Last week, the UK withdrew diplomats from the country for safety reasons.International Power has already written down the value of its investments in these businesses once. In March 2000, prior to its demerger from National Power, the Kapco stake was written down from the initial £174m investment to £87m and Hubco from £88m to [...]
Last week, the UK withdrew diplomats from the country for safety reasons.International Power has already written down the value of its investments in these businesses once. In March 2000, prior to its demerger from National Power, the Kapco stake was written down from the initial £174m investment to £87m and Hubco from £88m to £44m.Analysts are expecting that International Power may now have to write down the value again or even write off the whole investment.International Power would not comment on the value of the investments, but said it was maintaining its commitment to the companies and would not withdraw staff.”We are monitoring the situation very closely and continue to seek regular advice from the High Commission, Deputy High Commission and our international security adviser,” said a spokeswoman.. As preparations for the World Cup reach their peak, Japanese companies are whipping up a major new market for weather derivatives. Although the tournament has been timed to end before the onset of the typhoon season, every June there are thunderstorms, torrential downpours and high winds.For businesses up and down Japan, much is riding on the tourism and travelling associated with the World Cup, and insurance companies are offering weather derivatives so they can hedge themselves against loss of custom caused by Mother Nature. Buying interest is centred on the days when key matches are being played, although theme parks such as Tokyo Disney are more interested in buying contracts for the days between games, when tourists are expected to visit.The derivatives, marketed by large insurance groups such as Mitsui Sumitomo and Tokio Marine, are particularly aimed at hotels, restaurants and other businesses that have invested heavily in preparation for the expected tens of thousands of fans.In a basic “rain” contract, a customer would pay a premium of 1m yen (£5,500) and receive 1.5m yen for every day it rains at least 10 millimetres.But the World Cup has created a market for more complex weather derivatives. One group offers a contract based on typhoons, which can easily keep the entire population indoors and stop travel.Using data that goes back to 1970, the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre in London has identified a “high probability” of at least one tropical storm during June.. Gordon Brown has “lost” over £400m by ordering the sale of part of Britain’s gold reserves by the Bank of England.
The value of gold has soared on the world markets as investors have switched to gold.However, figures issued by the Treasury last week showed that the Bank has lost out to the tune of $578m. Treasury minister Ruth Kelly said the Governor of the Bank, Sir Edward George, had sold 395 tonnes of gold as part of the restructuring of the United Kingdom’s foreign currency reserves since May 1999. The last auction was in March 2002 when the price of gold was $296.50 per ounce. Gold was trading at $320.5 in London when the markets closed on Friday.When the Chancellor announced the policy in 1999, he said he wanted to diversify our store of wealth. Germany, Australia, Switzerland were among the major holders of gold who were also selling.
They agreed in September 1999 to limit sales to 400 tonnes a year in total until 2004. Gold prices started rising after 11 September.As the markets remained uncertain, the gold price continued to rise and has been above $300/oz for three months, a 20-year record. Analysts expect gold to stay above $300 for the rest of this year.Tory shadow chancellor Michael Howard said: “This episode sheds new light on Gordon Brown’s so-called reputation for competence. This is an example of gross incompetence which has cost the British taxpayer dear.”He said the decision to buy the euro and the yen, which had both fallen in value, was also incompetent.. Kingfisher is facing shareholder unrest about the structure and tactics for its €5.1bn (£3.2bn) bid to take control of French DIY group Castorama.
They are angry at being asked to vote on the deal without having all the information about the offer, including the fees payable to advisers led by Goldman Sachs.Crucially, they will not know whether the bid has been accepted by Castorama before they approve the finance for it. So they will not know how much they will have to pay.”This is in danger of descending into farce,” one shareholder said. “It’s like buying a house without knowing the estate agent’s fees, or whether you will have to pay extra for sorting out the dry rot.”Kingfisher bought 55 per cent of Castorama in 1998. But that gave the British company only 50 per cent of the voting rights. Sir Geoff has been in talks with Castorama’s directors for most of this year trying to secure a deal to buy the outstanding 45 per cent.But when no deal could be secured, Kingfisher launched an offer this month. Castorama rejected the bid and its chief executive, Jean-Hughes Loyez, attacked Kingfisher publicly. Mr Loyez was then a director of Kingfisher and was forced to resign last week.To sort out the disagreement, Kingfisher is to appoint an independent investment bank to assess whether the offer was fair.
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