MOSCOW (Reuters) – A delay in allowing billionaire tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov’s gold firm Polyus to sail into the prestigious FTSE 100 Index, while probably procedural, leaves nagging concerns that politics and business in Russia make for a dangerous cocktail.

The postponement, ordered by a committee chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, comes just two months after Prokhorov’s sudden exit from Russian politics following an acrimonious clash with the Kremlin.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A delay in allowing billionaire tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov’s gold firm Polyus to sail into the prestigious FTSE 100 Index, while probably procedural, leaves nagging concerns that politics and business in Russia make for a dangerous cocktail.

The postponement, ordered by a committee chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, comes just two months after Prokhorov’s sudden exit from Russian politics following an acrimonious clash with the Kremlin.

MOSCOW, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Gold miner Polyus Gold , part controlled by tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, said on
Tuesday it had failed to win approval from the Russian
government for its proposed move to London’s prestigious FTSE
100 index.

Polyus, controlled by Prokhorov and potash magnate
Suleiman Kerimov, said in a statement the government commission
that evaluates potential foreign investment in Russia had
delayed a decision on whether to approve the plans.

MOSCOW, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Russian steelmaker Evraz , part-owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, said on
Monday it would move its domicile to Britain, where it is
seeking a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange and
inclusion in the FTSE 100 Index.

The move would give it a broader shareholder base,
better long-term access to capital and improved liquidity, Evraz
said in a presentation to investors.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A decade after an acrimonious summit on racism, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged nations on Thursday not to use the issue for “inflammatory rhetoric,” a reference to attempts to brand Israel as racist.

“We are all aware that the original Durban conference and its follow-up two years ago caused immense controversy,” the U.N. secretary-general told a meeting on Thursday marking the 10th anniversary of the Durban, South Africa, conference.

HONG KONG/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Blackstone Group’s (BX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Ben Jenkins, a senior managing director and the firm’s former top Asia dealmaker, is leaving the firm and returning to New York after four years in the region, two sources said.

Jenkins was Blackstone’s top Asia manager until December, when the firm moved Michael Chae, a senior managing director in New York, to Hong Kong, to run the private equity unit there as well as to run relationships with Blackstone’s investors in the region.

NEW YORK/BANGALORE (Reuters) – Private equity company Carlyle Group filed for an IPO on Tuesday, a long-awaited move to catch up with rivals Blackstone, KKR and Apollo, but the volatility of global markets means an offering is unlikely until the first half of 2012.

The IPO will put Carlyle, famous for its Washington connections, under even more public scrutiny as it fulfills a long-time desire to become a publicly traded global brand.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) -
Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) wants to buy Autonomy Corp (AUTN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
for $10.3 billion and is pondering a spinoff of its personal
computing arm, setting in motion a transformation that mirrors
IBM’s (IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) successful overhaul last decade.

In a barrage of news that stunned Wall Street and triggered
an early announcement of its third-quarter earnings, HP also
announced it would kill a plethora of WebOS devices, including
a TouchPad tablet that failed to excite consumers.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co is close to a deal to buy British software company Autonomy for $10 billion and will announce on Thursday a long-rumored spinoff of its PC division, the world’s largest, two sources familiar with the company’s plans said.

Shares in HP, a storied Silicon Valley icon that dominates the personal computing industry, reversed course to gain more than 3 percent when the news was first reported by Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources. But the stock quickly backtracked and was down more than 4 percent at $30 in afternoon trade.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard
Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is close to a deal to buy British software company
Autonomy (AUTN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for $10 billion and will announce on Thursday
a long-rumored spinoff of its PC division, the world’s largest,
two sources familiar with the company’s plans said.

Shares in HP, a storied Silicon Valley icon that dominates
the personal computing industry, reversed course to gain more
than 3 percent when the news was first reported by Bloomberg,
citing unnamed sources. But the stock quickly backtracked and
was down more than 4 percent at $30 in afternoon trade.