LIB DEM MP AMONG UNHAPPY IL&P SHAREHOLDERS - The Irish Times reports that the British politician who unmasked Ryan Giggs's super-injunction is among a group of rebel Irish Life & Permanent shareholders who have threatened to sue the State if they are not paid 90 cent for each of their shares.
The paper says Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming is one of eight investors whose UK lawyers have written to the State seeking the payment that amounts to almost 24 times the current share price.
Mr Hemming - better known for revealing Giggs as the footballer who secured an injunction preventing the media from reporting on his extra-marital affairs - is part of the group led by the Malta investment fund Scotchstone Capital. The group has led a high-profile campaign to stop the nationalisation of the company.
The paper says UK law firm Brown Rudnick, representing the eight shareholders, wrote to the Government yesterday, saying they would be willing to reach a settlement.
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LINKEDIN IRISH ARM RECORDS €3.4m LOSS - The Irish Independent says the Irish unit of LinkedIn, the online business social network that has its international headquarters in Dublin, posted losses of $4.8m (€3.4m) in the period from November 2009 to the end of December as it established the operation here.
Revenue at the division was $43m (€30.3m), according to the first set of accounts filed by the business here.
The Indo says the accounts note that LinkedIn Ireland generates its revenue from enterprises and professional organisations by selling its hiring and marketing solutions, both online and offline, through field agents. It also receives revenue from the sales of job adverts on its website and the sale of premium subscriptions to members.
The paper says the establishment of the LinkedIn HQ in Ireland was a major coup for the IDA when it was announced last year. The company recently floated on the stock exchange in the US with shares priced at $45. Yesterday they were trading at $106, valuing the company at over $10 billion (€7 billion).
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CHINA FRAUD MAY HAVE CAUGHT OUT TOP INVESTOR - The Independent reports that veteran fund manager Anthony Bolton has admitted that he may have been caught out by Chinese fraudsters. His Fidelity China Special Situations fund has lost money in two investments in companies that have been accused of fraud.
The paper says the fund was launched with some fanfare last year but has struggled to produce the kind of sparkling returns Mr Bolton was previously associated with. His UK Special Situations fund consistently outperformed the market for almost three decades. But since the turn of the year his China fund's share price has declined around 15%.
Fidelity confirmed yesterday that Mr Bolton had liquidated holdings in several Chinese reverse merger stocks at a loss, including in two companies accused of fraud.
China Integrated Energy, one of the firms, lost 90% of its market value this year after being accused of fraud by short-sellers. Its auditor KPMG resigned but the Nasdaq-listed company has denied the allegations.
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US OIL GIANT TO SPLIT IN TWO - The Financial Times reports that America's third largest integrated oil company, ConocoPhillips, is to hive off its refining assets to focus exclusively on exploration and production.
ConocoPhillips announced that it would split into two publicly traded entities, spinning off its refining and marketing business by the first half of next year. The FT says ConocoPhillips shares rose 7.5% after the announcement. Shares in Marathon Oil have also surged since it announced a similar plan two weeks ago.
The paper says this marks the second attempt by Jim Mulva, chief executive, to restructure the company following an earlier acquisition spree. ConocoPhillips is the smallest of the six oil majors.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Mulva argued that the company's refining operations were a drag on the upstream division, especially in the face of increased competition from state-owned oil giants.
