BUZZ-Total returns
** Buying and holding Total shares since the day Christophe de Margerie took over as CEO would have pocketed a 23.3 pct return, assuming dividends were re-invested. Chart: http://link.reuters.com/zyb33w
** de Margerie's reign covered the spike in crude oil to nearly $150/brl, the 2008 financial crisis and consequent crash in crude oil to close to $30/brl, and a stuttering and uneven post-crisis recovery.
** Performance puts Total mid-table on stock returns vs peers over that period but underscores importance of the hefty dividend payout. Excluding the dividend Total shares are actually down a fifth.
** The CEO of the French oil major was killed when his private jet collided with a snow plough as it was taking off from Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Monday night. (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : vincent.flasseur.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)