Oil Spill: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Fears BP's 'Annihilation'
THE TELEGRAPH: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed concerns that the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill could lead to the "annihilation" of BP.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fears BP's 'annihilation' over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Medvedev stopped short of saying the disaster would prompt a review of Russia's partnership with BP, but he said: "This is a wake-up call."

"Certainly, we are not indifferent to their future... Hopefully, they can absorb the losses," he told the Wall Street Journal.

BP shares, which have fallen around 46pc since the spill began, rose 4.5pc in early tradiing on Friday.

BP is present in Russia through TNK-BP, the third largest oil producer in the country, accounting for roughly a quarter of BP's global production. It owns half of TNK-BP and the other half is owned by Alfa Access-Renova, a consortium of Russian businessmen.

When asked how the oil spill would affect Russia's view of BP as a partner, he said: "What I know is that BP will have to pay a lot of money this year.

"Whether the company can digest those expenditures, whether they will lead to the annihilation of the company or its breakup into pieces is a matter of expediency."

Mr Medvedev's comment come as estimates of the damage caused by the US's biggest environmental accident spiral[.] >>> | Friday, June 18, 2010

Medvedev Sees Risk to Euro
Russian President Dmitry Medvdev speaks with The Wall Street Journal. Photograph: WSJ
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts about the future of Europe's common currency and said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could threaten the survival of BP PLC.

Asked whether Europe's debt turmoil could threaten the euro, Mr. Medvedev said, "I don't exaggerate the threat, but it can't be underestimated."

The Russian president didn't rule out financial assistance to struggling European nations, but said the European Union should bear the burden of any major "financial injections."

"Russia's prosperity, to a large extent, depends on how well things are going on the European continent," Mr. Medvedev said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We are not a member of the EU, but we are a European country."

On the eve of his first state visit to the U.S. next week, Mr. Medvedev also questioned whether the Gulf oil spill might lead to the "annihilation" or breakup of BP, as the company faces billions of dollars in losses from the disaster.

He stopped short of saying Russia would re-evaluate BP's lucrative partnership in Russia, which represents almost a quarter of its oil production, but predicted the spill will prompt a fundamental rethinking of oil exploration around the world.

"This is a wake-up call," Mr. Medvedev said. Of BP's fate, he added: "Certainly, we are not indifferent to their future. ... Hopefully, they can absorb the losses." >>> Gregory L. White, Robert Thomson, and Rebecca Blumenstein | Friday, June 18, 2010

BP's Tony Hayward Savaged by US Congressmen Over Oil Spill
THE TELEGRAPH: BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward has been subjected to a blistering attack by US Congressmen over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, who accused the company of “astonishing complacency”.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward was singled out for failing to ignore warnings signs before the fatal rig explosion. Photograph: The Telegraph
The boss of the oil giant was appearing before an influential committee a day after pledging a £13.5bn compensation fund to make amends for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Britain’s largest firm was condemned for increasing the risk of a “catastrophic blowout” by cutting “corner after corner”. It was accused of having a “cavalier attitude towards risk”.

Mr Hayward was singled out for failing to ignore warnings signs before the fatal rig explosion, which left 11 people dead and hundreds of thousands of barrels of oils spewing into the Gulf. BP has failed to contain the leak despite numerous attempts.

Henry Waxman, a California Democrat known as one of the toughest investigators in Congress, told Mr Hayward: “There is not a single email or document that shows that you paid even the slightest attention to the dangers at this well.

“There is a complete contradiction between BP’s words and deeds. You were brought in to make safety the top priority of BP, but under your leadership, BP has taken the most extreme risks.”

In a pointedly nationalist remark, Bart Stupak, from Michigan, said that while Mr Hayward could take “a golden parachute back to England, we in America are left to recover for years from the disaster”. >>> Alex Spillius, in Washington | Thursday, June 17, 2010

It really is difficult to see how Tony Hayward can remain in his position as BP’s chief executive. The buck stops with him. If the man had any honour, he’d resign; and without the golden parachute that these people have come to expect in recent years. The company, BP, has fouled up under his watch. The consequences should be faced. – © Mark

Cameron Sets Out 'Red Lines on Economic Sovereignty
THE INDEPENDENT: David Cameron today set out Britain's "red lines" on economic sovereignty at his first summit encounter with fellow EU leaders.

He said Britain would not submit its annual Budget for "peer review" to Brussels as part of a new economic surveillance crackdown.

And he warned that proposed hefty sanctions against countries breaching deficit and debt limits set by the EU must apply only to the single currency member states.

The new boy in the bloc was invited to speak early on in today's summit debate on EU "economic governance" and, after formally introducing himself, set out Britain's well-established defence against central control over the domestic budget programme.

Summit conclusions on the table seem to offer the Prime Minister a way out of the "peer review" plan, which would require all countries to submit annual national Budget details and analysis to Brussels before presenting them to MPs.

The text backed by most EU leaders proposes that, from 2011, in the interests of strengthening budgetary discipline across the EU, member states should present their budgetary plans to the Commission each Spring "taking account of national budgetary procedures". >>> Press Association | Thursday, June 17, 2010

France's Retirement Overhaul

BP Agrees to $20 Billion Escrow Fund; Cancels Dividends
President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, right, meet with BP executives at the White House. BP has agreed to put $20 billion into an escrow account for reimbursing oil spill damages. Photograph: Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration has reached a preliminary agreement with BP executives that would see the oil company pay $20 billion over several years into an independently controlled escrow account to be established to compensate Gulf of Mexico residents affected by the disastrous oil spill, and BP's board of directors has eliminated the company's stock dividend, at least temporarily.

The agreement on the escrow was negotiated in a meeting at the White House on Wednesday morning, the first face-to-face gathering between President Obama and senior BP leadership. A White House official said that, under the terms of the deal, the fund would be administered by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, currently serving as the special master for executive pay under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Feinberg ran a fund that compensated victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Immediately after the meeting, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said that the oil company's board of directors has decided not to pay any more dividends this year. >>> Mike Memoli and Peter Nicholas | Wednesday, June 16, 2010

BP to Set Aside $20 Billion for Oil Spill Claims


BP Promises to Repair Damages to Gulf Region

The Euro Mutiny Begins
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy, where economists have openly questioned the euro's future. Photo: Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: The rebellion against the 1930s fiscal and monetary policies of the Euro-complex is gathering pace.

Il Sole has published a letter by 100 Italian economists warning that the austerity strategy imposed by Brussels/Frankfurt risks tipping Europe into a self-feeding downward spiral. Far from holding the eurozone together, it will cause weaker countries to be catapulted out of EMU. Others will leave in order to restore sovereign control over their central banks and unemployment policies.

At worst it will blow the EU apart, leading to the very acrimony that the European Project was supposed to prevent.

For readers of Italian, it’s here.

While I don’t share the big-state Left-Keynesian perspective of these professors — nor their implicit hostility to the free market — I do agree with much of their overall analysis. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Wednesday, June 14, 2010

Lettera di 100 economisti contro la manovra e la linea (europea) dell'austerità >>> mercoledi 16 giugno 2010

Only 14 of World's 1,000 Billionaires Are Self-made Women
THE TELEGRAPH: Only 14 of the world's 1,000 billionaires are self-made women, and only nine of them had no help from relatives, a new list has found.

In a list of the world's richest self-made women, American business magazine Forbes published the names of 14 women who have accrued $1 billion or more thanks to their own entrepreneurship rather than inheriting part or all of their fortune.

Seven of the women on the list were Chinese, Harry Potter author JK Rowling was the only British-born woman, and of the fourteen, at least five built their business empires with the help of husbands and brothers or sometimes both.

By contrast, Forbes said that 665 of the world's 1,011 dollar billionaires, including the three wealthiest men on the planet, Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, were self-made men. That, it said, meant that the 'female billionaires' club' accounted for two per cent of the total number of self-made billionaires.

"All of these self-made female billionaires have impressive personal stories, but the dearth of them is itself a story, and begs the question of why so few?" Forbes wrote. >>> Andrew Osborn in Moscow | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The World’s Richest Self-made Women >>> | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Barack Obama Vows to Make BP Pay for Oil Spill 'Recklessness'
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has vowed to "make BP pay" for not only the multi-billion dollar clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico but also the restoration of the region's economy, undertaking to force the British oil giant to set aside the money he believes it owes as "a result of [its] recklessness."



The US President, in his fiercest rebuke against the company in the 58 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana causing the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, promised to get tough with BP and to ensure that it meets all costs he believes it should pay.

In a direct attack on the company's dividend policy, Mr Obama said that BP must place the money needed to cover the as-yet unquantifiable costs in an independent "escrow" account to be run by a third party.

The staunch words – which came in Mr Obama's first national address from the historic Oval Office in the 18 months since he took office – came ahead of his crucial meeting with Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP's chairman, and Tony Hayward, its chief executive, at the White House later today.

"We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused", he promised the millions of Americans who were expected to watch the televised prime-time address.

"I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness," he continued.

"This fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent, third party." >>> James Quinn, US Business Editor | Wednesday, June 16, 2010

For Christ’s Sake, Spare Us, the US, and BP from the Bliar*! BP Oil Spill: Tony Blair Is the Right Man to Be BP Chairman
THE TELEGRAPH: It's not a sinecure after all, being chairman of an international oil company. Nobody blames Carl-Henric Svanberg for taking the job at BP – it was an honour to be asked, and lack of experience in the oil business did not prevent his predecessor, Peter Sutherland, coping with his own crisis well enough.

Unfortunately, Svanberg's crisis is of a different order. The fall of chief executive John Browne when Sutherland was chairman was awkward for BP; the gusher in the gulf is potentially life-threatening.

Svanberg has failed to provide leadership and public support for his CEO, Tony Hayward. He will have to go. There seems little prospect of Hayward keeping his job, either.

The BP directors have dithered about the dividend so long that they have lost control; the fate of the payout is now effectively in the hands of the US president. Read on and comment >>> Neil Collins, Reuters Breakingviews | Wednesday, June 16, 2010

*It seems to be a case of, tell lies, will rise! The unrelenting rise of the Bliar! I have an alternative suggestion: Put the man out to graze? He’s past his sell-by date. – © Mark

Islamic Terror: Company Bidding to Help Manage Ground Zero Tower Has Arab Ties
FOX NEWS: Nearly nine years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the bi-state agency that operates the World Trade Center is looking for a private partner to help manage the 1,776-foot office tower that is being built at Ground Zero -- and one of two companies under consideration may have ties to the Middle East.

The bidding process for private partners for the "Freedom Tower" has been whittled down to two companies: Durst Organization and Related Companies, Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. reports.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will soon decide which partner will manage and help market the tower, which has been renamed One World Trade Center. The partner will invest at least $100 million into the office tower and memorial building.

Related Cos. is an international real estate group whose investors include Goldman Sachs; MSD Capital, LP; Mubadala Development Co.; Kuwait Investment Authority; and Olayan Group, according to the company’s website.

Mubadala Development Co. is owned by the Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, government.

Johnson reports that Related Cos. is involved in a joint project with the UAE-backed company, which is chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Johnson said Related Cos. also has ties to the Saudi Arabian royal family and to financiers based in Dubai. (+ video) >>> FOXNews.com | Monday, June 14, 2010

Barack Obama Requests $50 Billion in Emergency Funding from Congress
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has sought to shore up the US economy with a request for $50 billion (£34 billion) in emergency funding from Congress to save the jobs of "hundreds of thousands" of teachers, firemen and policemen.

He said the aid, which also included measures to help small businesses, was essential to ensure that the country did not "slide backwards just as our recovery is taking hold".

"It is essential that we continue to explore additional measures to spur job creation and build momentum toward recovery, even as we establish a path to long-term fiscal discipline," Mr Obama wrote in a letter sent to party leaders in Congress.

Pointing out that 84,000 public sector jobs had been lost so far this year, he said keeping people employed in the short term would cost less than their unemployment.

The demand to inject further government spending into the economy puts America on the opposite course to its major trading partners in the developed world. Britain, Germany, Japan, France and Italy have all announced cuts after boosting spending to counter the recession in recent years.

Mr Obama is also likely to encounter stiff domestic opposition. Republicans immediately criticised the president for seeking to spend more money when the national debt has risen to £9.6 trillion.

John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said spending more public money without offsetting the costs was irresponsible.

"The spending spree in Washington continues unabated, though the American people are screaming at the top of their lungs: 'Stop'." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, June 13, 2010

Obamonomics©: A Definition >>>

South Africa’s Wine Bonanza

David Cameron to Fight EU Over ‘Show Us Budget’ Demand
David Cameron rejected demands that he should submit Budget proposals for Brussels approval. Photograph: The Times
THE TIMES: David Cameron is preparing for his first confrontation with the European Union later this week by rejecting demands that he should submit Budget proposals for the approval of Brussels.

Herman Van Rompuy, the EU President, wants all 27 member states to share financial plans with the European Commission to prevent another crisis similar to the one in Greece.

“A government presenting a Budget plan with a high deficit would have to justify itself in front of its peers, among finance ministers,” Mr Van Rompuy said. “There would still be time to adjust plans before the final Budget plans are presented.”

The proposal is likely to be discussed on Thursday when Mr Cameron attends his first European Council meeting as Prime Minister. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, described the Government’s opposition as “trenchant” yesterday. “It is not a proposal that we can support,” he said. “The Prime Minister, the Chancellor and I have all made that very clear. The British Budget must be presented to the British Parliament. That is a position we will argue for and we will maintain. The discussions on this have some way to go but our position is pretty categorical.” Continue reading and comment >>> David Charter, Francis Elliott | Monday, June 14, 2010

Europe Embraces the Cult of Austerity – But at What Cost?
THE OBSERVER: Eurozone finance ministers were still committed to spending their way to recovery only a few months ago. Then came the Greek debt crisis, which threatened to engulf the continent. Despite warnings from the US, Britain and its EU neighbours are braced for unprecedented public sector cuts

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is preparing her country for unprecedented cuts. Photograph: The Observer
When Angela Merkel talks about budget cuts these days she likes to invoke the "Swabian housewife" – Germany's equivalent of the parsimonious Scot. In that part of south-west Germany they have a reputation for scrimping and saving. Famously, Swabia's cooks make hearty soups out of all the leftovers in the kitchen. To the German chancellor they are the embodiments of good housekeeping.

"You can't keep living beyond your means," says Merkel. "One should simply ask the Swabian housewife."

By extolling the virtues of old-fashioned thrift, Merkel hoped last week to go some way towards explaining to ordinary Germans why they must suddenly swallow the most painful austerity pill administered by their government in generations. Last Monday, with some trepidation, she announced massive cuts of €11.2bn in 2011 and plans for a total of €80bn by 2014. Yesterday, in Stuttgart and elsewhere, the inevitable protests began on the streets.

Even for a country painfully aware, because of its history, of the danger of debt, the extent of corrective action came as a shock. "Germany has never agreed to an austerity package to this extent, but these cuts have to be made in order for the country to establish a stable economic future," Merkel said.

Across Europe other governments, scared by the Greek debt crisis, the repercussions of which imperil the very existence of the euro, have been doing the same, raising the spectre of mass layoffs in public services in the name of European unity. >>> Toby Helm, Ian Traynor and Paul Harris | Sunday, June 13, 2010

Vatican: Pope Wants 'Human' Capital to Be Valued
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday offered advice for European banking and development officials trying to help countries recover from the current economic crisis. The pontiff said finance and the economy were nothing more than a means to help people realise their potential and keep their dignity.

Benedict told officials of the European Council's Development Bank during a speech at the Vatican that leaders must value human "capital".

He also said that Christianity in Europe will allow the continent to keep its laws and social structures responsible and ethical. [Source: AKI] | Saturday, June 12, 2010

Obama Faces First Backlash in the US Over His Continued Attacks on BP
THE TELEGRAPH: A backlash against President Barack Obama's vilification of BP over the Gulf oil spill is developing in America where he is under fire for playing politics with the issue.

One of his most sweeping demands of BP - that the company be made to foot the bill for a drilling moratorium imposed by his administration - has been undermined after it emerged that his own officials modified expert advice.

His call for BP to pay the wages of other companies' oil workers laid off during the halt to deep-water drilling and other related costs was initially viewed by the White House as a popular punitive tactic against the beleaguered British energy giant.

But the campaign has come under fire from US businesses, Republican politicians and even some lawyers suing BP over the oil spill as legally unenforceable "big government" posturing.

Most damaging is the revelation that the administration modified a report by a panel of experts advising Mr Obama. Two paragraphs were added calling for the moratorium, which was not part of the team's conclusions.

More than half of the experts, who were recommended for their know-how by the National Academy of Engineering, have since revealed that they actually opposed a halt to drilling.

Ken Salazar, the interior minister who ordered the ban, has now apologised. "The experts involved in crafting the report gave us their recommendation and their input," he said. "It was not their decision on the moratorium. It was my decision and the president's decision to move forward."

The controversy has fuelled the belief that Mr Obama is trying to deflect criticism of his handling of the crisis by lashing out at BP - despite reportedly assuring David Cameron, the British prime minister, in a telephone conversation yesterday that he had "no interests" in undermining the company's value.

The President, who has repeatedly used the company's former name, British Petroleum, as a reminder of its foreign roots, said last week that he was looking for "ass to kick" and would himself have fired Tony Hayward, the chief executive. >>> Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, June 12, 2010

Gulf of Mexico BP Oil Spill: Nick Clegg Warns Barack Obama Over 'Megaphone Diplomacy'
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg today warned that the BP disaster threatened to descend into “megaphone diplomacy” following Barack Obama’s fierce criticism of the British company.

Nick Clegg made the comments when asked for his response to President Obama's call for the sacking of BP chief executive Tony Hayward. Photo: The Telegraph
In a thinly veiled attack on the US President – who earlier this week said he was looking for “some ass to kick over the disaster” – the Deputy Prime Minister argued that a “tit for tat” attitude was not helpful.

But Mr Clegg stopped short of voicing support for the British company, which has seen billions of pounds wiped off its share value since the leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

“I’m not going to start intervening in a debate which clearly risks descending into megaphone diplomacy,” Mr Clegg told an audience at the Nueva Economic Forum in Madrid on Friday morning.

“I think everyone is united on both sides of Atlantic obviously, quite rightly, and understandably within US administration and I’m sure within BP itself, to deal with this problem. It is an ecological catastrophe – It does need to be dealt with."

Nick Clegg made the comments when asked for his response to President Obama's call for the sacking of BP chief executive Tony Hayward. >>> Fiona Govan in Madrid | Friday, June 11, 2010

Opinion Journal: BP Pays for Obama's Mistake?

Staatsbankrott: Plant die EU einen Rettungsschirm für Spanien?
BERNER ZEITUNG: Die Euro-Staaten stellen sich nach einem Zeitungsbericht auf Nothilfe-Massnahmen für Spanien ein. Doch Madrid versichert, man werde keine Hilfe benötigen.

Braucht Spanien Hilfe?: Ministerpräsident Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (links), EU-Kommissionspräsident Jose Manuel Barroso im März in Brüssel. Bild: Berner Zeitung
Die «Financial Times Deutschland» berichtet auf ihrer Webseite in einem «Exklusiv»-Beitrag, dass die Euro-Staaten sich auf finanzielle Nothilfe für Spanien einstellen würden. Falls sich die Probleme im Bankensektor des Landes verschärfen sollten, so das Blatt, solle Spanien Kredite aus dem 750-Milliarden-Euro-Rettungsfonds von Europäischer Union und Internationalem Währungsfonds bekommen.

Eine Quelle für diese Information wurde allerdings nicht genannt. Laut der Zeitung geht es eher um ein «Szenario für die nächsten Monate». Sie zitierte in diesem Zusammenhang einen Sprecher der EU-Kommission, es gebe «derzeit» keine Anzeichen für einen spanischen Hilfsantrag. >>> raa | Freitag, 11. Juni 2010

Investors Pile into ‘Bargain’ BP Shares
Tony Hayward, CEO of BP. Photograph: The Times
THE TIMES: Investors piled back into BP stock this morning as the City gambled that recent sharp falls in the company’s value over the continuing oil spill crisis had left shares at a bargain price.

Shares in BP traded up 7.8 per cent at 393p despite the ongoing threat that the company may be forced to cut or suspend its dividend while a new, dramatically higher calculation of the amount of oil spilt into the Gulf of Mexico from the fractured BP oil rig emerged.

“Big institutional pension funds saw yesterday’s price drop [to as low as 352p] as a watershed level at which they would buy,” said one City trader, who also pointed out that the oil giant’s stock would remain volatile as long as there was uncertainty surrounding the progress of the clean-up.

BP, once Britain’s largest company, has lost almost half of its stock market value, about £56 billion, since the explosion on April 20.

Shares in the company have been under renewed focus this week after political pressure from President Obama that BP cancel its dividend payment until the oil spill has been contained.

BP is due to pay its next quarterly dividend on July 27, a sum of about $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion). >>> Susan Thompson, Anne Barrowclough | Friday, June 11, 2010