Economy
BP Plc will fight protectionist drilling ban |
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| Economy | |
| Written by Roberta Murray | |
| Monday, 02 August 2010 | |
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Morning Business News, Monday 02 August: BP Plc, UBS offices, double dip recession and Neil Woodford.
BP Plc (LON:BP) will this week step up its fight against an "unconstitutional" proposal to ban it from new US offshore drilling, which the British Embassy has warned could be seen as protectionism. The proposal cleared another hurdle by passing through the House of Representatives late on Friday night, but it still has some way to go before becoming law, the Telegraph reports. Plans by BP Plc to start drilling for oil and gas off Libya within weeks have prompted growing calls for a moratorium on deepwater operations while Mediterranean states assess the environmental impact in light of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Stefania Prestigiacomo, Italy’s environment minister, has become the first senior official within the European Union to suggest that a moratorium might be appropriate while the Mediterranean’s 21 littoral states find a “common voice,” the FT reports. UBS officesThe City of London’s largest office building is to house the new European headquarters of UBS after the investment bank agreed a deal with British Land and Blackstone to remain on the Broadgate estate. UBS has finalised a deal with the owners of the 1980s financial complex in the City of London that will be announced on Monday, the FT reports. Double Dip recessionFears of a "double-dip" global recession are gaining ground as Chinese manufacturing growth cools. Hot on the heels of last week's disappointing US GDP figures China's Federation of Logistics and Purchasing yesterday published data indicating that manufacturing growth slowed to a 17-month low in the aftermath of a government clampdown on property speculation and polluting factories, the Independent reports. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has added his weight to warnings that the US economy may be heading for a double-dip recession. Amid worries about a slowdown in economic recovery, Greenspan said: "We're in a pause in a recovery, a modest recovery but a pause in the modest recovery feels like a quasi-recession," the Telegraph reports. Invesco Perpetual Zimbabwean investmentOne of the most highly regarded fund managers in the City has committed $25m (£16m) of clients’ money to investments in Zimbabwe. Neil Woodford, who manages about £15bn for Invesco Perpetual, has bought a stake of 29.5% in Masawara, a company that will be valued at $80m when trading in the shares begins on London’s Alternative Investment Market in a fortnight, the Times reports. >> See defence of Invesco's Zimbabwean investment.
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