BP Share News (BP.)

The European Central Bank stunned markets yesterday as it warned that it may raise interest rates from emergency levels as soon as next month to combat inflation. Jean-Claude Trichet, its president, effectively called time on almost two years of ultra-loose policy, saying that an "increase of interest rates in the next meeting [in April] is possible". Mr Trichet's words, which came after the ECB pegged rates at 1% for a 23rd month, triggered a surge in the euro. It rose to $1.397 against the dollar, the highest level since November, and traded at 1.166 against the pound, the Times reports.Two of BP's most senior directors have taken bonus payments for their work in the year of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, although new chief executive Bob Dudley waived his reward. Byron Grote, finance director, and Iain Conn, head of downstream, had their £800,000 and £724,000 salaries and benefits topped up with rewards of £380,000 and £310,500 respectively. The bonuses amounted to 30% of the full potential payout, the Telegraph reports.BP, though, will not pay bonuses for last year to any of the executive directors involved in the disastrous Gulf of Mexico spill, but the UK oil group has awarded partial pay-outs to two directors for meeting specific divisional targets. Bob Dudley, chief executive, his predecessor Tony Hayward and Andy Inglis, the former head of exploration and production who left the company last October, have all been denied an annual bonus for 2010 and no director will receive shares under the long-term remuneration plan running from 2008 to 2010, BP disclosed in its annual report, the FT reports.Better-than-expected full-year results from Glencore have prompted analysts to raise their estimates of the valuation of the world's largest commodities trader ahead of a mooted flotation in the second quarter. Glencore on Thursday said its net income surged last year by 40% to $3.79bn on the back of high raw materials prices. Until now, analysts saw the $50bn-$60bn level as the ceiling for any valuation in an initial public offering, but after the results and a bullish update from the privately held company's senior executives, many said Glencore's worth could be higher, the FT reports.Sir Howard Davies, one of the most enduring and successful figures in British public life, has resigned as director of the London School of Economics, after new details emerged of the institution's relationship with Libya. The LSE council, the university's governing body, has also instigated a review of its conduct, which will be conducted by Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice who previously conducted an internal review into business practices at BAE Systems, the FT reports.Standard Chartered's tax contribution in the UK more than halved in 2010 - despite the Asian-focused bank generating record global profits that soared by 19%. The British-based bank, which has warned the Government that regulatory and tax changes could prompt it to move its headquarters out of London, paid $174m (£106.6m) in UK tax, after the deduction of double taxation relief, the Telegraph reports.Some of London's biggest hedge fund managers are shifting their operations to Malta in response to both the rising costs of business and the growing regulatory burden in the UK. The Mediterranean island is emerging alongside traditional rivals to London, such as Swiss towns Geneva and Zug, as another European location for hedge fund managers keen to maintain flexible operating arrangements - and avoid heavy tax bills, the FT reports.The force is with Lego, the Danish toymaker which saw profits soar by a galactic 63% last year thanks to a boost from Darth Vader and friends. The booming popularity of movie-themed box sets including Star Wars, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones pushed Lego's profits up to £563m, on revenues up by 32% to £1.8bn, the company said yesterday. Sales in the UK alone shot up by 48% over the year as a whole, and by 57% over the vital Christmas period, the Independent reports.