Wynn Resorts intensified pressure on its shareholder Kazuo Okada on Tuesday when it filed a lawsuit in Nevada that accused the Japanese billionaire of committing “improper acts” and attempting “to convert Wynn Resorts assets for his own benefit”, the FT reports. The Las Vegas-based casino group, which also operates a casino in Macao, is at loggerheads with Mr Okada, a 20 per cent shareholder and director of the company. Wynn plans to redeem Mr Okada’s stake at a steep discount over a 10-year period, alleging in court papers that the former friend of its founder, Steve Wynn, made unauthorised payments to gaming regulators and violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In the lawsuit, filed on Tuesday morning in a district court in Nevada, Wynn alleged that Mr Okada pressed ahead with plans to create a casino in Manila Bay, in the Philippines – despite the company’s objections. “Many doors opened for [Mr] Okada in the Philippines due to his well publicised relationship with … Wynn Resorts,” the company alleged in the filing. It claimed Mr Okada “touted his relationship with and affiliation” with the company “to convince others” that Wynn supported his plan. Read more

The world’s largest independent oil trader says oil prices could jump this year to a record high above $150 a barrel because of growing tensions with Iran, the FT reports. Ian Taylor, chief executive of Vitol, said on Tuesday that the commodities trading house’s main scenario was for crude oil prices to remain at around current levels of $120 a barrel for the balance of 2012. But he warned: “Geopolitical risk, especially in the Middle East, creates potential material risk to the upside.” Mr Taylor said oil prices could even surpass the record high of nearly $150 a barrel set in mid-2008. “It is unlikely, but it is possible,” he said when asked whether prices would rise to a new record. The bullish outlook comes as oil executives, traders and policymakers warn about rising prices during International Petroleum Week, the annual gathering of the industry being held this week in London. Brent, the global oil benchmark, hit an eight-month high of $121.42 a barrel on Tuesday, up $1.37 on the day, as supply outages in South Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya, and the fear of a significant disruption in Iran, outweighed a slowdown in demand growth. Read more

Alibaba Group, China’s largest ecommerce company, has proposed to take its Hong Kong-listed unit Alibaba.com private amid a shift in strategy that is set to slow the growth of the website, reports the FT. Alibaba Group owns 74 per cent of its listed subsidiary and is 40 per cent owned by Yahoo. The company is offering minority shareholders HK$13.50 per share in cash, a 60.4 per cent premium over the stock’s 60-day average closing price. Trading in Alibaba.com shares has been suspended since February 9 pending the announcement. The group had secured a $3bn loan earlier this week that will help it complete the planned deal. The proposal comes as long-running negotiations with Yahoo over a deal to buy back part of Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba Group have come unstuck. The company’s plan to take Alibaba.com private is not part of a potential Yahoo deal, but driven by its shift in strategy. Read more

Stocks fell in Europe and Asia despite a much-anticipated debt deal sealing a second bail-out for Greece, with even the euro shedding early gains, the FT reports. But on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average earlier hit its highest mark in more than three years and the S&P 500 closed near its post-financial crisis high. An initial bounce in risk appetite quickly faded as investors digested the bleak state of Greek finances revealed in a sustainability analysis. “The news we have been waiting to hear – a Greek deal has been agreed – was met with a lack of enthusiasm by markets overnight,” said Lauren Rosborough, of Société Générale. “The front page of the FT, ‘Greek nightmare laid bare’, however, has largely undermined the effect of the announcement and we’d expect further consolidation today in asset classes.” Explaining the muted market reaction, she added: “It’s not so much ‘buy the rumour, sell the fact’ as ‘buy the rumour and ignore the fact completely’.” The FTSE All World index fell marginally for the first time in five sessions, while an earlier jump in the euro to a session high of $1.3293 quickly subsided. The single currency was trading nearly flat at $1.3236, down less than 0.1 per cent on the day. Read more

Eurozone finance ministers reached a long-delayed €130bn second bail-out for Greece early on Tuesday after strong-arming private holders of Greek bonds to take even deeper losses than they had accepted last month, the FT reports. Although Greek bondholders agreed in October to accept a 50 per cent cut in the face value of their bonds in face-to-face negotiations with Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, and German chancellor Angela Merkel, they will now be offered a “voluntary” deal with a haircut of 53.5 per cent, eurozone officials said. Charles Dallara, the lead negotiator for bondholders, said: “The biggest benefit here … is we’ve been able to avoid a disorderly default. “From my point of view, this is a solid deal for investors, a fair deal for all parties involved,” added Mr Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance. Read more

For the commute home,

- Dow 13,000: pity party! Read more

Global stock markets slipped for the first time in a week despite a much-anticipated debtdeal sealing a second bail-out for Greece with even the euro shedding early gains. Investors were in classic “buy the rumour, sell the fact” mode as an initial bounce in risk sentiment quickly faded and news of the bleak state of Greek finances revealed in a sustainability analysis was digested, reports the FT’s Global Markets Overview. The FTSE All World index fell 0.2 per cent to 217.39 for its first losses in five sessions while 0.4 per cent gains for the euro as it reached a session high of $1.3293 subsided into losses of 0.1 per cent. Asian stock markets were subdued with the FTSE Asia Pacific index declining 0.3 per cent and the Nikkei 225 Average 0.2 per cent lower, stemming a rally that has seen the Tokyo benchmark rise 6 per cent over the past seven sessions. In commodities markets, spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $1,740 per troy ounce while Brent crude lost 0.2 per cent to $119.86. Reuters reports that stock index futures are pointing to a higher open in the US this Tuesday as markets reopen after Monday’s Presidents Day holiday. Read more