STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Swedish luxury carmaker Koenigsegg said Tuesday it was giving up its bid to acquire Saab Automobile from its US parent company General Motors, saying costly delays made the deal too uncertain. The announcement plunged Saab’s future into doubt. “We regret that after six months of intense and goal-oriented work we have come to the painful and difficult conclusion that we are not going to be able to carry out the acquisition of Saab Automobile,” the head of the company, Christian von Koenigsegg, said in a statement. Koenigsegg announced in September that it had teamed up with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co Ltd (BAIC) to buy Saab from GM. But it still needed a 400-million-euro (600-million-dollar) loan from the European Investment Bank and wanted the Swedish government to act as a guarantor. Swedish media have suggested that Saab was running short of money to continue its day-to-day operations, and doubts have flourished among experts and commentators about whether Koenigsegg would have the necessary expertise to run a major car company. Koenigsegg Group, founded in 1994, has just 45 employees and produces 18 high-end sports cars a year at more than a million euros (1.4 million dollars) each. Saab, by contrast, employs 3,400 people in Sweden alone and sold just over 93,000 cars worldwide in 2008. Koenigsegg initially announced its plan to acquire Saab in June, and the deal was originally expected to be concluded by the end of October but has been repeatedly delayed. The Swedish government, which has refused to take a stake in the struggling carmaker, as of Tuesday had still not decided whether to act as guarantor for the EIB loan. “The time factor has from the beginning been critical for our strategy to breathe new life into the company. Unfortunately, delays in completing the deal have led to risks and uncertainties that prevent us from successfully carrying out our business plan for Saab Automobile,” von Koenigsegg said in the statement. In an interview with Swedish news agency TT, he stopped short of blaming the government for the delay. “I don’t want to point the finger. It’s an incredibly complicated process,” he said. “We had a business plan but when Saab is bleeding and can’t grow as long as we’re waiting (for a decision), the economic implications and outcome of our business plan become too unclear,” he said. GM said it was “disappointed” by Koenigsegg’s decision. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson said. “Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.” Saab spokesman Eric Geers meanwhile told AFP Koenigsegg’s decision came as “a surprise.” “We’ll see what happens now. It’s up to GM,” Geers said. The head of the influential IF Metall union at Saab, Paul Aakerlund, was dismayed by the news. “This is a heavy time for all of us,” he said. Under GM’s stewardship spanning almost two decades, Saab rarely posted a profit and last year lost 3.0 billion kronor (241 million euros, 341 million dollars at the time). While some 3,400 people are employed at Saab’s factory in Trollhaettan, a town of 55,000 in southwestern Sweden, another 12,000 work for suppliers or subcontractors that directly rely on the automaker for their income. David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in the US state of Michigan, said Tuesday’s announcement was “not that big a deal” for GM, suggesting it may find another buyer for Saab given how many cash-rich Chinese companies are jockeying for a position in the global auto industry. A Chinese carmaker, Geely, is currently trying to buy Sweden’s other carmaker, Volvo Cars, from its US parent company Ford. Purchasing a relatively “cheap” European carmaker like Saab would provide both a foothold in key markets and the technology needed to compete, Cole said. GM could also decide to hold on to Saab, as it did with German carmaker Opel, to further strengthen its European position, or shut it down, a view shared by a number of Swedish car industry analysts. Read more from the original source: Koenigsegg gives up bid for Saab

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STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Swedish luxury carmaker Koenigsegg said Tuesday it was giving up its bid to buy Saab Automobile from its US parent General Motors due to costly delays, plunging Saab’s future into doubt. “We regret that after six months of intense and goal-oriented work we have come to the painful and difficult conclusion that we are not going to be able to carry out the acquisition of Saab Automobile,” the head of the company, Christian von Koenigsegg, said in a statement. Koenigsegg announced in September that it had teamed up with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co Ltd (BAIC) to buy Saab from GM. But it still needed a 400-million-euro (600-million-dollar) loan from the European Investment Bank and wanted the Swedish government to act as a guarantor. Swedish media have suggested that Saab was running short of money to continue its day-to-day operations, and doubts have flourished among experts about whether Koenigsegg would have the expertise to run a major car company. Koenigsegg Group, founded in 1994, has just 45 employees and produces 18 high-end sports cars a year at more than one million euros (1.4 million dollars) each. Saab, by contrast, employs 3,400 people in Sweden alone and sold just over 93,000 cars worldwide in 2008. Koenigsegg initially announced its plan to acquire Saab in June, and the deal was originally expected to be concluded by the end of October but has been repeatedly delayed. The Swedish government, which has refused to take a stake in the struggling carmaker, as of Tuesday had still not decided whether to act as guarantor for the EIB loan. “The time factor has from the beginning been critical for our strategy to breathe new life into the company,” von Koenigsegg said in the statement. “Unfortunately, delays in completing the deal have led to risks and uncertainties that prevent us from successfully carrying out our business plan for Saab Automobile.” In an interview with Swedish news agency TT, he stopped short of blaming the government for the delay. “I don’t want to point the finger. It’s an incredibly complicated process,” he said. “We had a business plan but when Saab is bleeding and can’t grow as long as we’re waiting (for a decision), the economic implications and outcome of our business plan become too unclear,” he said. GM’s chief executive Fritz Henderson said the company was “disappointed” by Koenigsegg’s decision. “Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week,” he said. GM recovery hits road bump with Saab sale terminated Saab spokesman Eric Geers told AFP that Koenigsegg’s decision came as “a surprise.” “We’ll see what happens now. It’s up to GM,” Geers said. The head of the influential IF Metall union at Saab, Paul Aakerlund, was dismayed by the news. “This is a heavy time for all of us,” he said. Under GM’s stewardship spanning almost two decades, Saab rarely posted a profit and last year lost 3.0 billion kronor (241 million euros, 341 million dollars at the time). While some 3,400 people are employed at Saab’s factory in Trollhaettan, a town of 55,000 in southwestern Sweden, another 12,000 work for suppliers or subcontractors that directly rely on the automaker for their income. David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in the US state of Michigan, said Tuesday’s announcement was “not that big a deal” for GM, suggesting it may find another buyer for Saab given how many cash-rich Chinese companies are jockeying for a position in the global auto industry. GM could also decide to hold on to Saab, as it did with German carmaker Opel, to further strengthen its European position, or shut it down. Rebecca Lindland, director of automotive research at consultants IHS Global Insight, said however that it was unlikely GM will hold onto Saab and finding another buyer might be difficult. “We’re hearing rumours of a wind-down which would be dreadful,” Lindland told AFP. “You have these really iconic names that are just dropping off.” Read the original here: Swedish firm gives up bid for Saab

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PARIS (AP) — France’s Vivendi SA said Tuesday it has issued euro1.2 billion ($1.8 billion) in bonds. The Paris-based media and entertainment giant said the two-part bond issue aims to “increase the average maturity of the debt … and to maintain a good balance between bonds and credit lines.” Vivendi is currently the focus of intense interest because a deal between U.S. media giants Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal to create one of the world’s largest media companies hinges on what the French group decides to do with its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal. Vivendi has an option until Dec. 10 to dispose of its stake in NBC Universal. Majority owner General Electric Co. is expected to buy it and then sell a 51 percent stake of the entire NBC Universal unit to Comcast, which serves about a quarter of the nation’s subscription TV households. Here is the original post: Vivendi issues euro1.2 billion in bonds (AP)

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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The oil and gas subsidiary of General Electric Co. said Tuesday it is operating the first gravity-based offshore liquefied natural gas terminal that is expected to save time in the construction of an LNG project off Italy’s northeast coast in the Adriatic Sea. GE Oil and Gas has installed the artificial island gravity-based structure, which is owned and operated by Adriatic LNG. The project includes a reinforced concrete box on the sea floor and houses two LNG storage tanks. It’s 1,230 feet long by 377 feet wide. Tony Mercer, project manager for Aker Kvaerner Contracting International, Adriatic LNG’s primary contractor, said the GE Oil and Gas project will help save time in construction and commissioning of the LNG project. The Adriatic LNG terminal will significantly increase Italy’s regasification capacity, is larger than two soccer fields and reaches as high as a 10-story building. It has two LNG tanks with a combined annual capacity of 8 billion cubic meters, or about 10 percent of Italy’s annual gas demand. The Adriatic LNG terminal receives shipments from Qatar, Egypt and Trinidad twice a week. The LNG is regasified at the terminal and dispatched to Italy’s gas network. Shares of GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., rose 13 cents, to $16.15 in afternoon trading. See the rest here: GE Oil & Gas installs LNG terminal in Adriatic (AP)

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By Kevin Krolicki and David Bailey DETROIT (Reuters) – A deal for General Motors Co GM.UL to sell its Saab brand collapsed on Tuesday when the buyer pulled out in a move that threatens the Swedish luxury brand with closure. GM had been aiming to close a deal by the end of next month to sell Saab to a partnership led by the Swedish luxury car builder Koenigsegg and backed by China’s Beijing Automotive Industrial Holding Ltd. Koenigsegg said in a statement on Tuesday that it has withdrawn from the sale process, about five months after the two sides had reached a preliminary deal for Saab. “The time factor has always been critical for our strategy to breathe new life into the company,” Koenigsegg said. The development represents a setback for GM, which has been working to shed brands as part of a more narrowly focused sales strategy after emerging from a bankruptcy in July, backed by over $50 billion in U.S. government financing. Closure of Saab and its Trolhattan, Sweden, production hub would also threaten over 3,000 jobs and scuttle a plan spearheaded by the Swedish government to help finance a restructuring of the company. A tentative deal reached by GM to sell its Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group Inc ( PAG.N ) also collapsed at the end of September, just before it was expected to close. Chief Executive Fritz Henderson, who has said the automaker needs to shift its focus away from making deals and back to making cars, said GM would take the next few days to consider the options for Saab. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” Henderson said in a statement. “We will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.” GM’s 13-member board is scheduled to meet next Tuesday in Detroit for a regular monthly meeting and the question of what to do with Saab will now lead the agenda, said one person with direct knowledge of the situation. There are no other bidders for the brand, meaning that GM’s only options would be to restart the sale process or opt for closure, the person said. Because of the pressure GM faces to focus on its remaining four core brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC — a wind-down of Saab operations is likely, the person said. Sweden effectively ruled out a state bailout for Saab, saying the brand’s future would have to rest with finding a new private-sector buyer. “You can’t, by state aid, keep a company ongoing, if you don’t have any chance for a competitive company,” Joran Hagglund, state secretary at Sweden’s Industry Ministry, told reporters. Aaron Bragman, an analyst with IHS Global Insight, said the impact on GM of closing Saab would be limited.  Continued… See the article here: GM’s Saab sale collapses as buyer backs out

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TYNGSBORO, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Beacon Power Corporation (Nasdaq: BCON – News ), a company that designs and develops advanced products and services to support more stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation, said today that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it has awarded a stimulus grant to Beacon valued at $24 million, for use in the construction of the Company’s second 20 MW flywheel energy storage plant, to be located in Chicago, Illinois. “We’re extremely pleased to receive this grant award from the Department of Energy,” said Bill Capp, Beacon president and CEO. “DOE has long supported Beacon’s pioneering efforts to bring our clean, sustainable and cost-saving energy storage technology to the grid. This $24 million grant, which is the 4 th largest out of 16 energy storage grants announced today, represents the most significant financial boost Beacon has ever received from the federal government. We believe it underscores the unique value and stabilizing benefits of our grid-scale flywheel systems. We’re very grateful for DOE’s continued support.” Capp added: “Thanks to DOE’s strong support, we can now continue to move forward with plans to build and operate a second 20 MW regulation plant, in addition to the one we’ve begun work on in Stephentown, New York. Doing so will expand our merchant service provider business model in the regulation market, and create a foundation for promoting and selling turnkey systems to vertically integrated utilities here and overseas.” According to DOE, the funding award is to “Design, build, test, commission and operate a utility-scale 20 MW flywheel energy storage frequency regulation plant in Chicago, Illinois, and provide frequency regulation services to the grid operator, the PJM Interconnection. The project will also demonstrate the technical, cost and environmental advantages of fast-response flywheel-based frequency regulation management, lowering the cost to build a 20 MW flywheel energy storage plant to improve grid reliability while increasing the use of wind and solar power.” The grant for the Chicago facility results from one of Beacon’s two applications for DOE Smart Grid demonstration project funding, known as Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000036. Area of Interest 2.2 of the DOE solicitation contemplated one or two grants for Frequency Regulation Ancillary Services projects. The Department made only one award, which was for Beacon’s 20 MW regulation plant. The grant award of $24 million is for 50% of the project’s estimated cost. DOE will provide further details of the grant conditions in the near future. Flywheel Energy Storage and Frequency Regulation Frequency regulation is an essential grid service that is performed by maintaining a tight balance between electricity supply and demand. Beacon’s 20 MW plant has been designed to provide frequency regulation services by absorbing electricity from the grid when there is too much, and storing it as kinetic energy in a matrix of flywheel systems. When there is not enough power to meet demand, the flywheels inject energy back into the grid, thus helping to maintain proper electricity frequency (60 cycles/second). Thanks to their ability to recycle electricity efficiently and act as “shock absorbers” to the grid, Beacon’s flywheel plants will also help support the integration of greater amounts of renewable (but intermittent) wind and solar power resources. Unlike conventional fossil fuel-powered generators that provide frequency regulation, flywheel plants will not consume any fuel, nor will they directly produce CO 2 greenhouse gas emissions or other air pollutants, such as NO X or SO 2 . About Beacon Power Beacon Power Corporation designs, develops and is commercializing advanced products and services to support stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation. Beacon’s Smart Energy Matrix, now in production, is a non-polluting, megawatt-scale, utility-grade, flywheel-based solution designed to provide less expensive, and more sustainable and effective, frequency regulation services to the nation’s power grid. The Company’s business strategy is both to   supply   frequency regulation services from its own plants, and to sell its systems directly to utilities or grid operators in some parts of North America and selected international markets. Beacon is a publicly traded company with its research, development and manufacturing facility in the U.S. For more information, visit www.beaconpower.com . Safe Harbor Statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This Material contained in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect Beacon Power Corporation’s current views about future events, financial performances, and project development. These “forward-looking” statements are identified by the use of terms and phrases such as “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” and similar expressions identifying forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Beacon’s expectation. These factors include: a short operating history; a history of losses and anticipated continued losses from operations; the complexity and other challenges of arranging project financing and resources for one or more frequency regulation power plants, including uncertainty about whether we will be successful in finalizing the DOE loan guarantee support for our Stephentown, New York, facility, or complying with the conditions or ongoing covenants of that support; our need to comply with any disbursement or other conditions under the DOE grant program; a need to raise additional equity to fund the project and Beacon’s other operations in uncertain financial markets; conditions in target markets, including the fact that some ISOs have been slow to comply with FERC’s requirement to update market rules to include new technology such as the Company’s; our ability to obtain site interconnection approvals, landlord approvals, or other zoning and construction approvals in a timely manner; limited experience manufacturing commercial products or supplying frequency regulation services on a commercial basis; limited commercial contracts for revenues to date; the dependence of revenues on the achievement of product optimization, manufacturing and commercialization milestones; dependence on third-party suppliers; intense competition from companies with greater financial resources, especially from companies that are already in the frequency regulation market; possible government regulation that would impede the ability to market products or services or affect market size; possible product liability claims and the negative publicity which could result; any failure to protect intellectual property; retaining key executives and the possible need in the future to hire and retain key executives; the historical volatility of our stock price, as well as the volatility of the stock price of other companies in the energy sector, especially in view of the current situation in the financial markets generally. These factors are elaborated upon and other factors may be disclosed from time to time in Beacon Power filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Beacon Power expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements. Read this articl e: U.S. Department of Energy Announces $24 Million Smart Grid Stimulus Grant Award to Beacon Power (Business Wire)

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BERLIN (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday she was expecting a “comprehensive thank-you letter” from General Motors for huge loans to keep the auto maker’s Opel unit afloat, which she said had now been repaid. “I can tell you that the last funds (received by) General Motors have been paid back, which means that the Opel operation has not cost the German taxpayer a cent,” Merkel said in a speech in Berlin. She added with a smile that she expected “a comprehensive thank-you letter from General Motors in a few years,” a comment that prompted cheers from the crowd of business leaders she was addressing. And she defended her decision to offer the 1.5-billion-euro (2.2-billion-dollar) loan to the Detroit-based car giant, saying: “It was absolutely right … to build a bridge.” Earlier this month, Merkel said that Opel would have been finished without Berlin’s loans. “Without our involvement there would be no Opel today,” Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) daily. “We secured Opel’s chances of survival.” The loan had been due to be repaid by November 30. GM agreed in September to sell a majority stake in Opel, which includes Vauxhall in Britain, to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and Russian state-owned lender Sberbank. But it later pulled a handbrake turn on the deal, deciding instead to keep the loss-making unit and restructure it itself, with the potential loss of thousands of jobs across Europe. It has not yet said where the jobs will be cut and which plants will be closed, leaving GM’s 50,000 employees across Europe fearing for their jobs. The u-turn infuriated Germany and Merkel, who had invested a lot of capital, both political and financial, in the deal with Magna-Sberbank. Germany had offered a total of 4.5 billion euros’ worth of state aid for the deal, including the 1.5-billion-euro loan and three billion euros in state loan guarantees. The news was all the more embarrassing for Merkel as it broke during her recent official visit to the United States. However, in a boost for Merkel and German Opel employees, GM Europe’s interim head Nick Reilly said earlier Tuesday the firm expected to keep open its plants in Bochum and Kaiserslautern in western Germany. The Bochum plant, employing almost 5,200 people near Essen will remain “an important location in the future,” Reilly said after talks with the premier of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia where the site is located. Astra and Zafira cars are assembled at Bochum, which also makes axles and gearboxes, according to Opel’s website. It is one of four Opel plants in Germany, employing between them around 25,000 people. Reilly later added that Kaiserslautern, where a further 3,300 people are employed, “will play an important part in the future of Opel.” The GM boss also said that GM would on Wednesday present its concrete plans for the unit, which are expected to result in a 20 to 25 percent cut in production capacity and the loss of between 9,000 and 9,500 jobs. GM is seeking roughly 3.3 billion euros in financing from European governments. A GM spokesman said the plan would be discussed with union representatives and relevant governments before it was made public. German magazine Spiegel said the company had received offers of 400 million euros from Britain and between 300 and 400 million euros from Spain, as well as proposed tax breaks from Poland. Following a meeting of top finance ministry officials and GM executives in Brussels on Monday, the European Commission said that nations affected had decided not to make formal commitments before a further meeting on December 4. The rest is here: Merkel waiting for ‘thank-you letter’ from GM

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* Afghanistan can “absorb” one combat brigade per quarter * Buildup could stretch into 2011 By Adam Entous WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – The Pentagon envisages carrying out President Barack Obama’s anticipated troop buildup in Afghanistan gradually at a pace of about one brigade per quarter, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The first large-scale brigade under the expected buildup, accompanied by support units, could arrive before spring, when fighting typically picks up. A top priority for Pentagon war planners is reinforcing troops in southern Afghanistan around Kandahar, a key Taliban stronghold. But officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Afghanistan’s crumbling infrastructure would make it difficult for the Pentagon to field and equip more than a single brigade every three months, or approximately four a year. That means a large buildup of forces in Afghanistan could stretch well into 2011, depending on how many additional troops Obama decides to send and what types of units get deployment orders, officials briefed on the deliberations said. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell declined to comment on specific troop levels but said of any prospective buildup: “This will not be done overnight… This is going to take some time to deploy additional forces to Afghanistan, if that is the route we take.” Brigades range in size but generally include 3,500 to 4,000 troops. They can swell to over 5,000 troops if other support units are attached to them. Marine brigades can be larger. Key members of Obama’s national security cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, favor a gradual U.S. increase of 30,000-plus troops, officials said. The deployment of thousands of additional U.S. trainers could boost that number to 35,000 or more, but estimates vary widely. Other White House advisers have been pushing behind the scenes to keep the number closer to the 20,000-range with a focus on training Afghan security forces, officials said. Pentagon officials said new units could begin arriving within a few months but logistics on the ground would make it difficult to send large brigades in quick succession. The antiquated infrastructure there is more of a hurdle to deploying forces than it was in Iraq where a U.S. troop buildup helped reduce violence. “The country lacks staging bases, air fields, roads. It’s just harder to get people and things going,” one U.S. military official said. The official said the Pentagon’s “thumbnail” estimate was that U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan can “absorb” about one additional brigade, plus so-called “enablers,” per quarter, but that the speed of the deployments could vary depending on factors like the types of units involved. Enablers include transport support, mine detection and clearance units and medical staff. The U.S. military has been stretched thin by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Pentagon has told the White House that enough forces are available to begin the Afghan buildup, playing down any link to a planned U.S. drawdown in Iraq.  Continued… See original here: US Afghan buildup may involve brigade per quarter (at Reuters)

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FOLSOM, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–During the Celebration of Miracles — a fund-raising event hosted by Friends of NICU ( www.friendsofnicu.org ) — Charlie Garrido made a most generous gift as he bid on a lithograph signed by the Rolling Stones. After submitting the winning bid, he quickly donated the item back so that it could be reauctioned and generate more money for the cause. “My initial thought was ‘Cool, I won!’ but then I remembered the parents and children,” said Mr. Garrido. “So, I donated my hard-fought Rolling Stones lithograph back so that it could be reauctioned and thought ‘now we are all winners!’” When the evening ended, over $34,000 had been raised to help families who are dealing with indescribable fear and strain while their babies are in the NICUs (neonatal intensive care units) of Mercy hospitals in the Sacramento region. “The Celebration of Miracles was a magical evening that no one will ever forget. The outpouring of support and contributions were amazing,” said Elanie Purkis, founder of Friends of NICU. “We shared tears and smiles and generally came together to help families.” Courtney Dempsey, reporter/anchor from Good Day Sacramento CW31 emceed the dinner program. Dr. Robert Kahle, director of the Mercy hospital NICUs delivered a heartfelt speech about the challenges families face. Social worker Gigi Eskin-Norman explained how Friends of NICU contributions help families, some of whom must drive three hours from the far northern communities like Redding and Red Bluff to be with their critically ill babies. ECO:LOGIC Engineering ( www.ecologic-eng.com ), an engineering and consulting firm that designs and manages water and wastewater projects in the Western United States, was the title sponsor. A silent auction and live auction were the primary fund-raising activities of the night. The top selling item was a 5-day luxury vacation in Chicago. Other sponsors include: Sponsors: ECO:LOGIC Engineering ( www.ecologic-eng.com ) Gold Country Media ( www.goldcountrymedia.com ) California Family Fitness ( www.californiafamilyfitness.com ) Community Neonatology of Sacramento Folsom OB-GYN, Dr. Jeffrey Cragun ( http://folsomobgyn.com ) Greater Sacramento Pediatrics Associates Goddard Claussen Strategic Advocacy ( www.goddardclaussen.com ) Mainstay Business Solutions ( www.mainstaybusiness.com ) Mercy Foundation ( www.supportmercyfoundation.org ) OnPointNetwork ( www.onpointnetwork.com ) In-kind donors and premium silent auction donors: A Tale of Two Truffles ( www.ataleoftwotruffles.com ) ADG Designs ( www.adgdesigns.net ) The Christian DeWild Band ( www.myspace.com/christiandewild ) Dawn Roberts Photography ( www.dawnrobertsphotography.com ) Exquisite Events & Entertainment ( http://exquisitedjs.com ) J Harrison Public Relations Group ( www.JHarrisonPR.com ) Luke Benton Productions ( www.productionstrategies.biz ) Paint All Night Studios ( www.paintallnightstudios.com ) Pottery World ( www.potteryworld.com ) Friends of NICU operates under the auspices of the Mercy Foundation, all of the money raised goes directly to the families who need help. There are no overhead or administrative fees for this entirely volunteer-run, nonprofit organization. Note: Photographs and interviews with founders, donors and NICU families available upon request. See the rest here: Friends of NICU Fund-raiser Nets Enough to Help 250 Families with Sick and Premature Babies in Mercy Hospitals (Business Wire)

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(Adds quotes) WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday that he was committed to completing a bilateral civil agreement that would open up India’s potential $150 billion market in power plants. “I reaffirmed to the prime minister my administration’s commitment to fully implement the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement, which will increase American exports and create jobs in both countries,” Obama said after talks with Singh at the White House. Singh echoed those words and welcomed the removal on curbs on U.S. high-tech exports to India. “The lifting of U.S. export controls on high-technology exports to India will open vast opportunities for joint research and development efforts,” he said. The 2005 civil nuclear deal that Singh signed with former U.S. President George W. Bush, ended the long nuclear isolation imposed on India after it tested an atom bomb in 1974. But several issues need to be cleared up before U.S. businesses including General Electric Co ( GE.N ) and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ), can compete for billions of dollars in new reactor agreements. India’s parliament has to debate a new law to limit U.S. firms’ liability in case of a nuclear accident. The United States has still not signed a nuclear fuel reprocessing agreement with India. (Editing by Sandra Maler ) ((paul.eckert@reuters.com; +1 202 789-8578; Reuters Messaging: paul.eckert.reuters.com@reuters.net)) © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved Read more from the original source: UPDATE – US committed to completing India nuclear pact-Obama (at Reuters)

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* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes down 0.7 pct * Banks fall; Lloyds gains after rights issue * Commods track crude, metal prices lower By Joanne Frearson LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – European shares closed lower on Tuesday after data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower rate than forecast in the third quarter and home prices in the United States rose less than expected in September. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares closed 0.7 percent lower at 1,016.66 points after rising to a high of 1,025.17 earlier in the session. The index has gained 57 percent since falling to a record low in early March and is up 22 percent for the year. “There has been some mixed economic data and the market has taken a more pessimistic view on it. Wall Street is going down with Europe in pursuit,” said Philippe Gijsels, strategist at Fortis Bank. “The market has been a little bit volatile but that is also probably because volumes are quite low. The U.S. is about to go into its Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so there are big swings in the market and that is what you are typically seeing today.” The U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than forecast in the third quarter, while Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller indexes showed home prices rose less than expected in September. [ID:nN23258482] [ID:nN24298560] But, U.S. consumer confidence edged higher in November after an unexpected drop in October, with fewer consumers expressing doubt about a worsening jobs market, according to a report. [ID:nN24300840] Banks featured among the biggest losers. HSBC ( HSBA.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ), UBS ( UBSN.VX ) and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.VX ) were down 1.9 to 3.2 percent. LLOYDS GAINS But Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) gained 2.6 percent after it priced its record 13.5 billion pounds ($22.3 billion) rights issue at 37p per share, a smaller-than-expected discount, as it taps its shareholders for cash to avoid costly state support. [ID:nGEE5AM0R8] Energy stocks were under pressure as crude CLc1 slipped to $76 a barrel. BG Group ( BG.L ), BP ( BP.L ), Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and Total ( TOTF.PA ) were down 0.3 to 0.5 percent.  Continued… Read the original: US data drags European shares lower; banks weigh (at Reuters)

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LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – European shares closed lower on Tuesday after data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower rate than forecast in the third quarter and home prices in the United States rose less than expected in September. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares provisionally closed 0.6 percent lower at 1,017.87 points after rising to a high of 1,025.17 earlier in the session. The index has gained nearly 58 percent since falling to a record low in early March and is up 22 percent for the year. Banks featured among the worst performers. HSBC ( HSBA.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ), UBS ( UBSN.VX ) and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.VX ) were down 1.9 to 3.2 percent. “There has been some mixed economic data and the market has taken a more pessimistic view on it. Wall Street is going down with Europe in pursuit,” said Philippe Gijsels, strategist at Fortis Bank. “The market has been a little bit volatile but that is also probably because volumes are quite low. The U.S. is about to go into its Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so there are big swings in the market and that is what you are typically seeing today.” The U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than forecast in the third quarter, while Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller indexes showed home prices rose less than expected in September. [ID:nN23258482] [ID:nN24298560] But, U.S. consumer confidence edged higher in November after an unexpected drop in October, with less consumers expressing doubt about the a worsening jobs market, according to a report. [ID:nN24300840] (Reporting by Joanne Frearson) ((joanne.frearson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2773, Reuters Messaging:joanne.frearson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved Visit link: European shares close lower; U.S. data weighs (at Reuters)

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* Lower U.S. Q3 GDP lifts yen vs dollar * Firmer Ifo helps euro reverse earlier losses * U.S. consumer confidence higher than expected, (Recasts, updates prices, adds comment, U.S. data) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) – The yen rose to six-week highs against the dollar on Tuesday, while the greenback climbed versus higher-yielding currencies after economic growth and consumer confidence data suggested a U.S. recovery could be slower and less robust than previously thought. The reports rekindled the safe-haven allure of both the dollar and yen and reduced appetite for riskier assets such as stocks and commodity currencies with higher yields such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars. Data on Tuesday indicated that the U.S. economy in the third quarter grew at a slower pace than previously thought, while a consumer confidence report still pointed to weak labor market sentiment. “The (consumer confidence) breakdown is less encouraging with the main components that broadly track PCE (in coincident fashion) generally weak,” said Alan Ruskin, chief currency strategist at RBS Global Banking and Markets in Stamford, Connecticut. “That includes the present situation numbers, and the labor market indicators that show jobs hard to get remaining at extraordinary high levels…This has…triggered profit-taking on short dollar exposure.” For U.S. consumer confidence report, see [ID:nN24300840]. The dollar fell to session lows against the yen at 88.36 JPY= , the lowest since early October, according to Reuters data. By mid-morning, the dollar was last at 88.44, down 0.6 percent on the day. The euro, meanwhile, was slightly down at $1.4964 EUR= , in choppy trading. Earlier it had gained versus the greenback as firmer-than-expected German sentiment survey offset concerns about the country’s banking sector. The euro, which has become one of the proxies for risk appetite, also had slipped earlier after data showed the U.S. economy grew 2.8 percent, lower than the government’s first estimate of a 3.5 percent growth rate a month ago. The figure was also slightly lower than market forecasts. For GDP data, click on [ID:nN23258482]. “This number is slightly negative for risk appetite because of the downgrade in the personal consumption number. But overall, this is an old number and it should have limited impact going forward,” said Jacob Oubina, senior currency strategist at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. In line with the market’s diminished market appetite, the Australian dollar fell 0.6 percent to US$0.9180 AUD= , while the New Zealand dollar slid more than 1 percent to US$0.7252 NZD= . (Editing by Diane Craft)) ((gertrude.chavez@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6322; Reuters Messaging: gertrude.chavez.reuters.com@reuters.net)) The rest is here: FOREX-Yen rises to 6-wk high vs dollar; high-yielders fall (at Reuters)

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WORCESTER, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ACTC – News ), a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that it will present at the LD Micro Conference on Thursday December 3, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. (PST) at the Luxe Hotel in Los Angeles. ACT’s Chairman and CEO, William M. Caldwell IV, will present a corporate overview and provide an update on clinical activities. The Company recently filed an IND application with the FDA to initiate a Phase I/II multicenter study using embryonic stem cell derived retinal cells to treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (SMD),. The Conference brings together 75 presenting companies with over 100 institutions focused on investing in small and micro cap companies across a breadth of industries. About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. For more information, visit http://www.advancedcell.com . Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating results, future growth in research and development programs, potential applications of our technology, opportunities for the company and any other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: limited operating history, need for future capital, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, protection of our intellectual property, and economic conditions generally. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the company’s periodic reports, including the report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended September 30, 2007. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company’s management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company’s management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. Follow this link: Advanced Cell Technology to Present at LD Micro Conference in Los Angeles (Business Wire)

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Western Asset Global Corporate Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. (the “Fund”) announced today that pricing has been completed for its initial public offering. The Fund raised approximately $315.8 million in its common stock offering, assuming full exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option, which may or may not occur. Its shares began trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “GDO.” The Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income and then to liquidate and distribute substantially all of the Fund’s net assets to stockholders on or about December 2, 2024. As a secondary objective, the Fund will seek capital appreciation. There can be no assurance the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its managed assets in a portfolio of U.S. and foreign corporate fixed income securities of varying maturities. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 40% of its managed assets in fixed income securities of foreign issuers organized or having a principal place of business outside the United States, including in emerging market countries. In addition, the Fund may invest up to 35% of its managed assets in fixed income securities of below investment grade quality. Under normal market conditions, the Fund expects to maintain on an ongoing basis a dollar-weighted average credit quality of portfolio holdings of investment grade quality. “Through an investment in shares of GDO, investors are able to take advantage of opportunities in global credit markets. Also, with exposure to global credit markets, GDO has the opportunity to provide investors with potentially greater diversification in their over-all investment portfolios. We are pleased to expand our closed-end fund offerings with a product that taps into Western Asset’s experienced credit analysts around the world,” stated Matt Schiffman, Head of Retail Americas for Legg Mason. Western Asset Global Corporate Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. is a newly organized, non-diversified, limited term, closed-end management investment company which is advised by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA”) and subadvised by Western Asset Management Company (“Western Asset”). LMPFA and Western Asset are wholly owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). The underwriting syndicate was led by Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, and BoA Merrill Lynch. For more information, please contact the Fund at 1-888-777-0102 or visit the Fund’s web site at www.leggmason.com/cef . About Legg Mason Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with approximately $703 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2009. The company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LM – News ). About Western Asset Western Asset is one of the world’s premier fixed-income managers. With offices in Pasadena, New York, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sao Paolo, Western Asset offers institutional and retail clients a full range of fixed-income products. By devoting all of its resources to fixed income, Western Asset is able to provide a full commitment to its clients in every area of the firm. Western Asset’s long performance track record and global presence has them positioned to continue their commitment to excellence in fixed-income management and client service. As of September 30, 2009, Western Asset had approximately $505.5 billion in assets under management. The Fund is a newly organized, non-diversified, limited term, closed-end management investment company. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus, which contains this and other information about the Fund, should be read carefully before investing. A copy of the final prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained by contacting your financial advisor. All data and commentary provided in this press release are for informational purposes only. Legg Mason and its affiliates do not engage in selling shares of the Fund. The Fund’s common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Similar to stocks, the Fund’s share price will fluctuate with market conditions and, at the time of sale, may be worth more or less than the original investment. Shares of closed-end funds often trade at a discount to their net asset value. This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will,” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ significantly from the Fund’s present expectations or projections indicated in any forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; the volume of sales and purchase of shares; the continuation of investment advisory, administration and other service arrangements; and other risks discussed in the Fund’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Fund undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be attained. Read more from the original source: Western Asset Global Corporate Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. Raises $315.8 Million, Starts Trading on the NYSE (Business Wire)

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By Tom Kaeckenhoff and Erik Kirschbaum DUESSELDORF/BERLIN (Reuters) – General Motors has paid back a loan from Germany and slightly lowered its target for job cuts at struggling European unit Opel. Nick Reilly, the boss brought in from GM’s thriving Asian operations to help revamp Opel, told reporters in Duesseldorf on Tuesday that his plans now call for cutting 9,000 to 9,500 jobs at Opel and British sister brand Vauxhall. GM will present that plan to Opel’s labor leaders on Wednesday, having decided not to sell Opel to auto parts maker Magna International and Russian lender Sberbank , who said they would cut 10,000 jobs. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government had supported GM’s plan to sell Opel to Magna, said on Tuesday that GM had also paid back the last of a 1.5 billion euro bridge loan it had made available to Opel. “I can tell you that the last funds for Opel have been paid back by General Motors,” Merkel said. “I expect at least a thank you letter from General Motors in a few years.” “German taxpayers have not lost a single cent on the entire Opel operation,” she said. The U.S. automaker, which has been bailed out by the U.S. government, is revamping operations worldwide but reassured German workers over its immediate plans. “Bochum remains an important site for us, in the future as well,” Reilly said, referring to Opel’s plant in western Germany. He said last week that it was too soon to say whether any plants would be closed. “We’ll try not to do it but we still don’t know how we’re going to carry out the production cuts,” Reilly said during a visit to Spain, where Opel’s largest factory is located. GM has provided scant details on its 3.3 billion euros ($4.92 billion) rescue plan for Opel and European officials are set to discuss possible aid on December 4. The automaker, which emerged from bankruptcy in July, muddied the waters in the debate over whether it should get state aid when its third-quarter results revealed it had nearly $43 billion in cash at the end of September. Germany — home to over half of Opel’s 50,000 staff — has given mixed signals on aid since GM’s U-turn on the Magna deal. EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on Monday that without state aid the revamp could not work. GM’s Reilly had traveled to Brussels to meet officials including Verheugen, Kris Peeters, the premier of Flanders, where Opel also has a plant, and EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. “General Motors made one point very clear, 100 percent clear, the restructuring plan could only be achieved when European member states with Opel plants give some financial help,” said Verheugen. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Erik Kirschbaum, writing by Michael Shields and Helen Massy-Beresford; Editing by Jason Neely) The rest is here: GM pays back Germany, signals fewer job cuts

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By Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press TORONTO – Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO.TO ) said Tuesday its latest quarterly profit rose 16 per cent from the year-earlier level as revenues increased, provisions for loan losses were reduced and its Canadian operations showed strong profit growth. BMO, the first of Canada’s big banks to report its fourth-quarter and year-end results for 2009, reported overall net income of $647 million or $1.11 for the quarter ended Oct. 31. That was up from $560 million or $1.06 a year ago. Total revenue for the quarter increased $176 million or 6.3 per cent to $2.99 billion from $2.81 billion last year. The revenue was $10 million ahead of analyst estimates which predicted revenue of $2.98 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. “Our businesses gained strength over the course of 2009 as we have achieved strong revenue growth while keeping a firm grip on expenses,” said Bill Downe, BMO’s president and chief executive officer. The bank said growth in all operating groups and a reduction in corporate services helped boost its revenue during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended Oct. 31. This was offset however by the weaker U.S. dollar which decreased revenue growth by $20 million from a year ago. Downe added, however, that tight control over staffing levels and supplier costs helped bolster earnings. “While we expect credit losses to remain elevated into 2010, we believe that we are well positioned for further growth as the economy improves,” Downe said in a statement. The bank’s provision for credit losses, which occur when its clients don’t repay loans, decreased to $386 million during the quarter. That was down $79 million from last year. The provision for general losses was unchanged. BMO added that Canadian personal and commercial banking, its largest business unit, reported a net income of $394 million, which was an increase of 22 per cent from a year ago. “Our efforts to reach out to customers and help them save money and choose the best products for them are working,” said Downe. “We have narrowed the gap to the industry leader on both personal and commercial loyalty scores relative to a year ago.” BMO said its commercial banking sector continues to experience strong growth while the bank’s market share for loans to small and medium size businesses increased from the prior year. BMO announced a first-quarter 2010 dividend of 70 cents per common share, a figure which was unchanged from the previous quarter. For fiscal 2009, BMO said its net income decreased 9.7 per cent to $1.8 billion. The bank said its annual net income was lowered by $474 million after-tax due to notable items. These were made up of $355 million in charges related to the capital markets environment, $80 million in severance costs and a $39 million increase in the general allowance for credit losses. Annual revenue totalled $11.1 billion compared to $10.2 billion in fiscal 2008. Expense control helped boost revenue growth in 2009, but was offset by increased provisions for credit losses and higher income taxes, BMO said. Also on Tuesday, BMO announced separately it has agreed to buy the Diners Club North American franchise from Citigroup. The deal gives BMO exclusive rights to issue Diners Club cards to corporate and professional clients in the United States and Canada BMO said the deal will more than double its corporate card business, representing US$7.8 billion in card transactions annually and net receivables of almost US$1 billion. BMO’s shares closed at $53.55 Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Visit link: Bank of Montreal Q4 profit rises to $647 million; revenue rises to $3 billion

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LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – European shares turned negative in afternoon trading on Tuesday after U.S. GDP data showed the economy grew more slowly than initially thought in the third quarter. By 1335 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,021.86 points after rising as high as 1,025.17 earlier in the session. In its second reading of third-quarter gross domestic product, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate, rather than the 3.5 percent pace it estimated last month. [ID:nN23258482] Banks featured among the worst performers. HSBC ( HSBA.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and UBS ( UBSN.VX ) were down 1.2 to 1.9 percent. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson) ((joanne.frearson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2773, Reuters Messaging:joanne.frearson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved See the article here: European shares turn negative after US GDP data (at Reuters)

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(This guest post originally appeared at the author’s blog ) It’s easy for forecasters and amateur statisticians to draw future market conclusions based on select past performance.  At every twist and turn of the credit crisis investors have compared and contrasted the current recession with those of the past. In a recent research report Goldman Sachs goes into the many similarities between 2003 and 2009 and the potential for 2010 to mirror 2004.  Goldman notes: As the macro data flow has slowed to a trickle, the weight of the evidence still points to continued, but gradual, improvement. And beyond the data momentum, financial conditions remain supportive for equity risk generally, and for our tactical long positions as well.  2004 contained many similar challenges to what we face on the cusp of 2010: waning cyclical momentum, fiscal drag and exit policy fears. Based on these similar macro themes Goldman draws some conclusions as to how to play the potential 2010 outcome based on the performance of various asset classes in 2004: Clear direction emerges earlier in sectors and macro themes relative to the index. Cyclical sectors, and not defensives, were still the right places to be long in 2004, the energy sector was a clear relative outperformer from early in the year, and cyclical macro tilts such as Growth and CHICON ( China cyclicals relative to Consumer cyclicals ) break out on the upside from mid-2004. But in most cases, the overall returns over the year are in modest single digits with several intra-year ups and downs. If next year is anything like 2004 in this respect, then timing entries and exits nimbly will be as important as identifying the right places to be long and short. For those that remember, 2004 was an extraordinarily mundane year for equities following the excitement of 2003.  Volatility slowed to a trickle and equity returns were closer to the historical norm.  Goldman believes this, combined with a weaker economy, will make for a much more challenging investing environment: But in each case, the overall returns over the year are in modest single digits with several intra-year ups and downs. If next year is anything like 2004 in this respect, then timing entries and exits nimbly will be as important as identifying the right places to be long and short. And, with recent momentum at our backs, we do think that culling winners even at modest returns, may be in order. Of course, as I’ve often pointed out, it’s fairly foolish to based ones investment decisions based on one data point out of hundreds.  In my opinion, the current deleveraging process is unlike any recession the modern economic world has ever seen and that means the outcomes are unpredictable based on past data.  The challenges ahead of us are numerous and the differences between the business based recession of 2003 and the consumer based recession of 2009 are staggering.   But who am I to say that the almighty Goldman Sachs is wrong? Read more: Goldman: It’s 2004 All Over Again

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* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.1 percent * Financials among top decliners, but Lloyds gains * Miners broadly positive, pharma shares gain * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU] By Atul Prakash LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – European shares were slightly higher by midday on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s sharp gains, with stronger mining and pharmaceutical stocks outpacing weaker financial shares. At 1239 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,024.27 points after falling to a low of 1,014.47 earlier in the session. It jumped 2.1 percent in the previous session, its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly six weeks. The index, which slumped 45 percent last year, is up 22 percent in 2009 and has surged 58 percent since hitting a record low in March. Financial shares were among the top losers, with DJ STOXX banking index .SX7P down 0.6 percent. Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) fell 1 to 2.4 percent. But Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group Plc ( LLOY.L ) was up 1.4 percent after it priced its record 13.5 billion pound ($22.4 billion) rights issue at 37p per share, a smaller than expected discount, as it battles to escape a costly state-backed insurance scheme for bad debts. [ID:nGEE5AM0R8] In Germany state-backed lender WestLB [WDLG.UL] faced a down-to-the wire search for funds to help unload toxic assets as its savings bank owners baulk at more support, fuelling talk of consolidation. [ID:nGEE5AN0S5] “The market is nervous and lacks conviction so it tries to take its clue from the data releases,” said Klaus Wiener, head of research at Generali Investments. “And that will be the blueprint for the next couple of weeks – that we have good days followed by weaker days. To get out of this we need more convincing evidence on one or the other side,” he added. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index .FTSE was up 0.1 percent, while Germany’s DAX .GDAXI fell 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 .FCHI was down 0.3 percent. MINERS GAIN, PHARMA UP Drugmakers, traditionally seen as defensive shares, were in demand. AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ), Merck ( MRCG.DE ), Novartis ( NOVN.VX ), Roche Holding ( ROG.VX ) and Shire ( SHP.L ) rose 0.1 percent to 1.1 percent.  Continued… See original here: European shares edge higher; miners up, banks slip (at Reuters)

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By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks cut some of their losses on Tuesday as Wall Street looked set to open higher, while the dollar gave up early gains and pushed gold to near a record high. Investors were generally taking profits from Monday’s stock rally, which saw U.S. blue chips gain 1.3 percent and European shares 2 percent. Germany’s Ifo business sentiment survey came in more positive than expected, but there was some concern about the banking sector. A German newspaper reported that the majority owners of WestLB were threatening not to support the stricken German landesbank’s requirement for more capital. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s also said on Monday it found most banks in a global study were weakly capitalised, with Citigroup , UBS and Mizuho Financial Group more than two-thirds below the average. MSCI’s all-country word stock index was down 0.2 percent, well off its daily lows, after gaining 1.7 percent on Monday. But the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares reversed losses to stand 0.1 percent higher. “I don’t see any negatives out there. The economic data is good,” said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. Some concerns about the U.S. economy were temporarily eased on Monday when data showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes had risen to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years. Many global stock investors are nonetheless being cautious heading into the year-end, wanting to lock in profits after a very good run in 2009 while also worrying about the true state of the world economy. Earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei hit its lowest close in four months, down 1 percent on the day. Japan’s current concerns are focused on worries financial firms will tap the market for equity financing and on a stronger yen hurting the shares of exporters. DOLLAR FIRMS The dollar was flat against a basket of competitors after earlier putting in some gains. It remains down 7 percent for the year, reflecting low U.S. yields on offer. The euro reversed course to stand slightly stronger on the day at $1.4978 and the dollar slipped 0.4 percent to 88.60 yen. Gold reversed as the dollar rose and was selling at around $1,1170 an ounce, about $3 off an all-time peak hit on Monday. Euro zone government bonds rose, with Bund futures at one point reaching their highest level since early October. (Additional reporting by Brian Gorman) Read more: Global stocks weak, dollar flat

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TEMPE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–US Airways (NYSE: LCC – News ) announced today it has completed a series of transactions with key business partners designed to improve its near-term and future liquidity. The Company will significantly reduce capital expenditures over the next three years, eliminate the need to access aircraft finance markets in 2010 and extend certain debt maturities. These transactions improve projected year-end 2009 liquidity by approximately $150 million and generate, in aggregate, approximately $450 million of projected liquidity improvements by the end of 2010. “This is our third major strategic move in the past 100 days, following announcements of our innovative slot transaction with Delta Air Lines and the realignment of our network to focus on our most profitable flying,” said US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “These moves are part of our continuing efforts to improve our balance sheet and return the Company to profitability. Our employees are continuing to run a great airline and doing a terrific job taking care of our customers and, with these strategic initiatives behind us, we believe US Airways is well positioned to take full advantage of the recovering economy.” US Airways Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr stated, “By working with our key business and financial partners, we have structured a series of transactions that improve near-term liquidity by reducing capital spending and deferring certain debt repayments. These transactions also have eliminated the need to fund a fleet replacement program in capital markets that continue to be uncertain and expensive. We appreciate all of the support of our business partners in completing these transactions.” The Company’s actions include the deferral of 54 Airbus aircraft previously scheduled for delivery between 2010 and 2012 that are now to be delivered in 2013 and beyond. These deferral arrangements will reduce the Company’s aircraft capital expenditures over the next three years by approximately $2.5 billion, and reduce near- and medium-term obligations to Airbus and others by approximately $132 million. In addition, commencement of US Airways’ Airbus A350 XWB operations, with aircraft deliveries originally scheduled to start in 2015, will now be postponed until 2017. These deferrals will not significantly alter the airline’s capacity plans as aircraft originally scheduled to be replaced will be retained until the rescheduled new aircraft delivery dates. “Although we will slow deliveries during the next three years, over that period we will continue to modernize our fleet, which is already one of the youngest in the United States. The Company will take delivery of two A320 and two A330 aircraft in 2010 and an additional 24 A320 family aircraft in 2011 and 2012,” said Kerr. “We have financing commitments for all 28 aircraft and believe this is a more manageable delivery rate given the current economic environment.” In addition to the aircraft deferral, US Airways has arranged credit facilities in the amount of $95 million and $180 million of aircraft financing commitments for the 2010 deliveries. Also, the Company has agreed with Barclays to permanently lower the monthly unrestricted cash condition precedent for the advance purchase of frequent flyer miles and defer for 14 months the amortization of $200 million advanced in connection with the previous purchase of miles. US Airways was advised in these transactions by Seabury Securities LLC, a unit of Seabury Group LLC. US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,000 flights per day and serves more than 190 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America. The airline employs more than 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 19,000 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. And for the eleventh consecutive year, the airline received a Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Charlotte hub line maintenance facility. For more company information, visit usairways.com. (LCCF) Forward-Looking Statements Certain of the statements contained herein should be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “could,” “should,” and “continue” and similar terms used in connection with statements regarding the outlook, expected fuel costs, revenue and pricing environment, and expected financial performance of US Airways Group (the “Company”). Such statements regarding future financial and operating results, the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results and financial position to differ materially from these statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of future significant operating losses; the impact of economic conditions and their impact on passenger demand and related revenues; a reduction in the availability of financing, changes in prevailing interest rates and increased costs of financing; the Company’s high level of fixed obligations and the ability of the Company to obtain and maintain any necessary financing for operations and other purposes and operate pursuant to the terms of its financing facilities (particularly the financial covenants); the impact of fuel price volatility, significant disruptions in fuel supply and further significant increases to fuel prices; the ability of the Company to maintain adequate liquidity; labor costs, relations with unionized employees generally and the impact and outcome of the labor negotiations, including the ability of the Company to complete the integration of the labor groups of the Company and America West Holdings; reliance on vendors and service providers and the ability of the Company to obtain and maintain commercially reasonable terms with those vendors and service providers; reliance on automated systems and the impact of any failure or disruption of these systems; the impact of the integration of the Company’s business units; the impact of changes in the Company’s business model; competitive practices in the industry, including significant fare restructuring activities, capacity reductions or other restructuring or consolidation activities by major airlines; the impact of industry consolidation; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the impact of global instability including the potential impact of current and future hostilities, terrorist attacks, infectious disease outbreaks or other global events; government legislation and regulation, including environmental regulation; the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure to operate and grow the Company’s route network; costs of ongoing data security compliance requirements and the impact of any data security breach; interruptions or disruptions in service at one or more of the Company’s hub airports; the impact of any accident involving the Company’s aircraft; delays in scheduled aircraft deliveries or other loss of anticipated fleet capacity; weather conditions and seasonality of airline travel; the cyclical nature of the airline industry; the impact of insurance costs and disruptions to insurance markets; the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; the ability to use NOLs and certain other tax attributes; the ability to maintain contracts critical to the Company’s operations; the ability of the Company to attract and retain customers; and other risks and uncertainties listed from time to time in the Company’s reports to the SEC. There may be other factors not identified above of which the Company is not currently aware that may affect matters discussed in the forward-looking statements, and may also cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such estimates other than as required by law. Additional factors that may affect the future results of the Company are set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 and in the Company’s other filings with the SEC, which are available at www.usairways.com . -LCC- Originally posted here: US Airways Completes Major Liquidity Improvement Program (Business Wire)

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By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday, ahead of data on third-quarter GDP and consumer confidence and following a strong advance in Monday’s session. The preliminary estimate on gross domestic product growth, November consumer sentiment data as well as the September Case/Shiller housing price index could provide insight into how firmly a recovery has taken hold. “The data is going to be the market driver today, and after the rally we had yesterday, investors are waiting to see what the data comes in at before they jump in one way or the other,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York. “The market’s momentum is still to the upside, so if the data is better than expected, we could see another strong rally.” Hewlett-Packard Co reported a quarterly profit that matched its preliminary results late Monday, and said that while the economy remained challenging, it saw signs of a recovery. H.J. Heinz Co posted a drop in second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, but lifted its full-year profit view. Analog Devices Inc and Brocade Communications Systems Inc both reported quarterly results that beat expectations late Monday. Analog Devices also forecast higher profit margins. Investors have been closely watching the technology sector, which is generally considered one of the first to recover from recession. S&P 500 futures rose 2.3 points and were modestly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 2 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.25 points. In overseas markets, Hong Kong and China stocks fell, with the Shanghai composite index off 3.5 percent, dragged down by banks. European stocks were little changed, though financials were pressured. Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s pay czar, is being pressed by federal officials to relax executive compensation restrictions at American International Group Inc for 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Monday, as stronger-than-expected home sales data fueled optimism while a weaker dollar boosted commodity-linked stocks. Read the original post: Futures flat ahead of data, after HP results

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By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday, following a strong advance in Monday’s session and after Hewlett-Packard reported that quarterly profit matched its preliminary results. * Investors have been closely watching the technology sector, which is generally considered one of the first to recover from recession. * Hewlett-Packard Co , the computer and printer maker, said late Monday the economy remained challenging, but sees signs of recovery. The last Dow component to report also tripled its share repurchase program. * Investors are awaiting the preliminary estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product growth, due at 8:30 a.m. EST, and November consumer sentiment data, due at 10:00 a.m. EST * The day’s earnings diary includes H.J. Heinz Co , Hormel Foods Corp and Medtronic Inc . * S&P 500 futures rose 1.2 points and were modestly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 2 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.25 points. * Also late Monday, Analog Devices Inc and Brocade Communications Systems Inc reported quarterly results that beat expectations. Analog Devices also forecast higher profit margins. * Hong Kong and China stocks sank Tuesday, with Shanghai composite index off 3.5 percent, dragged down by banks. * European stocks were down 0.1 percent in morning trade, led lower by banks. Miners such as Xstrata Plc dropped along with metal prices. * Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s pay czar, is being pressed by federal officials to relax executive compensation restrictions at American International Group Inc for 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. * U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Monday, as stronger-than-expected home sales data fueled optimism while a weaker dollar boosted commodity-linked stocks. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) See the rest here: Futures little changed after HP, ahead of data

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Goldman Sachs (GS) is out with a new overview of the hedge fund industry, examining several aspects of what funds are doing. For example, it notes that while hedge funds have generally “re-risked”, they also continue to diversify their holdings. You can see here, for example, that the density of the average hedge fund’s top 10 holdings has been falling all year. As for what they’re buying and holding, here’s a list of the “stocks that matter most” to hedge funds. Pfizer Bank of America Apple Microsoft JPM Citigroup Google Qualcomm Mastercard WMT Cisco Schering-Plough Yahoo Intel EMC Oracle XTO EBAY Pepsi IBM Wells Fargo Transocean Hewlett-Packard CVS-Caremark Visa Morgan Stanley Schlumberger Target Liberty Media Monstanto Thermo Fisher Conocophillips GE Procter & Gamble Anadarko Exxon Freeport-Mcmoran Research in Motion Ford Amgen McDonald’s Johnson & Johnson United Health Barrick Gold Apache Wellpoint Gilead Walgreen Teva Union Pacfic More: Check Out Hedge Funds’ 50 Favorite Stocks

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DUBAI, UAE, November 24 /PRNewswire/ — Abraaj Capital Group announces that it agreed to acquire all of Riyada Ventures the leading venture capital firm in the MENA region. The acquisition is at the core of a major new push by Abraaj into the small and medium enterprise (SME) space, which is aimed at stimulating and supporting entrepreneurial activity in this vital segment of the MENA region’s economies. Riyada Ventures, which was set up in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in 2005, this week won the ‘Venture Capital Firm of the Year’ award for a second straight year at the Private Equity World MENA 2009 conference in Dubai. Riyada Ventures, whose track record encompasses more than 25 regional and international venture-capital transactions, also operates an office in Cairo. Its founder and CEO Khaldoon Tabaza has worked in the MENA venture-capital industry since 2000, prior to which he set up several high-growth entrepreneurial ventures. In 2006, the World Economic Forum (WEF) named him a ‘Young Global Leader’. Riyada Ventures will be integrated by Abraaj into its newly launched regional SME and Entrepreneurship initiative. Khaldoon Tabaza will continue as the CEO of the new business line of Abraaj. Abraaj has enjoyed significant past success in the SME space, having been an early backer of Maktoob.com, the leading Arab language portal recently acquired by Yahoo! It was also the original institutional investor in companies of the caliber of Arabtec, Aramex and Amwal at very early stages of their growth stories, each one resulting in significant returns for the Dubai based PE firm. Through the new initiative, Abraaj will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in SMEs across MENA with the aim of creating high-impact, high-growth, successful businesses to fuel innovation, job-creation, sustainable growth and economic diversification. At its core, the platform will give enormous support to the indigenous entrepreneurship that exists across the broader region. Abraaj will work with governments, regional and international development and investment organisations, and Abraaj’s investor base to provide a pan-regional platform from which investments will be made. In addition to the commercial objectives of the platform, Abraaj will also provide entrepreneurial support at the grassroots level in the form of business mentoring, training and technical assistance so as to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit in business communities across the region. For companies in which it invests, Abraaj will provide a dedicated back-office platform to offer both strategic support services and operational functionality to facilitate growth plans and provide mentorship to the young entrepreneurs in the SME space, which comprises more than 80% of economic activity across the MENA region. As a further commitment to the countries in which it will invest, Abraaj will allocate a portion of the funds raised for a given nation to the development needs of its less fortunate communities by partnering with an established sustainable development fund that provides patient capital and that subscribes to the philosophy of sustainable philanthropic capital. Founder and CEO of Abraaj, Arif Naqvi, said: “We are delighted to welcome Khaldoon and his team at Riyada Ventures into the Abraaj group, to spearhead our regional enterprise-development initiative. Abraaj is committed to creating the region’s largest dedicated platform to support entrepreneurship and innovation within the high-growth economies of the MENA region.” Founder and CEO of Riyada Ventures, Khaldoon Tabaza said: “Abraaj’s groundbreaking initiative in the SME and entrepreneurship space will be a positive inflexion point in the development of high-impact, high-growth ventures in the MENA region. We are honoured and delighted to be part of the Abraaj success story.” About Abraaj Capital: Dubai-based Abraaj Capital is the largest private equity group in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA). Since inception in 2002, it has raised about US$ 7 billion and distributed almost US$ 3 billion to investors. It has made more than 35 investments in 11 countries and exited 20. The group operates offices in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. About 155 people work in Abraaj, including around 75 world-class investment professionals. Abraaj has holdings in some 25 companies, including some of the region’s most prominent, such as Air Arabia, the region’s biggest low-cost carrier; Acibadem Healthcare Group, Turkey’s biggest privately owned operator of premium hospitals; and Al Borg, the Middle East’s biggest medical-testing laboratory company. Abraaj has won several international awards, including ‘Middle Eastern Private Equity Firm of the Year’ from London-based Private Equity International four years in a row. Abraaj Capital Ltd., a member of the Abraaj Capital group, is licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, while the group is also an associate member of the European Venture Capital Association. Abraaj’s commitments to Corporate Social Responsibility include a US$ 10 million educational trust fund for Palestinian children who lost parents during conflict in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009. The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the world’s most generous art prize, is designed to support artists from the MENASA region. This document is issued by the Abraaj Capital Group and is intended for general information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation for any business transaction or investment advice. For more information, please contact: James Cordahi / Eliane Menassa Switchboard: +971-4-506-4400 Emails: communications@abraaj.com ; james.cordahi@abraaj.com ; eliane.menassa@abraaj.com Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Gate Village 8, 3rd Floor PO Box 504905 Dubai, United Arab Emirates http://www.abraaj.com Continued here: Abraaj Capital Group Acquires Leading VC Firm Riyada to Spearhead New SME Platform (PR Newswire)

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BERLIN (AFP) – General Motors has repaid the 1.5 billion euros (2.2 billion dollars) in bridging loans it received from Germany to keep its troubled European unit Opel afloat, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday. “I can tell you that the last funds (received by) General Motors have been paid back, which means that the Opel operation has not cost the German taxpayer a cent,” Merkel said in a speech in Berlin. She added that she expected “a comprehensive thank-you letter from General Motors in a few years.” And she defended her decision to offer the huge loan to the US firm, saying: “It was absolutely right … to build a bridge.” GM agreed in September to sell a majority stake in Opel, which includes Vauxhall in Britain, to Canadian auto parts maker Magna and Russian state-owned lender Sberbank. But it has since decided that it wants to keep the loss-making unit and restructure itself, with the loss of around 10,000 jobs across Europe. It has not yet said where the jobs will be cut and which plants will be closed. The news infuriated Germany and Merkel, who had invested a lot of political capital in the deal with Magna-Sberbank. Earlier Tuesday, GM Europe head Nick Reilly said the firm expected to keep open its plant in Bochum in western Germany. The plant, employing almost 5,200 people near Essen will remain “an important location in the future,” Reilly said after talks with the premier of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia where the site is located. Astra and Zafira cars are assembled at the plant, which also makes axles and gearboxes, according to Opel’s website. It is one of four Opel plants in Germany, employing between them around 25,000 people, half the European total. Read the r est here: GM has paid back Opel loans to Germany: Merkel

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ZURICH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–C.En Ltd. ( www.cenh2go.com ), developer of a breakthrough hydrogen storage technology, has announced that it has completed a round of equity financing with global insurance and financial giant Generali Group. Generali Group is one of the largest insurance groups in Europe, operating in over 60 countries, with more than 460 subsidiary companies in the insurance, financial and property fields. Generali Group is committed to the development of various realms of sustainability, and is focused on pioneering technological innovations in the environmental sector. Funding by Generali Financial Holdings (FCP-FIS) – as well as by other leading global partners- will be used to further enhance environmentally sustainable applications of C.En’s hydrogen storage technology. C.En’s unique and innovative technology enables the storage of hydrogen, at very high pressures, in special glass capillaries, thereby offering the first compact, lightweight, safe and economical hydrogen storage solution. “We are fortunate to add Generali to our strong group of existing investors who support our vision and unique technology,” notes Mr. Moshe Stern, President and C.E.O. of C.En Ltd., and adds, “The funding will help advance our vision of turning hydrogen into the leading clean energy source of the future.” Photos/Multimedia�Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6107301&lang=en MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6107301 Read this articl e: C.En Ltd. Completes Financing Round with Generali Group (Business Wire)

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MOSCOW and NEW YORK, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” (”VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP – News ), a leading international provider of telecommunications services operating in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and South-East Asia, today announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Third Quarter 2009 Highlights and Recent Developments Operational Mobile subscribers increased by 1.7 million versus 2Q09, reaching 65.4 million Successful launch of operations in Vietnam under Beeline brand Agreement signed to enter Laos mobile market 3G presence in all regions of Russia as of November 21, 2009 Financial Net operating revenues reached 71.3 billion Russian rubles, an increase of 3.3% versus 2Q09 OIBDA reached a record 36.0 billion rubles, an increase of 2.9% versus 2Q09 Continued strong consolidated fixed and mobile OIBDA margin of 50.4% Net income attributable to VimpelCom amounted to 13.5 billion rubles Other Interim dividend payment of 190.13 rubles per common share proposed by the Board of Directors Major shareholders agreed to combine their stakes in VimpelCom and Kyivstar in a new company Commenting on the performance of the Company, Boris Nemsic, Chief Executive Officer of VimpelCom, said, “During the third quarter we continued to demonstrate growth in challenging market conditions and delivered a record 71.3 billion rubles in revenues and 36.0 billion rubles in OIBDA with a consolidated fixed and mobile OIBDA margin of 50.4%. We are particularly pleased with the OIBDA performance which demonstrates our ability to increase revenues and control costs in the new economic environment. The number of active mobile subscribers reached 65.4 million, which is 13% more than we had a year ago. We serve 1.9 million fixed and mobile broadband subscribers, which makes us one of the largest broadband providers in Russia and the CIS. Stable operational cash flow strengthened our financial position. As of today, we have repaid more than $2 billion dollars of our debt and fully funded capital expenditures. We continue to optimize our debt portfolio with the non-ruble portion of our debt decreasing to 76% of our total debt, compared with 85% at the beginning of the year. On October 5th, 2009, Altimo and Telenor agreed to combine their interests in VimpelCom and Kyivstar, paving the way for the creation of one of the largest telecom operators in the emerging markets. Management of VimpelCom welcomes this transaction and believes that the transaction, when completed, will bring benefits to our shareholders, employees and customers.” Key Consolidated Financial and Operating Results* CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS* (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————— —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 71,338 68,933 3.5% 69,035 3.3% ———————- —— —— — —— — OIBDA 35,980 33,636 7.0% 34,958 2.9% —– —— —— — —— — OIBDA margin, % 50.4% 48.8% 50.6% ————— —- —- —- Operating income 22,299 21,568 3.4% 22,250 0.2% —————- —— —— — —— — Operating income margin, % 31.3% 31.3% 32.2% ————————– —- —- —- SG&A 18,760 18,167 3.3% 18,458 1.6% —- —— —— — —— — including Sales & Marketing Expenses 5,766 5,867 -1.7% 5,414 6.5% ——————- —– —– —- —– — including General & Administrative Costs 12,994 12,300 5.6% 13,044 -0.4% ——————— —— —— — —— —- SG&A percentage 26.3% 26.4% 26.7% ————— —- —- —- Net income attributable to VimpelCom 13,513 6,513 107.5% 22,599 -40.2% ————————– —— —– —– —— —– Net income attributable to VimpelCom per common share, basic (RUR) 266.83 128.68 446.43 ————————– —— —— —— Net income attributable to VimpelCom per ADS equivalent, basic (RUR) 13.34 6.43 22.32 ————————– —– —- —– Capital expenditures 3,842 16,799 -77.1% 5,027 -23.6% ——————– —– —— —– —– —– Mobile subscribers (’000) 65,358 57,758 13.2% 63,676 2.6% ————————- —— —— —- —— — Broadband subscribers*) (’000) 1,930 785 145.9% 1,739 11.0% ———————– —– — —– —– —- * See definitions in Attachment A. Y-o-y stands for 3Q09 vs. 3Q08 comparison while q-o-q stands for 3Q09 vs. 2Q09. Net operating revenues 3Q ‘09* Russia CIS SEA Eliminations Total (RUR, millions) —— — — ———— —– ————— Mobile business 51,502 9,221 74 -138 60,659 ————— —— —– — —- —— Fixed business 13,583 2,167 0 -608 15,142 ————– —— —– — —- —— Eliminations -3,874 -312 0 -277 -4,463 ———— —— —- — —- —— Total net operating revenue 61,211 11,076 74 -1,023 71,338 ————————— —— —— — —— —— * Due to the increasing integration between different parts of our business, we include inter-company transactions in the reported revenues of geographic and business segments and indicate the amount of inter-company eliminations within and between the segments. The quarterly net operating revenues increased by 3.5% year-on-year and 3.3% as compared with the previous quarter demonstrating the strength of our core business. Continued focus on operational efficiency helped us to maintain a strong consolidated fixed and mobile OIBDA margin of 50.4%. We continue to maintain solid operational cash flow, which provides a basis for further investment in the development of our business. We invested 3.8 billion rubles during the third quarter of 2009. Taking into consideration the further strengthening of the Russian ruble, we have recalculated our CAPEX guidance for 2009 and expect CAPEX to be in the range of 10%-12% of our 2009 annual revenue. During the third quarter we repaid $690 million of debt. Our net debt continued to decline from $6.3 billion at the end of the second quarter down to $5.5 billion at the end of the third quarter. Our quarterly net income attributable to VimpelCom amounted to 13.5 billion rubles, including a modest 0.7 billion ruble net foreign exchange gain due to the strengthening of the ruble. Russia – Financial and Operating Results RUSSIA (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————- —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 61,211 58,816 4.1% 59,136 3.5% ———————- —— —— — —— — OIBDA 30,951 29,457 5.1% 30,279 2.2% —– —— —— — —— — OIBDA margin, % 50.6% 50.1% 51.2% ————— —- —- —- Operating income 20,724 20,112 3.0% 20,574 0.7% —————- —— —— — —— — Operating income margin, % 33.9% 34.2% 34.8% ———————— —- —- —- SG&A 15,644 15,191 3.0% 15,417 1.5% —- —— —— — —— — including Sales & Marketing Expenses 4,940 4,918 0.4% 4,726 4.5% ——————- —– —– — —– — including General & Administrative Costs 10,704 10,273 4.2% 10,691 0.1% ——————— —— —— — —— — SG&A percentage 25.6% 25.8% 26.1% ————— —- —- —- Net income attributable to VimpelCom 13,754 6,274 119.2% 21,835 -37.0% ———————– —— —– —– —— —– Our quarterly net operating revenues in Russia amounted to 61.2 billion rubles, growing 3.5% quarter-on-quarter. The quarterly net operating revenues in Russia grew 4.1% compared to the exceptionally strong third quarter of 2008, when we reported high revenues from roaming and handset sales. The total Russia fixed and mobile OIBDA increased 5.1% year-on-year and reached 30.9 billion rubles with a total fixed and mobile OIBDA margin of 50.6%. In the mobile segment our revenues increased by 4.2% quarter-on-quarter. Slight upward trends in usage coupled with a seasonal increase from roaming led to an increase in ARPU of 2.8%. Our fixed-line revenues increased by 4.4% quarter-on-quarter. A seasonal decline in the usage by business customers during the summer months was offset by increasing wholesale revenues, which grew by 13.3% quarter-on-quarter. The fixed-line OIBDA margin decreased quarter-on-quarter from 29.6% to 26.4%. As a result the quarterly fixed-line revenues were also impacted by the appreciation of the Russian ruble as part of our contracts in the business segment are denominated in US dollars and Euro. In the third quarter of 2009 the total number of residential broadband subscribers in Russia, including FTTB and mobile broadband, reached 1.8 million, a 140% increase year-on-year and a 10% increase quarter-on-quarter. RUSSIA REVENUES (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——————————- —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 61,211 58,816 4.1% 59,136 3.5% ———————- —— —— — —— — Mobile revenues 51,502 49,401 4.3% 49,410 4.2% ————— —— —— — —— — Fixed revenues 13,583 10,789 25.9% 13,007 4.4% ————– —— —— —- —— — Eliminations -3,874 -1,374 -3,281 ———— —— —— —— RUSSIA OIBDA DEVELOPMENT*) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q (RUR, millions) —— —— —– —— —– ————— OIBDA Total 30,951 29,457 5.1% 30,279 2.2% ———– —— —— — —— — Mobile OIBDA 27,360 26,772 2.2% 26,427 3.5% ———— —— —— — —— — Fixed OIBDA 3,591 2,685 33.7% 3,852 -6.8% ———– —– —– —- —– —- Total OIBDA margin, % 50.6% 50.1% 51.2% ——————— —- —- —- Mobile OIBDA margin, % 53.1% 54.2% 53.5% ———————- —- —- —- Fixed OIBDA margin, % 26.4% 24.9% 29.6% ——————— —- —- —- RUSSIA OPERATING DEVELOPMENT 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q —————————- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers (’000)**) 51,028 45,093 13.2% 49,971 2.1% —————————- —— —— —- —— — MOU, min 213.6 228.5 -6.5% 211.8 0.8% ——– —– —– —- —– — ARPU mobile, (RUR) 331.4 368.2 -10.0% 322.5 2.8% —————— —– —– —– —– — Broadband subscribers (’000) 1,833 764 139.9% 1,659 10.5% —————————- —– — —– —– —- * Please find information on respective operating income amounts in the supplementary file FinancialOperatingQ32009.xls on our website at http://www.vimpelcom.com/news/qrep.wbp . ** Starting with this quarterly report, we no longer provide information on subscriber market share. This is because different churn policies used by mobile service providers result in reported subscriber market share figures that could be misleading. CIS – Financial and Operating Results CIS OPERATIONS (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——————– —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 11,076 10,663 3.9% 10,668 3.8% ———————- —— —— — —— — OIBDA 5,322 4,232 25.8% 4,908 8.4% —– —– —– —- —– — OIBDA margin, % 48.0% 39.7% 46.0% ————— —- —- —- Operating income 2,056 1,509 36.2% 1,929 6.6% —————- —– —– —- —– — Operating income margin, % 18.6% 14.2% 18.1% ———————— —- —- —- SG&A 2,851 2,945 -3.2% 2,844 0.2% —- —– —– —- —– — including Sales & Marketing Expenses 748 949 -21.2% 633 18.2% ——————- — — —– — —- including General & Administrative Costs 2,103 1,996 5.4% 2,211 -4.9% ——————— —– —– — —– —- SG&A percentage 25.7% 27.6% 26.7% ————— —- —- —- Net income attributable to VimpelCom 86 323 -73.4% 841 -89.8% ———————– — — —– — —– Mobile subscribers (’000) 14,235 12,665 12.4% 13,626 4.5% ————————- —— —— —- —— — Broadband subscribers (’000) 97 21 361.9% 80 21.3% ——————— — — —– — —- The total quarterly revenues from the CIS markets increased year-on-year by 3.9% to 11.1 billion rubles. Our continued focus on cost control increased consolidated OIBDA margin for the CIS segment by 2 percentage points to a record high of 48.0%, a remarkable achievement in challenging market conditions. In the third quarter of 2009, we observed a good increase in subscriber numbers across all markets where we operate. Our subscriber base in the CIS reached 14.2 million active users, 12.4% more than a year ago. Net income attributable to VimpelCom in the CIS segment reached 86 million rubles in the third quarter, with a modest impact from the foreign exchange gain as compared with the second quarter of 2009. CIS Revenues Development KAZAKHSTAN (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ————————– —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 5,387 4,815 11.9% 5,061 6.4% ———————- —– —– —- —– — Mobile 5,311 4,750 11.8% 4,988 6.5% —— —– —– —- —– — Fixed 211 146 44.5% 190 11.1% —– — — —- — —- Elimination -135 -81 -117 ———– —- — —- Net operating revenues (KZT, millions) 25,928 23,830 8.8% 23,679 9.5% —————————- —— —— — —— — UKRAINE (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 1,773 2,283 -22.3% 1,645 7.8% ———————- —– —– —– —– — Mobile 1,066 1,653 -35.5% 956 11.5% —— —– —– —– — —- Fixed 879 787 11.7% 800 9.9% —– — — —- — — Elimination -172 -157 -111 ———– —- —- —- Net operating revenues (UAH, millions) 442 456 -3.1% 390 13.3% —————————- — — —- — —- ARMENIA (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 1,611 1,667 -3.4% 1,584 1.7% ———————- —– —– —- —– — Mobile 637 764 -16.6% 634 0.5% —— — — —– — — Fixed 974 903 7.9% 950 2.5% —– — — — — — Elimination 0 0 0 ———– — — — Net operating revenues (AMD, millions) 19,167 20,786 -7.8% 18,253 5.0% —————————- —— —— —- —— — UZBEKISTAN (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ————————– —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 1,568 1,416 10.7% 1,693 -7.4% ———————- —– —– —- —– —- Mobile 1,467 1,345 9.1% 1,594 -8.0% —— —– —– — —– —- Fixed 103 71 45.1% 100 3.0% —– — — —- — — Elimination -2 0 -1 ———– — — — Net operating revenues (US$, millions) 50 58 -13.8% 53 -5.7% —————————- — — —– — —- TAJIKISTAN (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ————————– —— —— —– —— —– Mobile net operating revenues 468 358 30.7% 461 1.5% —————————– — — —- — — Mobile net operating revenues (US$, millions) 14.9 14.8 0.7% 13.7 8.8% —————————– —- —- — —- — GEORGIA (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– Mobile net operating revenues 279 131 113.0% 229 21.8% —————————– — — —– — —- Mobile net operating revenues (GEL, millions) 14.9 7.6 96.1% 11.8 26.3% —————————– —- — —- —- —- CIS (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——————- —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 11,076 10,663 3.9% 10,668 3.8% ———————- —— —— — —— — Mobile 9,221 8,999 2.5% 8,859 4.1% —— —– —– — —– — Fixed 2,167 1,907 13.6% 2,040 6.2% —– —– —– —- —– — Elimination -312 -243 -231 ———– —- —- —- CIS OIBDA Development* KAZAKHSTAN (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ————————– —— —— —– —— —– OIBDA total 3,187 2,573 23.9% 2,745 16.1% ———– —– —– —- —– —- Mobile 3,064 2,495 22.8% 2,643 15.9% —— —– —– —- —– —- Fixed 123 78 57.7% 102 20.6% —– — — —- — —- OIBDA margin, % 59.2% 53.4% 54.2% ————— —- —- —- UKRAINE (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– OIBDA total 380 -40 n/a 322 18.0% ———– — — — — —- Mobile 140 -215 n/a 82 70.7% —— — —- — — —- Fixed 240 175 37.1% 240 0.0% —– — — —- — — OIBDA margin, % 21.4% n/a 19.6% ————— —- — —- ARMENIA (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– OIBDA total 825 813 1.5% 799 3.3% ———– — — — — — Mobile 306 337 -9.2% 298 2.7% —— — — —- — — Fixed 519 476 9.0% 501 3.6% —– — — — — — OIBDA margin, % 51.2% 48.8% 50.4% ————— —- —- —- UZBEKISTAN (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ————————– —— —— —– —— —– OIBDA total 738 798 -7.5% 865 -14.7% ———– — — —- — —– Mobile 696 774 -10.1% 825 -15.6% —— — — —– — —– Fixed 42 24 75.0% 40 5.0% —– — — —- — — OIBDA margin, % 47.1% 56.4% 51.1% ————— —- —- —- TAJIKISTAN (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ————————– —— —— —– —— —– Mobile OIBDA 162 115 40.9% 173 -6.4% ———— — — —- — —- Mobile OIBDA margin, % 34.6% 32.1% 37.5% ———————- —- —- —- GEORGIA (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– Mobile OIBDA 30 -27 n/a 4 650.0% ———— — — — — —– Mobile OIBDA margin, % 10.8% n/a 1.7% ———————- —- — — CIS (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——————- —— —— —– —— —– OIBDA total 5,322 4,232 25.8% 4,908 8.4% ———– —– —– —- —– — Mobile 4,398 3,479 26.4% 4,025 9.3% —— —– —– —- —– — Fixed 924 753 22.7% 883 4.6% —– — — —- — — OIBDA margin, % 48.0% 39.7% 46.0% ————— —- —- —- * Please find information on respective operating income amounts in the supplementary file FinancialOperatingQ32009.xls on our website at http://www.vimpelcom.com/news/qrep.wbp. CIS Operating Highlights KAZAKHSTAN 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers*) (’000) 6,835 5,614 21.7% 6,635 3.0% ————————— —– —– —- —– — MOU, min 98.1 108.1 -9.3% 90.7 8.2% ——– —- —– —- —- — ARPU mobile, (RUR) 257.9 294.1 -12.3% 253.6 1.7% —————— —– —– —– —– — ARPU mobile, (KZT) 1,240.7 1,455.4 -14.8% 1,187.1 4.5% —————— ——- ——- —– ——- — Broadband subscribers (’000) 0.3 n/a 0.3 0.0% —————————- — — — — UKRAINE 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers*) (’000) 2,199 2,403 -8.5% 1,934 13.7% ————————— —– —– —- —– —- MOU, min 203.7 261.5 -22.1% 217.8 -6.5% ——– —– —– —– —– —- ARPU mobile, (RUR) 168.3 234.9 -28.4% 166.8 0.9% —————— —– —– —– —– — ARPU mobile, (UAH) 42.0 47.4 -11.4% 39.7 5.8% —————— —- —- —– —- — Broadband subscribers (’000) 70 16 337.5% 53 32.1% —————————- — — —– — —- ARMENIA 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers*) (’000) 502 784 -36.0% 486 3.3% ————————— — — —– — — MOU, min 269.0 139.9 92.3% 238.4 12.8% ——– —– —– —- —– —- ARPU mobile, (RUR) 429.7 336.9 27.5% 436.9 -1.6% —————— —– —– —- —– —- ARPU mobile, (AMD) 5,117.2 4,200.1 21.8% 5,034.7 1.6% —————— ——- ——- —- ——- — Broadband subscribers (’000) 18.1 5.4 235.2% 19.2 -5.7% —————————- —- — —– —- —- UZBEKISTAN 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers*) (’000) 3,652 3,148 16.0% 3,605 1.3% ————————— —– —– —- —– — MOU, min 409.3 298.5 37.1% 225.6 81.4% ——– —– —– —- —– —- ARPU mobile, (RUR) 140.7 157.5 -10.7% 150.6 -6.6% —————— —– —– —– —– —- ARPU mobile, (US$) 4.5 6.5 -30.8% 4.7 -4.3% —————— — — —– — —- Broadband subscribers (’000) 8.3 n/a 7.6 9.2% —————————- — — — — TAJIKISTAN 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers*) (’000) 706 527 34.0% 677 4.3% ————————— — — —- — — MOU, min 173.3 255.9 -32.3% 173.1 0.1% ——– —– —– —– —– — ARPU mobile, (RUR) 224.1 250.7 -10.6% 221.6 1.1% —————— —– —– —– —– — ARPU mobile, (US$) 7.2 10.4 -30.8% 6.9 4.3% —————— — —- —– — — GEORGIA 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——- —— —— —– —— —– Mobile subscribers*) (’000) 341 189 80.4% 289 18.0% ————————— — — —- — —- MOU, min 129.3 109.8 17.8% 123.1 5.0% ——– —– —– —- —– — ARPU mobile, (RUR) 288.5 238.9 20.8% 283.6 1.7% —————— —– —– —- —– — ARPU mobile, (GEL) 15.4 14.0 10.0% 14.5 6.2% —————— —- —- —- —- — * Starting with this quarterly report, we no longer provide information on subscriber market share. This is because different churn policies used by mobile service providers result in reported subscriber market share figures that could be misleading. South-East Asia Cambodian operations have been actively developing since our launch in May 2009. As of the third quarter of 2009, our services are available in the 17 largest provinces reaching 42% of the country’s population. By the end of 2009, we plan to expand coverage to reach more than two thirds of the country’s population. According to the latest independent research Beeline brand awareness was ranked third among 9 mobile operators in Cambodia with brand awareness at 62% on a country-wide level and 98% in the capital. Two months after the network launch in Vietnam, our networks cover the capital and the two largest cities as well as the 8 most populated provinces. By the end of January 2010, we plan to cover more than 40 provinces of Vietnam with a population of about 41 million. Our distribution network in Vietnam was extended to more than 10,000 points of sales including traditional retail outlets and new channels like Branded Trade Counters. According to the latest independent research, in the three largest cities of Vietnam the Beeline brand has reached 80% awareness level among the 15-65 year-old audience. SEA*) (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——————— —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 74 0 n/a 28 164.3% ———————- — — — — —– OIBDA total -234 -4 n/a -174 n/a ———– —- — — —- — *) See definitions in Attachment A. For more information on financial and operating data for specific countries, please refer to the supplementary file FinancialOperatingQ32009.xls on our website at http://www.vimpelcom.com/news/qrep.wbp. The Company’s management will discuss its third quarter 2009 results during a conference call and slide presentation on November 24, 2009 at 6:30 pm Moscow time (10:30 am US ET). The call and slide presentation may be accessed via webcast at the following URL address http://www.vimpelcom.com . The conference call replay will be available through December 1, 2009. The slide presentation webcast will also be available for download on VimpelCom’s website http://www.vimpelcom.com . The VimpelCom Group consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of mobile, fixed and broadband technologies. The Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, as well as Vietnam and Cambodia, in territories with a total population of about 340 million. VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (”NYSE”). VimpelCom’s ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “VIP”. This press release contains “forward-looking statements”, as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements relate to the proposed combination with Kyivstar and its benefits, the Company’s 2009 capital expenditures and the Company’s development plans in Cambodia and Vietnam. These and other forward-looking statements are based on management’s best assessment of the Company’s strategic and financial position and of future market conditions and trends. These discussions involve risks and uncertainties. The actual outcome may differ materially from these statements as a result of continued volatility in the economies in the markets in which the Company operates, unforeseen developments from competition, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries, general political uncertainties in the markets in which the Company operates and/or litigation with third parties. The actual outcome may also differ materially if the Company is unable to obtain all necessary corporate approvals relating to its business, if the Company is unable to successfully integrate newly-acquired businesses, including Golden Telecom, and other factors. There can be no assurance that such risks and uncertainties will not have a material adverse effect on the VimpelCom Group. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any forward-looking statements include the risks described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 and other public filings made by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. VimpelCom disclaims any obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly any revision to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The proposed exchange offer described in this communication has not yet commenced, and the description of the proposed exchange offer contained in this communication is not an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell securities. If the proposed exchange offer is commenced, the Company expects that VimpelCom Ltd. will file with the SEC a registration statement and other related materials with respect to the proposed exchange offer, and the Company will file with the SEC a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the proposed exchange offer. Investors and shareholders are urged to read the registration statement and other related materials, the solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 and any amendments, exhibits or other applicable documents regarding the proposed exchange offer if and when they become available because they will contain important information. Those materials will be made available to the Company’s shareholders at no expense to them. In addition, all of those materials (and all other exchange offer documents filed with the SEC) will be made available at no charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov . – Definitions and tables are attached – Attachment A: Definitions Mobile subscribers are those subscribers in the registered subscriber base who were a party to a revenue generating activity in the past three months and remain in the base at the end of the reported period, except for the subscriber base in Cambodia which is calculated on a one month basis. Such activities include all incoming and outgoing calls, subscriber fee accruals, debits related to service, outgoing SMS, MMS, data transmission and receipt sessions, but do not include incoming SMS and MMS sent by our Company or abandoned calls. Total number of mobile subscribers also includes subscribers using mobile internet service via USB modems. Each ADS represents 0.05 of one share of common stock. This ratio was established effective August 21, 2007. ARPU (Monthly Average Revenue per User), a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure, is calculated by dividing the Company’s service revenue during the relevant period, including roaming revenue and interconnect revenue, but excluding revenue from connection fees, sales of handsets and accessories and other non-service revenue, by the average number of the Company’s subscribers during the period and dividing by the number of months in that period. The Company believes that ARPU provides useful information to investors because it is an indicator of the performance of the Company’s business operations and assists management in budgeting. The Company also believes that ARPU provides management with useful information concerning usage and acceptance of the Company’s services. ARPU should not be viewed in isolation or an alternative to other figures reported under U.S. GAAP. Broadband subscribers are those subscribers in the registered subscriber base who were a party to a revenue generating activity in the past three months. Such activities include monthly internet access using FTTB, xDSL and WiFi technologies as well as mobile internet service via USB modems. CIS Geographic Segment for the purpose of VimpelCom reporting includes our operations in the following countries: Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Georgia Fixed-line subscriber is an authorized user of fixed-line communications services. General and administrative costs (G&A) include salaries and outsourcing costs, including related social contributions required by Russian law; stock price-based compensation expenses; repair and maintenance expenses; rent, including lease payments for base station sites; utilities; other miscellaneous expenses, such as insurance, operating taxes, license fees, and accounting, audit and legal fees. Households passed are households located within buildings, in which indoor installation of all the FTTB equipment necessary to install terminal residential equipment has been completed. Mobile services are wireless voice and data transmission services excluding WiFi. MOU (Monthly Average Minutes of Use per User) is calculated by dividing the total number of minutes of usage for incoming and outgoing calls during the relevant period (excluding guest roamers) by the average number of mobile subscribers during the period and dividing by the number of months in that period. OIBDA is a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure. OIBDA, previously referred to as EBITDA by the Company, is defined as operating income before depreciation, amortization and impairment loss. The Company believes that OIBDA provides useful information to investors because it is an indicator of the strength and performance of our business operations, including our ability to finance capital expenditures, acquisitions and other investments and our ability to incur and service debt. While depreciation, amortization and impairment loss are considered operating costs under U.S. GAAP, these expenses primarily represent the non-cash current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or constructed in prior periods. Our OIBDA calculations are commonly used as bases for some investors, analysts and credit rating agencies to evaluate and compare the periodic and future operating performance and value of companies within the telecommunications industry. OIBDA should not be considered in isolation as an alternative to net income attributable to VimpelCom, operating income or any other measure of performance under U.S. GAAP. OIBDA does not include our need to replace our capital equipment over time. Reconciliation of OIBDA to operating income, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is presented below in the reconciliation tables section. OIBDA margin is OIBDA expressed as a percentage of net operating revenues. Reconciliation of OIBDA margin to operating income as a percentage of net operating revenues, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is presented below in the reconciliation tables section. Prepaid subscribers are those subscribers who pay for their services in advance. Roaming revenues include both revenues from VimpelCom customers who roam outside of home country network and revenues from other wireless carriers for roaming by their customers on VimpelCom’s network. Sales and marketing costs (S&M) include marketing, advertising and dealer commissions expenses. Take-up rate for the FTTB network is calculated by dividing the number of FTTB subscribers by the total number of households passed. VAS (value added services) includes short messages (”SMS”), multimedia messages (”MMS”), caller number identification, call waiting, data transmission, mobile Internet, downloadable content and other services. Capital expenditures (Capex) – purchases of new equipment, new construction, upgrades, software, other long lived assets and related reasonable costs incurred prior to intended use of the non current asset, accounted at the earliest event of advance payment or delivery. Long-lived assets acquired in business combinations are not included in capital expenditures. SEA – VimpelCom operations in South-East Asia, which include operations in Cambodia and VimpelCom’s respective equity in net results of operations of the Company’s Vietnamese associate GTEL-Mobile JSC (”GTEL-Mobile”). Net debt is calculated as the sum of short-term debt and long-term debt minus cash and cash equivalents. Attachment B: VimpelCom financial statements Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income Three months ended Nine months ended September 30, September 30, 2009 2008 2009 2008 —- —- —- —- (In millions of Russian rubles, except share (ADS) amounts) Operating revenues: Service revenues 70,359 67,913 204,047 180,516 Sales of equipment and accessories 863 949 2,885 1,054 Other revenues 173 123 475 317 — — — — Total operating revenues 71,395 68,985 207,407 181,887 Revenue based tax (57) (52) (191) (132) — — —- —- Net operating revenues 71,338 68,933 207,216 181,755 Operating expenses: Service costs 15,306 15,916 44,460 40,462 Cost of equipment and accessories 886 921 2,841 1,016 Selling, general and administrative expenses 18,760 18,167 55,424 49,265 Depreciation 11,452 9,687 32,355 27,445 Amortization 2,229 2,381 6,934 6,399 Provision for doubtful accounts 406 293 1,387 1,172 — — —– —– Total operating expenses 49,039 47,365 143,401 125,759 —— —— ——- ——- Operating income 22,299 21,568 63,815 55,996 Other income and expenses: Interest income 242 436 1,342 1,376 Net foreign exchange gain/ (loss) 693 (8,269) (12,304) (3,173) Interest expense (4,914) (3,439) (14,074) (8,220) Equity in net gain/(loss) of associates 152 65 (862) 65 Other (expenses)/ income, net (105) (181) (290) (438) —- —- —- —- Total other income and expenses (3,932) (11,388) (26,188) (10,390) —— ——- ——- ——- Income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest 18,367 10,180 37,627 45,606 Income tax expense 4,809 3,359 10,127 12,326 —– —– —— —— Net income 13,558 6,821 27,500 33,280 Net income/(loss) attributable to the noncontrolling interest 45 308 (98) 1,071 — — — —– Net income attributable to VimpelCom 13,513 6,513 27,598 32,209 ====== ===== ====== ====== Basic EPS: Net income attributable to VimpelCom per common share 266.83 128.68 545.11 634.94 ====== ====== ====== ====== Weighted average common shares outstanding (thousand) 50,643 50,615 50,628 50,728 Net income attributable to VimpelCom per ADS equivalent 13.34 6.43 27.26 31.75 ===== ==== ===== ===== Diluted EPS: Net income attributable to VimpelCom per common share 261.01 128.68 525.36 634.94 ====== ====== ====== ====== Weighted average diluted shares (thousand) 51,771 50,615 52,532 50,728 Net income attributable to VimpelCom per ADS equivalent 13.05 6.43 26.27 31.75 ===== ==== ===== ===== Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets September December 30, 31, 2009 2008 —- —- (In millions of Russian rubles, except share amounts) Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 75,902 26,873 Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts 13,341 13,974 Inventory 2,461 4,191 Deferred income taxes 2,104 2,432 Input value added tax 3,994 5,349 Due from related parties 8,509 4,942 Other current assets 5,924 12,941 —– —— Total current assets 112,235 70,702 Property and equipment, net 168,407 188,778 Telecommunications licenses, net 17,862 22,470 Goodwill 98,930 102,148 Other intangible assets, net 21,996 25,935 Software, net 12,584 16,134 Investments in associates 13,801 14,501 Other assets 22,707 21,314 —— —— Total assets 468,522 461,982 ======= ======= Liabilities and equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable 15,198 26,409 Due to employees 3,343 3,108 Due to related parties 502 142 Accrued liabilities 11,646 8,484 Taxes payable 10,476 4,471 Customer advances, net of VAT 9,302 12,492 Customer deposits 824 868 Short-term debt 74,516 56,093 —— —— Total current liabilities 125,807 112,067 Deferred income taxes 16,453 18,934 Long-term debt 168,293 191,963 Other non-current liabilities 5,266 3,608 Commitments, contingencies and uncertainties – - Equity: Convertible voting preferred stock (.005 rubles nominal value per share), 10,000,000 shares authorized; 6,426,600 shares issued and outstanding – - Common stock (.005 rubles nominal value per share), 90,000,000 shares authorized; 51,281,022 shares issued (December 31, 2008: 51,281,022); 50,683,660 shares outstanding (December 31, 2008: 50,617,408) 3 3 Additional paid-in capital 42,688 42,624 Retained earnings 115,194 87,599 Accumulated other comprehensive (loss)/income (5,105) 3,992 Treasury stock, at cost, 597,362 shares of common stock (December 31, 2008: 663,614) (5,692) (5,983) —— —— Total VimpelCom shareholders’ equity 147,088 128,235 Noncontrolling interest 5,615 7,175 —– —– Total equity 152,703 135,410 ——- ——- Total liabilities and equity 468,522 461,982 ======= ======= Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Nine months ended September 30, 2009 2008 —- —- (In millions of Russian rubles) Operating activities Net cash provided by operating activities 88,998 62,117 Investing activities Purchases of property and equipment (15,699) (33,206) Purchases of intangible assets (435) (1,747) Purchases of software (4,180) (5,093) Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired – (100,348) Late payment for investment in associate (389) – Exercise of escrow cash deposit – 4,856 Loan granted – (8,491) Short-term deposits – (2,368) Purchases of other assets, net (958) (1,578) —- —— Net cash used in investing activities (21,661) (147,975) Financing activities Proceeds from bank and other loans 38,920 130,718 Proceeds from sale of treasury stock – 608 Repayments of bank and other loans (54,817) (10,227) Payments of fees in respect of debt issues (1,671) (1,322) Net proceeds from employee stock options 171 – Purchase of noncontrolling interest in consolidated subsidiaries (14) (23,462) Payment of dividends to noncontrolling party (23) (14,240) Purchase of treasury stock – (2,751) — —— Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities (17,434) 79,324 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (875) 259 —- — Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 49,029 (6,275) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 26,873 24,637 —— —— Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 75,902 18,362 ====== ====== Supplemental cash flow information Cash paid during the period: Income tax 8,917 12,603 Interest 9,335 4,905 Non-cash activities: Equipment acquired under financing agreements 6 1,448 Accounts payable for equipment and other long-lived assets 3,856 7,495 Acquisitions : Fair value of assets acquired – 64,159 Fair value of noncontrolling interest acquired – 4,968 Difference between the amount paid and the fair value of net assets acquired – 85,062 Consideration for the acquisition of subsidiaries – (129,430) — ——– Change in fair value of liabilities assumed – 24,759 === ====== Attachment C: Reconciliation Tables (Unaudited) Reconciliation of Consolidated OIBDA (In millions of Russian rubles) OIBDA Consolidated Total 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 2Q ‘09 ———————— —— —— —— OIBDA 35,980 33,636 34,958 —– —— —— —— Depreciation (11,452) (9,687) (10,451) ———— ——- —— ——- Amortization (2,229) (2,381) (2,257) ———— —— —— —— Operating income 22,299 21,568 22,250 —————- —— —— —— Reconciliation of OIBDA Margin OIBDA Margin Consolidated Total 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 2Q ‘09 ——————————- —— —— —— OIBDA margin 50.4% 48.8% 50.6% ———— —- —- —- Less: Depreciation as a percentage of net operating revenues (16.0%) (14.0%) (15.1%) ———————————- ——- ——- ——- Less: Amortization as a percentage of net operating revenues (3.1%) (3.5%) (3.3%) ———————————- —— —— —— Operating income as a percentage of net operating revenues 31.3% 31.3% 32.2% ———————————– —- —- —- Attachment D: Capex Development CAPEX (RUR, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ——————— —— —— —– —— —– Total capex 3,842 16,799 -77.1% 5,027 -23.6% ———– —– —— —– —– —– Russia 2,827 12,224 -76.9% 3,440 -17.8% —— —– —— —– —– —– CIS 756 4,527 -83.3% 817 -7.5% — — —– —– — —- Kazakhstan 310 1,868 -83.4% 376 -17.6% ———- — —– —– — —– Ukraine 95 1,137 -91.6% 95 0.0% ——- — —– —– — — Armenia 48 462 -89.6% 12 300.0% ——- — — —– — —– Uzbekistan 207 688 -69.9% 241 -14.1% ———- — — —– — —– Tajikistan 16 156 -89.7% 24 -33.3% ———- — — —– — —– Georgia 80 216 -63.0% 69 15.9% ——- — — —– — —- SEA 258 9 2767% 761 -66.1% — — — —- — —– Attachment E: Key Financial Results in US Dollars (Convenience Translation) CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS (US$, millions) 3Q ‘09 3Q ‘08 y-o-y 2Q ‘09 q-o-q ———————– —— —— —– —— —– Net operating revenues 2,277 2,843 -19.9% 2,143 6.3% ———————- —– —– —– —– — OIBDA 1,149 1,388 -17.2% 1,085 5.9% —– —– —– —– —– — OIBDA margin, % 50.5% 48.8% 50.6% ————— —- —- —- Operating income 712 890 -20.0% 691 3.0% —————- — — —– — — Operating income margin, % 31.3% 31.3% 32.2% ———————— —- —- —- SG&A 599 749 -20.0% 573 4.5% —- — — —– — — including Sales & Marketing Expenses 184 242 -24.0% 168 9.5% ——————- — — —– — — including General & Administrative Costs 415 507 -18.1% 405 2.5% ——————— — — —– — — SG&A percentage 26.3% 26.3% 26.7% ————— —- —- —- Net income attributable to VimpelCom 431 269 60.2% 702 -38.6% ———————– — — —- — —– Net income attributable to VimpelCom per common share, basic (US$) 8.52 5.31 13.86 ———————— —- —- —– Net income attributable to VimpelCom per ADS equivalent, basic (US$) 0.43 0.27 0.69 ———————— —- —- —- Capital expenditures 123 692.9 -82.2% 156.0 -21.2% ——————– — —– —– —– —– Attachment F: Average Rates of Functional Currencies to Ruble* Functional Currency/ 1 RUR 1Q ‘08 2Q ‘08 3Q ‘08 4Q ‘08 1Q ‘09 2Q ‘09 3Q ‘09 ————— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Kazakhstan KZT 4.9690 5.1038 4.9540 4.4077 4.0948 4.6771 4.8200 ———- — —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Ukraine UAH 0.2081 0.2101 0.2003 0.2274 0.2281 0.2376 0.2496 ——- — —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Tajikistan USD 0.0412 0.0423 0.0412 0.0367 0.0295 0.0311 0.0319 ———- — —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Uzbekistan USD 0.0412 0.0423 0.0412 0.0367 0.0295 0.0311 0.0319 ———- — —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Armenia AMD 12.6926 13.0012 12.4664 11.2309 9.6090 11.5227 11.9095 ——- — ——- ——- ——- ——- —— ——- ——- Georgia GEL 0.0641 0.0612 0.0582 0.0568 0.0495 0.0515 0.0535 ——- — —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Cambodia USD 0.0311 0.0319 ——– — —— —— * Functional currencies in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Cambodia are US dollars. See the rest here: VimpelCom Announces Third Quarter 2009 Financial and Operating Results (PR Newswire)

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VimpelCom Announces Third Quarter 2009 Financial and Operating Results (PR Newswire)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND–(Marketwire – 11/24/09) – DataCert, Inc ., the leading global provider of legal operations management solutions, hosted an IP Focus Group on November 17 in Basel, Switzerland. This event, which featured presentations by industry leaders from IBM (NYSE: IBM – News ), Honeywell (NYSE: HON – News ), and IS Information Service GmbH , a Thomson Reuters Company, provided an opportunity for DataCert customers to share best practices for managing intellectual property and legal department operations. “DataCert has a demonstrated history of delivering solutions based on our extensive IP expertise,” said Rajitha Boer, vice president/director, EMEA business development. “We have found that our clients really appreciate the opportunity a forum such as this IP Focus Group provides to network and learn from their peers.” This focus group included presentations on IP management best practices and trends, DataCert’s global strategy, budgeting best practices, and how technology enables a successful alternative fee arrangements strategy. In addition, IBM and Honeywell provided an overview of lessons learned from their e-billing implementations, how to optimise the value of e-billing data and how to strategically manage IP vendors and law firms. Presentations were followed by a roundtable discussion of these topics. The featured speakers for this forum included: – David Bain, Associate General Counsel, DataCert, Inc. – Art Haviland, Project Manager, Intellectual Property Systems, IBM – David Hoiriis, Associate General Counsel & Chief IP Counsel, Honeywell – Dr. Reinhard Reck, Managing Director, IS Information Service GmbH About DataCert, Inc. DataCert is the premier global provider of legal operations management solutions, including legal spend, intellectual property, and matter management software and services. Corporate legal departments trust DataCert solutions to manage, analyse, and optimise their legal operations. DataCert has law firm, vendor, and agent connections in more than 150 countries and its customers include 71 Fortune� 500 corporations, 53 Global Fortune� 500 corporations, and 100% of the AmLaw 200. Visit www.datacerteurope.com for more information and follow us on Twitter for real-time updates http://twitter.com/DataCert . About Honeywell Honeywell International is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell’s shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com . About IBM For more information, please visit www.ibm.com . About IS Information Service GmbH IS Information Service GmbH, a Thomson Reuters company, provides highly specialised IP software tools and services. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Freiburg, Germany, the company supports European corporations and law firms in the installation and adoption of portfolio management systems. For more information, please visit http://www.is-fr.com/index.htm . More: DataCert Hosts IP Focus Group in Basel, Switzerland (Marketwire)

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BERLIN (AFP) – General Motors will keep open Opel’s Bochum plant in western Germany, the head of the US firm’s European division, Nick Reilly, said on Tuesday. The plant, employing almost 5,200 people near Essen will remain “an important location in the future,” Reilly said after talks with the premier of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia where the site is located. Astra and Zafira cars are assembled at the plant, which also makes axles and gearboxes, according to Opel’s website. It is one of four Opel plants in Germany, employing between them around 25,000 people, half the European total. GM agreed in September to sell a majority stake in Opel, which includes Vauxhall in Britain, to Canadian auto parts maker Magna and Russian state-owned lender Sberbank. But it has since decided that it wants to keep the loss-making unit and restructure itself, with the loss of around 10,000 jobs across Europe. It has not yet said where the jobs will be cut and which plants will be closed. Go here to see the original: GM to keep Opel plant in German Bochum

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By The Associated Press SINGAPORE – Oil slipped to near US$77 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid mixed signs about the global economy and crude demand. Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 11 cents to $77.45 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 9 cents to settle at $77.56 on Monday. Investor optimism was buoyed by a report Monday from the National Association of Realtors that October home sales rose more than 10 per cent, suggesting strength in the U.S. economy. But crude refiner Valero Energy said it shut down a plant last week because demand for oil products such as gasoline has been weak. Crude has bounced between $76 a barrel and $82 for more than a month as a weakening dollar offsets concerns about tepid consumer demand. Oil often trades inversely to the strength of the dollar as investors buy commodities as a hedge against inflation. Societe Generale said weakness in the dollar and expectations of higher inflation have provided for a floor for the oil price, limiting losses. “The ceiling has been set by weak refining margins, lacklustre demand and a global economic recovery that is expected to be sluggish,” it said in a report. In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $1.9789 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery dropped 0.19 cent to $1.9813 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery slid 3.3 cents to $4.44 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude for January delivery rose 6 cents to $77.49 on the ICE Futures exchange. – TSX: ECA, TSX:IMO, TSX:SU, TSX:HSE, NYSE:BP, NYSE:COP, NYSE:XOM, NYSE:CVX, TSX:CNQ, TSX:TLM, TSX:COS.UN Follow this link: Oil slips to near $77 in Asia as investors eye US dollar, crude demand

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By Stephen Wright, The Associated Press BANGKOK, Thailand – Asian stock markets retreated Tuesday as China’s warning to banks to control their lavish lending underlined the risks to an economic recovery driven by easy credit. European shares were lower. Asia also got a poor cue from Japan, where stocks fell on pessimism about the strength of the world’s No. 2 economy. Gold retreated from a record and oil prices slipped to near $77. Investors shrugged off Wall Street ending a three-day losing streak Monday and figures showing that U.S. home sales rose 10 per cent in October. News that China’s central bank was warning banks to control a lending spree underscored there are limits to the easy credit which has underpinned Asia’s rapid recovery from the global recession. “The central bank has been concerned about lending to the property sector,” said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “If they can put on the brakes to avoid an asset bubble it is likely to be better for the longer term,” he said. China’s Shanghai index tumbled 115.14, or 3.5 per cent, to 3,223.53 as investors fretted the central bank’s warning – which comes ahead of the government’s annual economic planning meeting – could foreshadow more measures to reduce liquidity. The index had been up 11.4 per cent so far this month. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slid 348.25, or 1.5 per cent, to 22,423.14 on weakness in Chinese financial stocks. Bank of China slumped 4 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 96.10, or 1 per cent, to a fresh four-month low of 9,401.58. “Investors are becoming pessimistic about Japan’s economy. They are frustrated and very disappointed the government has not been able to launch measures to spur the economy,” said Masatoshi Sato, a market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd. Besides doubts about the economy, sentiment was also hurt by a strong yen, which pressures Japanese exporters by eroding their overseas profits. Among Japanese blue chips, Japan Airlines Corp. tumbled 8.4 per cent to a record low amid worries over a possible bankruptcy. Toyota Motor Corp. – the world’s No. 1 automaker – declined 1.7 per cent. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.8 per cent to 1,606.42 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.7 per cent to 4,685 on losses in banks and miners. Markets in India, Singapore and Thailand also fell. Major indexes in Britain, Germany and France were down 0.6 per cent or more in early European trade. In the U.S. on Monday, the Dow rose 132.79, or 1.3 per cent, to 10,450.95, after losing 120 points over the previous three days. It was the Dow’s highest close since Oct. 2, 2008. The Standard&Poor’s 500 index rose 14.86, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,106.24. Stock futures pointed to losses Tuesday on Wall Street. Dow futures were off 27, or 0.3 per cent, at 10,395. Oil slipped to near $77 a barrel in Asia amid mixed signs about crude demand. Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 10 cents to $77.46 a barrel. The contract rose 9 cents to settle at $77.56 on Monday. In currencies, the dollar fell to 88.62 yen from 88.97. The euro fell to $1.4918 from $1.4964. Associated Press Writer Shino Yuasa in Tokyo and AP Researcher Bonnie Cao in Beijing contributed to this report. Original post: Asian stock markets lower as China’s bank warning hits financials; European shares fall

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LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Tuesday: VIVENDI ( VIV.PA ) Issue: opens order book for a two-tranche euro benchmark bond, an official at one of the banks managing the sale said. Europe’s biggest entertainment group plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes. Spread guidance: mid-swaps plus 130 basis points area for 7-year tranche, mid-swaps plus 150 basis points area for 10-year. Managing banks: HSBC, Natixis, Royal Bank of Scotland and SG CIB Ratings: Moody’s Baa2, S&P BBB, Fitch BBB ANGLO AMERICAN ( AAL.L ) Issue: will sell 750 million euro 7-year bond, as reported by IFR Markets, a Thomson Reuters online news and market analysis service. Spread guidance: mid-swaps plus 140 basis points area Managing banks: Citi, HSBC, RBS, Santander Ratings: Moody’s Baa1, S&P BBB- UNICREDIT INTERNATIONAL BANK ( CRDI.MI ) Mandate: plans 750 million euro Tier 1 perpetual bond, [ID:QnWEA2577].  Continued… Go here to see the original: EURO BONDS-Vivendi, Anglo American, UniCredit, VW, Sparebank (at Reuters)

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ABINGDON, UK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oxagen Limited, a drug discovery and development company specializing in inflammation, announced today the successful completion of a £16 Million ($26.7 Million) Series C round led by Novartis Venture Funds. The proceeds of the funding will be used primarily to advance Oxagen’s CRTH2 antagonist programme in inflammatory and respiratory diseases. This will include the completion of an ongoing Phase IIb clinical study of the lead molecule OC000459 in moderate persistent asthma. This follows the successful completion of proof-of-concept (POC) studies in both asthma and allergic rhinitis. CRTH2, also known as DP2 is a cell surface receptor for prostaglandin D2 and is implicated in allergic inflammation. The funds will also be used to expand the therapeutic indications for CRTH2 antagonists using the lead molecule as well as back-up compounds. The investment was led by Novartis Venture Funds, and joined by existing investors including MPM Capital, SV Life Sciences, Advent Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Omega, Abingworth, IBT, Red Abbey and The Wellcome Trust. Commenting on the fundraising, Mark Payton, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oxagen said, “We are delighted to welcome Novartis Ventures as a new investor in Oxagen. We are excited by the potential shown to date by CRTH2 antagonists in general and by OC000459 in particular. This funding will allow us to both advance and broaden the therapeutic utility of our portfolio of molecules. We are delighted that this potential has been recognised both by our new lead investor, as well as by our strong base of existing investors.” Anja König, Ph.D., Managing Director at Novartis Venture Funds commented “We are looking forward to joining Oxagen in their exciting effort to deliver their first in class medicine to patients with asthma, a condition with significant unmet need. CRTH2 is a very promising new target in asthma and inflammation and Oxagen’s lead compound has the potential to become a blockbuster.” Anja König will join the Oxagen Board of Directors. -ENDS- Notes for Editors: About Oxagen Oxagen is a biopharmaceutical company building a novel drug pipeline with a focus on inflammatory and respiratory diseases. Oxagen’s pipeline of novel small molecule drugs is based on targets validated in man. Oxagen was established in April 1997. The Company is based in Milton Park, south of Oxford. For more information on Oxagen, please visit www.oxagen.co.uk Here is the original post: Oxagen Limited Raises £16 Million in Series C Private Venture Capital Financing Led by Novartis Venture Funds (Business Wire)

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DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) – General Motors will present labor leaders at European arm Opel a reorganization plan on Wednesday that envisions cutting nearly a fifth of the workforce, GM’s acting European head said. The plan calls for eliminating between 9,000 and 9,500 jobs, GM’s Nick Reilly told reporters on Tuesday. GM has said in the past around 10,000 jobs would go at Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall. Reilly said the German plant in Bochum was safe for now. “Bochum remains an important site for us, in the future as well,” he said. GM has given scant details so far on its 3.3 billion euros ($4.92 billion) rescue plan for Opel. GM this month backtracked on plans to sell Opel to a consortium led by carparts firm Magna — a deal that involved government aid — but is now turning again to European states for help to keep Opel in business. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff, writing by Michael Shields) See the rest here: Opel labor to see revamp plan on Wednesday

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* Plan envisions 9,000-9,500 job cuts in Europe – Reilly * German state premier says Bochum plant is safe for now (Adds quotes and background) DUESSELDORF, Germany, Nov 24 (Reuters) – General Motors [GM.UL] will present labour leaders at European arm Opel a reorganisation plan on Wednesday that envisions cutting nearly a fifth of the workforce, GM’s acting European head said. The plan calls for eliminating between 9,000 and 9,500 jobs, GM’s Nick Reilly told reporters on Tuesday. GM has said in the past around 10,000 jobs would go at Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall. Reilly said the German plant in Bochum was safe for now. “Bochum remains an important site for us, in the future as well,” he said. GM has given scant details so far on its 3.3 billion euros ($4.92 billion) rescue plan for Opel. GM this month backtracked on plans to sell Opel to a consortium led by carparts firm Magna ( MGa.TO ) — a deal that involved government aid — but is now turning again to European states for help to keep Opel in business. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff, writing by Michael Shields) ((michael.shields@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.reuters.com@reuters.net; +49 69 7565 1266)) ($1=.6708 Euro) © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved Read the original: UPDATE 1-Opel labour to see revamp plan on Wednesday

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By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) – Financial markets did a quick about-face from the previous session’s patterns on Tuesday with stocks falling, the dollar recovering some losses and gold dropping back a bit from record highs. Investors were generally taking profits from Monday’s stock rally, which saw U.S. blue chips gain 1.3 percent and European shares 2 percent. There was also some concern about the banking sector. A German newspaper reported that the majority owners of WestLB (WDLG.UL) were threatening not to support the stricken German landesbank’s requirement for more capital. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s also said on Monday it found most banks in a global study were weakly capitalized, with Citigroup (NYSE: C – News ), UBS (VTX: UBSN.VX – News ) and Mizuho Financial Group (Tokyo:8411.T – News ) more than two-thirds below the average. MSCI’s all-country word stock index ( ^MIWD00000PUS – News ) was down 0.6 percent after gaining 1.7 percent on Monday. The volatile Chinese market ( ^SSEC – News ) was down nearly 3.5 percent. Market analysts said there was little surprise that some profit taking was taking place. But they remained relatively bullish about the future. “China is down after a strong run,” said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. “But we’re still in a cyclical bull market.” The FTSEurofirst 300 ( ^FTEU3 – News ) index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei ( ^225 – News ) hit its lowest close in four months, down 1 percent on the day. Japan’s current concerns are focused on worries financial firms will tap the market for equity financing and on a stronger yen hurting the shares of exporters. Many global stock investors are being cautious heading into the year-end, wanting to lock in profits after a very good run in 2009 while also worrying about the true state of the world economy. Some concerns about the U.S. economy were at least temporarily eased on Monday when data showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes had risen to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years. DOLLAR FIRMS The dollar was broadly higher after a bit of a battering on Monday while the euro fell on the German media report about WestLB. The U.S. currency was up 0.4 percent against a basket of competitors ( ^DXY – News ). It remains down 7 percent for the year, reflecting low U.S. yields on offer. The euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.4905 and the dollar slipped about the same to 88.65 yen. Gold slipped on the stronger dollar and was selling at around $1,164 an ounce, about $9 off an all-time peak hit on Monday. Euro zone government bonds rose, with Bund futures reaching their highest level since early October. (Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; editing by Chris Pizzey) (To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge Hub click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub ) See the original post here: Bank worries, profit-taking hits stocks (Reuters)

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By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) – Financial markets did a quick about-face from the previous session’s patterns on Tuesday with stocks falling, the dollar recovering some losses and gold dropping back a bit from record highs. Investors were generally taking profits from Monday’s stock rally, which saw U.S. blue chips gain 1.3 percent and European shares 2 percent. There was also some concern about the banking sector. A German newspaper reported that the majority owners of WestLB were threatening not to support the stricken German landesbank’s requirement for more capital. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s also said on Monday it found most banks in a global study were weakly capitalized, with Citigroup , UBS and Mizuho Financial Group more than two-thirds below the average. MSCI’s all-country word stock index was down 0.6 percent after gaining 1.7 percent on Monday. The volatile Chinese market was down nearly 3.5 percent. Market analysts said there was little surprise that some profit taking was taking place. But they remained relatively bullish about the future. “China is down after a strong run,” said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. “But we’re still in a cyclical bull market.” The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei hit its lowest close in four months, down 1 percent on the day. Japan’s current concerns are focused on worries financial firms will tap the market for equity financing and on a stronger yen hurting the shares of exporters. Many global stock investors are being cautious heading into the year-end, wanting to lock in profits after a very good run in 2009 while also worrying about the true state of the world economy. Some concerns about the U.S. economy were at least temporarily eased on Monday when data showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes had risen to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years. DOLLAR FIRMS The dollar was broadly higher after a bit of a battering on Monday while the euro fell on the German media report about WestLB. The U.S. currency was up 0.4 percent against a basket of competitors . It remains down 7 percent for the year, reflecting low U.S. yields on offer. The euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.4905 and the dollar slipped about the same to 88.65 yen. Gold slipped on the stronger dollar and was selling at around $1,164 an ounce, about $9 off an all-time peak hit on Monday. Euro zone government bonds rose, with Bund futures reaching their highest level since early October. (Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; editing by Chris Pizzey) (To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge Hub click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub) See the rest here: Bank worries, profit-taking hits stocks

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* Profit taking, bank worries hit stocks * Dollar recoups some losses, weakening gold By Jeremy Gaunt , European Investment Correspondent LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Financial markets did a quick about-face from the previous session’s patterns on Tuesday with stocks falling, the dollar recovering some losses and gold dropping back a bit from record highs. Investors were generally taking profits from Monday’s stock rally, which saw U.S. blue chips gain 1.3 percent and European shares 2 percent. There was also some concern about the banking sector. A German newspaper reported that the majority owners of WestLB [WDLG.UL] were threatening not to support the stricken German landesbank’s requirement for more capital. [ID:nGEE5AN07U] Rating agency Standard & Poor’s also said on Monday it found most banks in a global study were weakly capitalised, with Citigroup ( C.N ), UBS ( UBSN.VX ) and Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ) more than two-thirds below the average. [ID:nGEE5AM11I] MSCI’s all-country word stock index .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.6 percent after gaining 1.7 percent on Monday. The volatile Chinese market .SSEC was down nearly 3.5 percent. Market analysts said there was little surprise that some profit taking was taking place. But they remained relatively bullish about the future. “China is down after a strong run,” said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. “But we’re still in a cyclical bull market.” The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei .225 hit its lowest close in four months, down 1 percent on the day. Japan’s current concerns are focused on worries financial firms will tap the market for equity financing and on a stronger yen hurting the shares of exporters. Many global stock investors are being cautious heading into the year-end, wanting to lock in profits after a very good run in 2009 while also worrying about the true state of the world economy. Some concerns about the U.S. economy were at least temporarily eased on Monday when data showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes had risen to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years.  Continued… See the original post here: GLOBAL MARKETS-Bank worries, profit-taking hits stocks (at Reuters)

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