The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Obama appeals for debt-limit compromise
- ING sells its Latin American insurance business US$3.76bil
- Dow Chemical, Saudi Aramco agree on US$20bil joint venture
| Obama appeals for debt-limit compromise Posted: 25 Jul 2011 06:42 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Monday night criticized a newly minted Republican plan to avert an unprecedented government default and said congressional leaders must produce a compromise that can reach his desk before the Aug. 2 deadline. "The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government," the president said in a hastily arranged prime-time televised speech. He appealed to the public to contact lawmakers and demand "a balanced approach" to reducing federal deficits. Obama stepped to the microphones a few hours after first Republicans, then Democrats drafted rival fallback legislation Monday to avert a potentially devastating government default in little more than a week. Obama said the approach unveiled earlier in the day by House Speaker John Boehner would raise the nation's debt limit only long enough to push off the threat of default for six months. "In other words, it doesn't solve the problem," he said. The president had scarcely completed his remarks when Boehner made an extraordinary rebuttal carried live on the nation's networks. "The president has often said we need a 'balanced' approach, which in Washington means we spend more, you pay more," the Ohio Republican said, speaking from a room just off the House floor. "The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. That is just not going to happen." Directly challenging the president, Boehner said there "is no stalemate in Congress." He said the Republicans' newest legislation would clear the House, could clear the Senate and then would be sent to Obama for his signature. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| ING sells its Latin American insurance business US$3.76bil Posted: 25 Jul 2011 05:24 PM PDT AMSTERDAM (AP) - ING Groep NV says it has agreed to sell most of its Latin American businesses to Colombia's Gruposura for 2.615 billion ($3.76 billion) in cash, the latest in a spate of disposals. ING says that on top of the deal price, Gruposura will take on 65 million in debt for the businesses, which include ING's insurance, investment management and pension management activities. The deal does not include ING's 36 percent stake in Brazilian insurer Sul America SA. ING has been selling operations to prepare for its European Union Commission-mandated split into one company for insurance and another for banking, after it was bailed out by the Dutch state during the 2008 financial crisis. It still owes 3 billion of the original 10 billion in support it received, and another 1.5 billion in penalties, with plans to pay back the balance in full by May 2012. SNS Securities analyst Lemer Salah said the sale price was "attractive," and he expected the Brazilian stake would also be sold soon. He repeated a Buy rating on ING shares. ING shares were down 1.3 percent to 7.982 in Amsterdam. Earlier this month ING sold its European auto leasing business to BMW for 637 million, and in June it sold its U.S. online banking service to Capital One Financial Corp. for around $9 billion in cash and shares. ING still plans to spin off its U.S. and its European and Asian insurance businesses with initial public offerings, but has yet to set a date. The Gruposura deal should close by year-end pending regulatory approval and ING said Monday it expects to book a 1 billion gain. Latest business news from AP-Wire Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Dow Chemical, Saudi Aramco agree on US$20bil joint venture Posted: 25 Jul 2011 05:23 PM PDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Dow Chemical Co. and the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. pushed forward Monday with plans to build a US$20 billion chemical complex in the desert kingdom that they say will rank among the world's biggest. The decision by both companies' boards to create a new joint venture, dubbed the Sadara Chemical Co., formalizes a project that has been in the works since 2007. It promises to create the largest integrated chemical facility ever built in one go. The complex will be located in Jubail Industrial City, which sits about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of the eastern Saudi city of Dammam. It will include 26 manufacturing units producing chemical products and plastics for use in the energy, transportation, infrastructure and consumer products industries. "This premier partnership is the right economic ownership model with the right partner," Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew N. Liveris said in a statement announcing the joint venture Monday. Once completed in the second half of this decade, the facility will have the capacity to churn out 3.3 million tons (3 million metric tons) of chemical products annually for use in everything from car parts to food packages. The companies hope to target fast-growing emerging markets such as China, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. Midland, Michigan-based Dow stands to gain from access to Saudi Arabia's relatively cheap-to-produce hydrocarbons, which will be used to make the chemicals Sadara produces. Saudi Aramco, as the oil company is known, is owned by the kingdom's government. It manages the OPEC kingpin's vast oil reserves, which it estimates at just over 260 billion barrels, and the world's fourth-largest supplies of natural gas. Setting up the Sadara venture will cost $20 billion, the companies say. Dow and Saudi Aramco will have equal stakes in the venture, with additional funding being provided by export credit agencies and financial institutions. A portion of the company will be sold to shareholders through an initial public offering in Saudi Arabia in 2013 or 2014, said Bill Weideman, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Initial production is expected to begin in 2015. The plant should be finished the following year. The companies hope it will generate $10 billion in revenue annually and generate thousands of jobs within a few years of opening. It will also expand Saudi Arabia's industrial base, helping offset the kingdom's longtime reliance on fossil-fuel production. "This enterprise will play a key role in the kingdom's industrial and economic diversification while ... supporting Saudi Arabia's ambition to be a magnet for downstream manufacturing investments that add significant value to the kingdom's hydrocarbon resources," said Khalid al-Falih, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco. Latest business news from AP-Wire Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Business To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan