Hayward nets £14m in first Middle East adventure

Tony Hayward has outlined plans to dominate the vast reserves of newly accessible oil in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. The former BP chief executive said his $2.1bn (£1.3bn) acquisition of Genel Enerji was just the beginning of his activities in the region. Potential targets are understood to include Gulf Keystone, the Aim-listed oil explorer focused on Kurdistan, which is rumoured to be preparing for a sale, as well as other operators in the region. The Read more [...]

Taiwan listed 13th in global competitiveness ranking: WEF

The WEF report said that Taiwan remains stable in 13th position, with its competitiveness profile essentially unchanged from last year. Taiwan displays a consistent performance across the pillars of the global competitiveness index (GCI), although it enters the top 10 in only two of them. Taiwan's ranking is next to only Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong in Asia, but better than Korea's 24th and China's 26th, the same report showed. Of the three major indicators forming the GCI, Taiwan ranks 15th Read more [...]

Irene Leaves Mark On Real Estate Market

It has been more than a week since tropical storm Irene passed through the area, but its effects continue to linger — particularly in the local real estate market. Real estate professionals from across Rhode Island explained that they are left dealing with additional complications in an already difficult housing market. [NORTHERN RI] Suzanne Blades, a Realtor with Keller Williams of Northern Rhode Island, said the storm put a direct damper on at least one potential sale for her. I have a very Read more [...]

St. Charles County Commemorates Sept. 11 Through Events, Service

Local cities, organizations and churches will be holding events this week to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and to commemorate the lives of those that died in the terrorist attacks. Patch brings you a look at the events happening this week in the St. Charles County area. The events are listed by city and time. St. Charles Author and U.S. Navy Seal Eric Greitens will speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 in the Anheuser-Busch Leadership Room in the Spellman Center at Lindenwood University. Greitens will Read more [...]

Brad Pitt Puts Malibu Mansion Up For Sale

Superstar Brad Pitt has listed his spacious California beach house for sale, and judging from its location the two time Academy Award nominee shouldn’t have much of a problem selling the massive estate even in the current market, as many Hollywood stars make this part of the Southern California coastline their second home. The huge Malibu estate is on a hillside overlooking the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and consists of two separate houses, a pool, tennis courts Read more [...]

Fire in Grade-II listed building in Wokingham

7 September 2011 Last updated at 10:19 GMT Crews were trying to stop the fire from spreading from the roof to the rest of the house More than 40 firefighters are tackling a large fire in a Berkshire town centre. Broad Street in Wokingham has been closed while they deal with the blaze in a Grade-II listed building. Crews were called at shortly before 03:00 BST and remain at the scene. Read more [...]

Just say cheese: Alex James’ Oxfordshire farm

“Oh God, don’t write about Chipping Norton,” he says, holding his head in his hands. “This year Chipping Norton has become the evil of darkness.” The gilded Cotswold triangle is home to a number of political and media figures linked to the phone-hacking scandal, from Rebekah Brooks to the Camerons, Elisabeth Murdoch and Jeremy Clarkson. Alex, too, has been dubbed a member of “the Chipping Norton set”. He shrugs. “While all this was going on, I was in my 'foodio’ Read more [...]

Study finds strong European demand for U.S. options

CHICAGO | Tue Sep 6, 2011 3:33pm EDT CHICAGO (Reuters) - European institutional investors account for an estimated 10 percent of U.S.-listed option volume and this amount is likely to increase as global regulatory efforts reduce risk, according to a study by advisory firm TABB Group. The interviews for the study were done in June and July 2011 and at that time, total U.S. option volume averaged about 17 million contracts per day.European investors view Read more [...]