Bloggy Business Today

By Clara Ferreira-Marques and Victoria Howley

CAPE TOWN/LONDON |
Sun Feb 5, 2012 10:03am EST

CAPE TOWN/LONDON (Reuters) – Top executives at trader Glencore (GLEN.L) and miner Xstrata (XTA.L) are hammering out the final details of an $80 billion tie-up to seal the industry’s largest ever takeover, which could be announced as early as Tuesday.

Xstrata, in which Glencore already has a 34 percent stake, announced last week it had been approached by the world’s largest diversified commodities trader and was in discussions over an all-share “merger of equals,” a deal that would be the largest in the sector since Rio Tinto’s takeover of Alcan in 2007.

The agreement is set to be announced this week, potentially Tuesday, when Xstrata is due to publish 2011 results.

One source involved in the proceedings described the mood behind the scenes over the weekend as “constructive,” and others said brushed off concerns the latest round of talks would collapse over either of the two hurdles that have tripped them up in the past — governance and price.

The two groups, which restarted discussions before Christmas after years of on-off talks, have reached a preliminary understanding on the structure of the top management, according to sources familiar with the deal, with Xstrata expected to take a majority of seats on the board, to keep its chairman, City heavyweight John Bond, as well as its chief executive, Mick Davis, and its chief financial officer, Trevor Reid.

Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg, who will be the largest single shareholder in the combined mining and trading entity, is expected to hold a deputy position.

Davis, who has been at the helm of Xstrata for a decade, is expected to receive an up to 10 million pound ($16 million)retention package in the event of “change of control,” to stay on as chief executive, the Sunday Times reported.

In the past, the issue of price and premium and the difficult valuation of Glencore’s marketing business has separated the two companies, but the two are this time discussing a percentage premium to Xstrata’s share price in the “low single digits” — effectively a ratio to balance out the value of both companies, according to several of the sources.

But Xstrata shareholders, who helped block a deal before Glencore’s record listing last May on the grounds that they needed a clearer valuation of the trader, could push for more.

“John Bond is the chairman, so we will be making very sure that he maximizes value for Xstrata shareholders, which means

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By Jan Strupczewski

BRUSSELS |
Sun Feb 5, 2012 9:16am EST

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers told Greece it could not go ahead with an agreed deal to restructure privately held debt until it guaranteed to implement reforms to secure a second financing package from the euro zone and the IMF.

Euro zone ministers had hoped to meet on Monday to finalize the second Greek bailout, which has to be in place by mid-March if Athens is to avoid a chaotic default, but the meeting was postponed because of Greek reluctance to commit to reforms.

Instead, the ministers held a conference call on Saturday to take stock of progress on the second financing package, which euro zone leaders set at 130 billion euros back in October.

“There was a very clear message that was conveyed from all participants of the teleconference … to the Greeks that enough is enough,” one euro zone official said. “There is a great sense of frustration that they are dragging their feet.

“They should get their act together and start talking honestly, decisively and speedily with the Troika on the aspects of the programme that remain to be finalized – on fiscal and labor market reforms,” the official said.

The Troika are the representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who have prepared a Greek debt sustainability analysis on which the second financing programme will be based.

“The main issue is the lack of reform, or prior action, in Greece,” a second euro zone official said.

Euro zone ministers were also dissatisfied with Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos because they believed the minister was paying more attention to his position within his party ahead of the April elections than to talks about reforms.

“There is a great sense of frustration with Minister Venizelos, who is very hard to get hold of because he is very busy campaigning for the leadership of (the Greek party) PASOK, so he is not available to meet with Troika members,” the first official said.

The Greek finance ministry said that comment seemed “ridiculous, if not suspicious, to all those who have a basic knowledge of the minister’s daily schedule.”

The ministry said his schedule included long meetings with troika representatives, constant contacts with counterparts and heads of institutions involved in the troika, meetings with the prime minister, teleconferences, contacts with the Institute of International Finance on a planned bond swap and generally “superhuman efforts made 24 hours a day” by a small

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Every person has its own selling style, a natural projection of an individual’s personality. If it is to be done with humor, it has to be done naturally, efficiently and effectively. It is important for every individual to use humor as an added selling style and it has to be developed continuously. Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Stern, author, management consultant, lecturer and entrepreneur, announces the second chapter in his evolutionary Web Book on http://www.BizIsSimple.com

RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The holy grail of business management would be finding a tool that really works, and then multiplying this concept indefinitely to churn out riches. “Luckily such a tool does not exist, so we are still dependent on entrepreneurship and innovation to make it as a business- person in this world” said Chris Stern, Chairman and CEO of the Institute For Efficient Management.

In his new chapter on BizIsSimple.Com Stern compares three important business books and carves out a methodology of how to assess an organization based on just eight principles. Stern added: “We have been using this tool for years and it has helped us tremendously to quickly and interactively determine health and strategic potential of a company. If any one tool has the potential to be a multiplier, this one would be it”.

Stern makes an interesting point, when he eludes that so far none of the business gurus actually became a billionaire. If their theories really worked, that should have been the case. Stern: “The problem with gurus is that they either look at the past and conclude from hindsight what the new way of doing things should be, or they come up with theories that are just too complicated and impractical”. The goal of BizIsSimple.com is to look at business administration in a new and more practical way and help readers find tools they can immediately apply in every day business life.

The web book will be a continuous work in progress and in contrast to paper publications, the author can add and change content based on reader’s input, or updated knowledge. The second chapter is called “What Really Works” and is available for immediate reading at http://www.bizissimple.com.

Every chapter comes with a downloadable presentation and the author plans to add video sequences in the near future. Until further notice, access to the site is free of charge.

About IFEM

IFEM Management Consultants Inc, doing business as Institute For Efficient Management, is a management-consulting firm that delivers integrated business administration solutions for organizations that need to simplify the processes of strategic and business management. IFEM helps its client’s design and implement strategic plans that are highly efficient and effective. IFEM’s founder Chris J. Stern

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By Angeliki Koutantou and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS |
Sat Feb 4, 2012 9:45am EST

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s government on Saturday struggled on in talks with lenders to secure a 130 billion euro ($171 bilion) bailout before turning to the trickier task of persuading political leaders to back the unpopular reforms involved in the rescue.

On the brink of bankruptcy, Athens must wrap up talks with foreign lenders on the bailout and get political approval for it soon to ensure funds begin flowing in time for the country to pay back 14.5 billion euros of bonds falling due in mid-March.

But negotiations with its ‘troika’ of international lenders have stumbled over their demands that include cutting labor costs by axing holiday bonuses and lowering the minimum wage – proposals strongly opposed by Greek political party leaders.

Athens failed to reach a deal with the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in marathon negotiations that ended early on Saturday, with crucial issues still unresolved.

“The troika is not backing down on wages, holiday bonuses and supplementary pensions,” a Greek government official said after ministers met to discuss the reforms on Saturday.

“None of these issues have been resolved. They are all open and the onus is on political leaders.”

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was due to continue talks with lenders on Saturday in a bid to clinch agreement before technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos calls the socialist, conservative and far-right leaders in his coalition to seek their blessing.

That meeting of party chiefs, initially scheduled for Saturday, has now been put off until Sunday early afternoon, a government source said.

Euro zone finance ministers are also holding a conference call on Saturday to discuss Greece’s rescue, Venizelos has said.

“There are issues to be resolved but we expect the negotiations to be concluded by tomorrow,” a senior government official told Reuters on Saturday on condition of anonymity.

PROOF OF COMMITMENT

Increasingly frustrated with Athens’ inability to enact the reforms needed to reshape the recession-hit Greek economy, foreign lenders have demanded proof of the country’s commitment to spending cuts before doling out any more funds.

They want all the country’s political chiefs – who are keen not to be linked directly with the painful reforms as they gear up for elections expected in April – to back the measures, irrespective of the outcome at the polls.

“Greek political leaders must offer their commitment to the program,” said a source close to the lenders.

“No more loans will be approved if they don’t.”

The lenders have

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