A round-up of today's other business news in brief ...
Oil price falls 8% to $38 a barrel
Oil settled down nearly 8 per cent yesterday, dragged below $38 a barrel by the growing impact of the economic recession on global energy consumption. Russia and Ukraine signed a deal to help secure the resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, cut off for nearly a week in freezing temperatures.
US crude settled at $37.59, down $3.24, or 7.94 per cent, a barrel, after reaching a low of $37.48 a barrel.
Ryanair settles levy row at Hahn
Ryanair plans to scale down rather than end its 50-route service from Germany’s Hahn airport after settling a row over a new €3 passenger levy, writes Derek Scally in Berlin.
After last-minute negotiations yesterday, Hahn airport operators agreed to scrap the proposed levy. Ryanair had threatened to pull its 11 planes from the airport, for which it supplies 95 per cent of the traffic, if the levy was introduced.
The fee was proposed by operator Fraport, which also operates Frankfurt International.
After the levy was scrapped, Fraport was said to be negotiating the sale of its 65 per cent stake in the airport to the local authorities, who hold the remaining 35 per cent.
Local politicians were anxious to retain the airport, which employs an estimated 8,000 people in the region.
Ryanair has said it will announce “significant changes” to its Hahn service this morning.
Ormonde pleased with Spain results
Ormonde Mining, the IEX-listed exploration group, has said its drilling programme in Spain has found the reserves could support a far higher production rate than initially thought.
The company said drilling results from seven of the last holes at the Barruecopardo Tungsten Project in Salamanca may sustain a 400,000 tonnes per year production rate, almost double earlier estimates.
Ormonde holds a 90 per cent interest in the Barruecopardo project.
Elan shares fall after talks denial
Shares in Elan, Ireland’s largest drugmaker, fell in Dublin trading after denying it was in talks with Pfizer or another drugmaker to sell the company.
Elan is not in negotiations with any other drugmaker about a potential acquisition, chief executive officer Kelly Martin told Bloomberg last Friday.
The drugmaker is a "third of the way through" plans to raise $500 million (€374 million) by licensing out experimental cancer drugs, Mr Martin said. – ( Bloomberg)
Tullow Oil says well off Ghana fruitful
Explorer Tullow Oil said yesterday its Hyedua-2 well offshore Ghana flowed at a rate of 16,750 barrels of crude a day, confirming “good reservoir connectivity and very high productivity”.
Tests have indicated “that future production well deliverability will be in excess” of 20,000 barrels of oil a day, the company said in a statement.
The Hyedua-2 appraisal well, which lies in the Deepwater Tano license, was drilled to appraise the Jubilee field, the company said. – ( Bloomberg)
Russia stages mini rouble devaluation
Russia staged the second mini rouble devaluation of the year yesterday, the 14th such move in about two months, as it adjusted the exchange rate to reflect weak oil prices and the prospects of a recession.
Analysts said Russia's gas row with Ukraine – and Europe's calls for diversifying gas supply – called future gas revenue into question and put added pressure on the currency, due to the economy's heavy focus on export of natural resources.– ( Reuters)
