G8 meet in Russia to focus on energy supply, security
Moscow, Russia: The Group of Eight nations, comprising of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, begin talks in Russia this weekend. Indications are that the talks will focus strongly on the issue of global energy supplies and security.

According to a report in The Financial Times, with European Governments suffering a severe jolt in energy supplies, resulting from Russia's price increase dispute with Ukraine over the New Year, European G8 governments may use the summit to pressure Russia into diversifying its energy exports.

French finance minister Thierry Breton may table proposals for longer-term contracts with Russia as an energy supplier as well as for providing assistance in the acquisition of funding for the development of more pipelines.

The proposals are expected to provide the required incentives for Russia to ratify the Energy Charter Treaty, which it has already signed. The 50 ECT signatories are cureently discussing regulations for the movement of oil, gas and power across national borders.
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Singapore's PSA concedes P&O takeover battle to DP World
London, UK: Singapore's PSA International Pte has said, through a Regulatory News Service statement, that it won't raise its offer for Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Co., (P&O) conceding victory to Dubai's DP World in a takeover battle for the168-year-old company.

PSA said that it won't raise its bid above the 470 pence a share it offered on Jan. 26. DP World offered 520 pence a share, or US$6.8bn, in response to PSA after making an initial offer of 443 pence a share.

The acquisition UK's largest port company , which operates container terminals around the world, would have made PSA the world's largest port operator. The acquisition now allows DP World to become the world's third-largest operator, trailing PSA and Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, which is the No. 1 port operator.

Container port operators are looking to cash in on the growth in the volume of world trade, which is continually on the rise even as U.S. and European consumers increase demand for low-cost Asian goods.

World trade is now forecast to grow 7.6 per cent in 2006, according to the International Monetary Fund.

This is the second time in fifteen months that DPA has outbid PSA for port assets, paying CSX Corp. US$1.15bn in December 2004 for terminals in Hong Kong and South America.

P&O was founded in 1837 to ship mail to Spain and Portugal and employs about 22,000 people.
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De Beers declares record production of diamonds for 2005
Cape Town, RSA: Ahead of declaring its results on Friday, De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer and 45 per cent owned by mining giant Anglo American, has said that it will record diamond production of 49 million carats in 2005.

The group has reported production of 23.7 million carats in the first half of the year.

De Beers officials also said that De Beers was aiming to record earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of over US$2.0bn by 2009, up from US$1.3bn to US$1.4bn in 2004. Company officials said that they estimate that worldwide consumer demand for diamonds had grown between six to seven per cent in US dollar terms.

The company currently has 65 joint venture partners around the world.
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Tundra pickup truck: Toyota prepares to assault Big Three's last bastion
Chicago, USA: Toyota may have launched its most calculated attack on the last citadel of the Big 3 US auto makers, with the unveiling of a powerful version of its pick up truck, Tundra, at the Chicago Auto Show today.

The launch of the new version of Toyota's Tundra pickup marks the first time that the company has offered a truck as big and powerful as vehicles from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

Though the Tundra does not go on sale until a year from now, its arrival on the scene presages Toyota's assault on the last bastion of the US automakers - the pickup truck market. The introduction of the model is significant, for its success is critical to Toyota's chances of passing Chrysler for the number three spot in the US market.

Toyota currently holds 13.2 per cent of the United States market for the fourth place.

Toyota's Camry, has been the best-selling family car in the United States for the past five years, while the Lexus has been the country's top-selling luxury division. It's three-year-old brand Scion, is already a hit with younger consumers. The Tundra is compatible with Bluetooth technology, a feature found on its Lexus models, and has multiple connection ports for laptops, cellphones and other devices.

The pickup truck market in the US has some of the most fiercely loyal buyers in the industry, who tend to stick to a brand for a lifetime.
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