Maersk Likely to Shelve Plans to List Drilling Division
Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk is likely to shelve plans to list its struggling offshore drilling division because of weak market conditions, according to five finance sources familiar with the matter.The Danish company is now expected to focus on a trade sale of Maersk Drilling, and extend the timeline to divest the unit beyond its initial target of the end of 2018, said the sources who declined to be named as the discussions are private.Maersk group has not publicly put a price tag on the division…
UN Deal Sends More Migrants to Turkey from Greece
Two ferries carrying more than 120 migrants returned to Turkey from the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday, in the second round of arrivals under an EU deal with Ankara to stem mass migration to Europe across the Aegean Sea. The accord, which came into force on Monday, aims to help end a chaotic influx into the European Union of migrants and refugees, most fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond, after more than 1 million arrived last year. Around 325 people have now been sent back from the Greek islands under the accord, which the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) has condemned and rights advocates say may violate international law. They are to be sent to a camp near Turkey's border with Bulgaria, to which the UNHCR said it had yet to gain access.
Migrants Returned from Greece arrive in Turkey
Three passenger boats return migrants from Lesbos, Chios; desperate migrants continue to cross despite deal. The first migrants deported from Greek islands under a disputed EU-Turkey deal were shipped back to Turkey on Monday in a drive to shut down the main route by which a million people fleeing war and poverty crossed the Aegean Sea in the last year. Under the pact criticised by refugee agencies and human rights campaigners, Ankara will take back all migrants and refugees who enter Greece illegally, including Syrians. In return, the European Union will take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with more money, early visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.
Twelve Migrants Drown Trying to Reach Europe from Turkey
Twelve bodies were found on Turkey's western coast and 26 people were rescued on Tuesday after a boat carrying migrants bound for Greece capsized, the Turkish coastguard said in a statement. Responding to a distress signal sent in the early morning near Izmir, the coastguard found the bodies of at least five children according to Dogan News Agency. The coastguard said a helicopter and three boats were still searching for others. All of those who died, which also included one pregnant woman, came from Iraq and had tried to sail from Aliaga in Izmir province to the Greek island of Lesbos, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. On Wednesday…
Uber Boats Seek to Bypass Istanbul's Road Traffic
With the towering bridges that span the Bosphorus choked by traffic, a new boat service from Uber aims to capitalise on Istanbul's infamous road congestion. In partnership with local sea transport company Navette the Uber Boat venture is unlikely to net a significant chunk of the company's Turkey revenue, but it is further evidence of the strategy underpinning its offerings - making it easier to transport anything, in any way, by first booking a pickup through a mobile app. "If we can get you a car in five minutes…
Oil Deal Between Iraqi Kurdistan & Baghdad Welcomed
The United States welcomes an agreement between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and its northern Kurdistan region over the management of oil exports, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday. Biden told an Atlantic Council summit in Istanbul that Washington also supported the development of an oil pipeline from Iraq's Basra to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Dasha Afanasieva; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Jonny Hogg and Alison Williams)
Turkish Assets Rise Slightly as Oil Prices Fall
Turkish assets rose on Tuesday as tension eased in neighbouring Iraq, leading oil prices to fall and concern about Turkey's trade balance to diminish. The main Istanbul share index closed up 0.43 percent at 79290.79, outpacing the MSCI index of emerging markets, which was little changed. The Turkish lira firmed to 2.1240 against the dollar from 2.1311 late on Monday. The yield on Turkey's 10-year benchmark government bond fell to 8.97 percent from 9.01 percent. Markets were largely unaffected by manufacturing figures hat showed Turkey's calendar-adjusted industrial production expanded 3.3 percent year-on-year in May. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Larry King)
