LONDON (ShareCast) - The rhetoric between Kiev and Moscow has taken a distinct turn for the worse. On Wednesday, Russia warned that any attack on its citizens in Ukraine would be considered as an attack on itself. That came as an ‘anti-terrorist’ operation against pro-Russian militants in the eastern part of the country was restarted. Should the agreement reached last week to de-escalate the situation collapse then a race between Washington and Moscow to fix the blame on the other side could ensue and also set of new rounds of tit-for-tat measures, The Wall Street Journal Europe writes.

Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna has sounded the alarm over the potential takeover of AstraZeneca by America’s Pfizer. His concern lies in that the transaction might turn into just an asset-stripping operation. Ummuna also called for more ‘grit in the machine’ to slow down cross-border takeovers, highlighting how AstraZeneca employs 7,500 staff in Britain and accounts for almost 3% of the country’s manufacturing exports, according to The Times.

In what amounts to a stark warning for those wanting Scotland to secede, ratings agency Standard&Poor’s has said that the new country could end up with a banking system much like that of Iceland. Simply stated, an independent Scotland would face a situation in which the assets of its banks were 10 times greater than the size of its entire economy. Hence, authorities would be unable to credibly support them should a new crisis arise, The Daily Telegraph reports.

US industrial conglomerate General Electric is set to be in talks to purchase French train maker Alstom in a transaction thought to be worth £7.75bn, for a 25% premium to the company’s current market capitalisation. Bouygues, which owns a 29% stake in Alstom, is thought to be backing the American firm. That comes on the heels of a profit warning from the French firm this past January, due to lower than expected demand for its thermal power plants. As a result, it expected to consume more cash than initially thought too, says The Daily Telegraph.

It may take a decade to reach peak activity but by 2024 the annual amount of funds dedicated by the shale gas industry may hit £3.3bn. In total, the fracking industry may spend £33bn over the coming 18 years to drill 4,000 wells with the ability to supply a third of the nation's gas needs, a study commissioned by the UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) shows. In parallel, that could create up to 64,000 new jobs if Britain moves to rapidly exploit its shale gas reserves, The Times reports.

Coca Cola’s largest shareholder, Warren Buffet, is against the highly contested pay plans for the company’s executives. Nevertheless, he demurred from voting ‘no’ because its “un-American to vote no at a Coke meeting". Speaking on CNBC, he termed the compensation awards “excessive” but added that his investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway, demurred from voting against them because it did not want to express disapproval of the company’s management, The Daily Telegraph says.

AB

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE