and Michael Clarke parted ways in February, Bingle had three big-money contracts to her name – Speedo, Vodafone and the energy drink Synergy. Each deal was worth between 200,000 dollars and 250,000 dollars.
Then came word in March that Synergy had cancelled its contract with Bingle and Clarke following the couple””s break-up.
Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that Speedo””s love affair with Bingle is also coming to an end. (ANI)
Pub meal ‘has more fat than 12 McDonald’s hamburgers’
May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, May 13 (ANI): Pub grub burger meals have more fat than twelve McDonald”s hamburgers.
And, according to a Sun investigation, the worst offenders provide nearly all of an adult”s recommended daily calorie intake.
The O”Neill”s Double Burger Meal – which includes chips – contains 100g of fat.
That equals to half a tub of margarine and more than 12 McDonald”s burgers.
Dietician Cath Collins from St George”s Hospital, London, said: “These meals may be value for money but they”re not value for health.
“With a pint, it is almost all the calories an average man would need in 24 hours.
“And this meal contains a phenomenal amount of fat – around the same as half a tub of margarine.
“If you have this high-fat, high-calorie meal twice a week, it would contribute to weight gain.” (ANI)
EXCLUSIVE – Players put the knife in, says disappointed Els
Ernie Els has hit out at players who criticised his redesign of Wentworth’s West Course this week, saying they had “put the knife” into him.
Wentworth owner Richard Caring, who spent 6.5 million pounds ($9.34 million) on the changes, had been “kicked in the teeth” by the players, Els told Reuters in an exclusive interview .
“If they had criticisms they could’ve handled it differently. That’s the sad part of the whole week, a lot of the guys I’ve known for a very long time came out and basically put the knife in and I don’t really appreciate that,” Els said on Sunday.
The redesign left few of the 18 holes untouched and several players at the PGA Championship complained in the media about the changes, especially the new moat and elevated green at the 18th.
“There is going to be criticism with any new design but I really wasn’t expecting the backlash I got,” Els said. “I don’t think anybody deserved it.
“If the people who made all those comments, especially the players, look back at what they said and what they achieved this week, it was all negative,” said Els after finishing well down the field following a closing 72 for 287, three over par.
“The tour doesn’t need it, the club doesn’t need it, the owner who has put all this money in doesn’t need it, I don’t need it.”
Caring acknowledged mistakes had been made with the redesign of the famous West Course and told reporters on Friday that he would take the blame.
“It’s unfortunate he had to come out (and say that),” said Els. “He is the guy who spent 6.5 million pounds on the changes.
“Who on earth is going to spend that money to enhance a golf course on television and make the sponsor happy, make the players happy and then the players kick him in the teeth because they don’t like a couple of holes?
CRITICAL COMMENTS
“For all this money we are playing for (a $5.63-million prize fund) we could be playing down the road…not come in here like a bunch of spoiled golfers,” said the world number seven.
“This guy is enhancing the flagship event, the whole tour, and players come in and criticise that. That’s amazing — how must he feel?”
Els said he could not understand why some players had not spoken to him directly.
“Some players who made critical comments came to me, some players haven’t come to me — and I don’t understand that.”
The 40-year-old South African added: “Obviously the 18th didn’t quite come out the way we wanted…but we didn’t need a bunch of know-all people to criticise everything — that is the disappointing part.
“These greens were only laid in November and December and we are now holding the biggest tournament on tour on these greens. I think it’s a hell of a feat by the whole team.”
Els said he would make some changes for the 2011 PGA Championship, particularly the eighth and 18th holes.
“Definitely 18. I can show you the plans I drew for it at the get-go,” said Els. “I’d also like to make changes on eight, I don’t like the heather on the mounds there.
“I’d even like to change the eighth green because that’s another one I wanted lower.
“But for the rest I think it’s unbelievable. The green superintendent Chris Kennedy has really got these bunkers almost the way we want them,” added the triple major winner.
(Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)