The news at a glance
Markets: Mideast unrest sends oil soaring; Energy: BP plants its flag in India; Biotech: Sanofi finally lands Genzyme; Magazines: Time gives Griffin the boot; Retailing: Borders turns to Chapter 11
Markets: Mideast unrest sends oil soaring
The price of a barrel of oil this week rose to a two-year high, while gold shot past $1,400 an ounce, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, said Stephen Kirkland in Bloomberg.com. Brent crude oil, the European benchmark, hit $105.78 a barrel in London, up more than 4 percent since Feb. 1; West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. standard, jumped 6.4 percent in a single day—to $95.42 a barrel—in New York. International stock indexes began the week with precipitous falls in Paris, Frankfurt, and other trading centers. The Mideast and North Africa account for 36 percent of the world’s annual output of crude.
Traders fear the unrest could lead to disruption in oil supplies, said the Associated Press, especially if the turmoil spreads from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, its neighbor on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia “sits atop the world’s largest proven reserves of conventional crude oil.” Any hint of instability in Saudi Arabia “could send oil prices surging across the world, threatening a continued global economic recovery.” In Bahrain, the majority population of Shiite Muslims has long chafed under Sunni rule.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Energy: BP plants its flag in India
In its second big purchase of oil and natural gas reserves in two months, BP has agreed to pay $7.2 billion for a 30 percent stake in Reliance Energy, the flagship of “India’s fast-growing oil and natural gas business,” said Vikas Bajaj in The New York Times. In January, BP signed a $7.8 billion deal with Rosneft, Russia’s largest energy producer, to drill in the Arctic. The tie-up with Reliance reflects BP’s recent strategy of partnering with strong local firms to explore for energy.
Biotech: Sanofi finally lands Genzyme
Ending “nearly nine months of back and forth between the two companies,” France’s Sanofi has agreed to acquire Genzyme, a Massachusetts biotech firm, for $20.1 billion in cash, said Greg Keller in the Associated Press. The addition of Genzyme’s portfolio of treatments for rare genetic diseases positions Sanofi “at the forefront of the market in lucrative drugs” for such disorders. Genzyme shareholders, for their part, gain the right to continuing cash payments “contingent on the success of several drugs.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Magazines: Time gives Griffin the boot
Time Inc., the magazine-publishing division of Time Warner, is searching for a new CEO following the abrupt departure of Jack Griffin, said Georg Szalai in HollywoodReporter.com. Griffin had been on the job since September, after Time lured him away from Meredith, publisher of Ladies’ Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens. Veteran Time managers complained that Griffin’s “way of interacting with the staff was seen as disruptive,” in particular his tendency to introduce sweeping reorganizations without discussing them first with department heads.
Retailing: Borders turns to Chapter 11
Bowing to “the inevitable,” Borders Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection, said Jim Milliot and Judith Rosen in PublishersWeekly.com. Bankruptcy rumors have dogged the company since December, when the bookstore chain missed payments to top publishers. The company will shutter about 200 stores, some 30 percent of its network, in the next several weeks as it attempts to gain control over its costs and debts. Like other brick-and-mortar booksellers, Borders has seen profits and revenue tumble since the emergence of Amazon.com and other e-retailers.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Inside Chopard's hotel on Place Vendôme
The Blend Swiss jewellery maison Chopard unveils its new jewel, an ultra-exclusive Parisian hotel that elevates the art of hospitality
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Today's political cartoons - October 14, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - Columbus Day, the death of satire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Lonely Planet and the surge of age-gap romances
In The Spotlight Laura Dern is the latest Hollywood actor to star opposite a much younger love interest
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
The news at a glance...International
feature International
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The bottom line
feature Youthful startup founders; High salaries for anesthesiologists; The myth of too much homework; More mothers stay a home; Audiences are down, but box office revenue rises
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The week at a glance...Americas
feature Americas
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance...United States
feature United States
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance
feature Comcast defends planned TWC merger; Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles; Takeda faces $6 billion in damages; American updates loyalty program; Regulators hike leverage ratio
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The bottom line
feature The rising cost of graduate degrees; NSA surveillance affects tech profits; A glass ceiling for female chefs?; Bonding to a brand name; Generous Wall Street bonuses
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance
feature GM chief faces Congress; FBI targets high-frequency trading; Yellen confirms continued low rates; BofA settles mortgage claims for $9.3B; Apple and Samsung duke it out
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The week at a glance...International
feature International
By The Week Staff Last updated