The Capitalist

  • THE ART OF PEACEFUL PROTEST (IN SWINDON)
    Thursday, 2nd September 2010
    STEVE DINNEEN
    IN an age where Facebook protests can reach hundreds of thousands of members within a few hours, often for the most spurious reasons – the lynching of women who put cats in bins being a recent example – it’s nice to see a good old fashioned show of dissent. One-man-army Paul Slennett, owner of three Christian bookshops, descended on the unsuspecting Swindon branch of Nationwide yesterday to protest against changes to the terms of his business account. Armed with nothing but an eight foot placard and a thermos flask he mounted what is perhaps the politest demonstration in the history of... [Read more]

  • BORIS OUT FOR A RIDE WITH KELLY BROOK TO LAUNCH BIKE SCHEME
    Wednesday, 1st September 2010
    STEVE DINNEEN
    Boris Johnson’s love affair with two wheels continued yesterday with the launch of his driver-frustrating Sky Ride scheme, where roads are cleared throughout central London to allow cyclists to take... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Tuesday, 31st August 2010
    STEVE DINNEEN
    FIVE City brokers headed down to 1 Lombard Street on Friday lunchtime for a sumptuous seasonal feast of roast grouse. They whetted their appetites with scallops, foie gras and carpaccio of beef,... [Read more]
  • CITY CRIMS REFUSE TO STEAL BIKES ON DEMAND
    Tuesday, 31st August 2010
    STEVE DINNEEN
    BETWEEN BoJo’s bikes and the craze for cycling to work, two wheels are very much in vogue. So it makes sense to take out insurance for your new mode of transport, right? Wrong. Not if a new campaign... [Read more]

  • A CAAN-DO ATTITUDE IN FLOODED PAKISTAN
    Friday, 27th August 2010
    JEREMY HAZLEHURST
    AT a time of year when many City folk are sunning themselves on beaches abroad, it’s good to see that James Caan, the entrepreneur most famous for his appearances on Dragons’ Den, is putting his cash... [Read more]
  • HEDGE FUND MAN GOES LONG ON BANGERS
    Thursday, 26th August 2010
    JEREMY HAZLEHURST
    CELEBRITY endorsement works, at least if the celebrity involved is a glamorous sportsman like Usain Bolt, who yesterday announced the biggest deal ever, to help Puma flog its pumps and T-shirts. But... [Read more]
  • TOP FOREX STAR TAKES TIME OUT FROM RBS
    Wednesday, 25th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    A BLOW for the Royal Bank of Scotland – and, by extension, to the rest of us – as one of the most celebrated foreign exchange traders in the City hops out of the bank’s revolving door. Mark Barnes... [Read more]
  • TRADERS SEX UP THE DULL WORLD OF FOREX
    Tuesday, 24th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    THE THINGS that bored traders get up to when they get a minute, eh? The Capitalist chances upon an, err, enterprising website set up by a pair of forex traders, who claim to have cracked the... [Read more]
  • GRADUATES GET CREATIVE ABOUT JOINING THE DAILY BUMP ’N’ GRIND
    Monday, 23rd August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IT SEEMS the yoof of today is becoming ever more resourceful when it comes to securing a first job, despite all the sympathetic noises from older generations over the plight of school-leavers and... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 23rd August 2010
    IT WAS off to the St Pancras Grand champagne bar for an exquisite champagne-and-oyster lunch on Friday for these six City boys and girls, who clearly had something to celebrate. On the menu were four... [Read more]
  • BANKING CHEMISTRY GEEKS GET CREATIVE
    Friday, 20th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    THANK heaven for the idle pairs of hands which yesterday provided The Capitalist with the throatiest chuckle of the week. Into the inbox popped a link that’s been doing the rounds in the City,... [Read more]
  • FINANCE BOSS SAYS SORRY FOR HITLER GAG
    Thursday, 19th August 2010
    AN UPDATE on the saga of Stephen Schwarzman, the Blackstone Group chief executive who ruffled a feather or two recently by comparing the plight of the private equity industry to the Second World War... [Read more]
  • SMITH JETS OFF ON LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY
    Wednesday, 18th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IN THE wake of the crisis, understated chic is still the name of the game for City top dogs – even when they’re kicking back on their summer hols. Who should be spotted by one of The Capitalist’s... [Read more]
  • finance boss in the wars after hitler gag
    Tuesday, 17th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    AS A hack, it gets frustrating to be confronted with a deafening silence when asking any financier to stand up and publicly defend the industry against politically-motivated attacks – especially when... [Read more]
  • CITY GIRLS GET A TASTE OF FIGHT CLUB SCENE
    Monday, 16th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    REPORTS may still be rife over sexual discrimination in the City, but we ladies certainly aren’t ones to take such inequalities lying down. The Capitalist has long been intrigued by the growing... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 16th August 2010
    WEST London gastro pub Paradise By Way of Kensal Green is clearly onto a winner with its new ruse – a private karaoke room for well-oiled customers to sing their hearts out. This group ended up... [Read more]
  • THE CITY’S GOT TALENT: OUR TOP TEN LOVELIEST LADIES
    Friday, 13th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    1 GEORGIA RAIMES WORLD FIRST Last year’s winner, the gorgeous Sarah Davison of RBS Sempra, was always going to be a tough act to follow, but the City has found an eminently worthy successor in the... [Read more]
  • GUARDIAN DRAGS ITS HEELS OVER RENEWING HAY SPONSORSHIP DEAL
    Thursday, 12th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    WHAT with an enthusiastic push into online investment, a string of ill-advised private equity deals and a move to swanky new offices at Kings Cross, it appears more traditional stalwarts of the... [Read more]
  • BAD TEMPERS AND CHICKEN WINGS IN OBAMA’S ECONOMIC HOTHOUSE
    Wednesday, 11th August 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    WHEN Christina Romer, Chair of the US Council of Economic Advisors, quit her role suddenly last week, speculation was rife that she had been forced out due to fighting with colleague Lawrence... [Read more]
  • THE CITY’S GOT TALENT: THE HUNKIEST GENTS IN FINANCE
    Tuesday, 10th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    ANTHONY ASTBURY, GFI GROUP Environmental markets broker Anthony takes the crown in the second annual round-up of the City’s hunkiest gents, voted for by your good selves and judged by a panel of... [Read more]
  • DUNSTONE SWEEPS THE BOARD AT COWES
    Monday, 9th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IT’S been a good year for Charles Dunstone. Not only did the Carphone Warehouse tycoon wed his long-time sweetheart Celia Gordon Shute and deliver robust profits for his shareholders over the past 12... [Read more]
  • CITY EYE
    Monday, 9th August 2010
    YOUNG Romy Keller was beaming yesterday after her father Philip, the head of sales at Diagnostic Health Solutions, won a City A.M. competition giving her the chance to walk out with Chelsea... [Read more]
  • STRATEGY BEAR EYES A CELEBRITY LIFESTYLE
    Friday, 6th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    SOCIETE Générale’s notorious über-bear strategist Albert Edwards has an axe to grind – and this time, it’s nothing to do with those of a sunnier disposition predicting equities are set on an... [Read more]
  • ANCIENT INDIAN SEXUAL WISDOM, PIPED LIKE MUSIC TO YOUR EARS
    Thursday, 5th August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    HURRAH for technology: the days of keeping up appearances among fellow passengers by trawling through suitably intellectual reading material on the daily commute are officially over. The Kama Sutra,... [Read more]
  • GOODHART: IF I WERE ON TODAY’S MPC, I’D WANT TO BE PUT TO SLEEP
    Wednesday, 4th August 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    ATTENDEES at the London School of Economics’ (LSE) monetary policy conference yesterday morning were treated to an A-list talking heads line-up, with former members of the Monetary Policy Committee (... [Read more]
  • CITY SAILORS ARE BUSY BOBBING AROUND DOWN AT COWES WEEK
    Tuesday, 3rd August 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    ALL aboard, folks – Cowes Week is here again, which means days of sailing and schmoozing in the Isle of Wight for the water babies of the City. And with a few days already elapsed, I hear there’s... [Read more]
  • A CURIOUS PAST LIES BEHIND THE FSA’S CITY BONUS CRACKDOWN
    Monday, 2nd August 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) was talking tough last week with plans to adopt EU rules that regulate bonuses at financial institutions. The rules include measures to ensure that 40 per cent... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 2nd August 2010
    SIX City music aficionados visited Island Restaurant & Bar for dinner before strolling across Hyde Park to enjoy a night at the BBC Proms last week. Of course, this classy group knew that the... [Read more]
  • NEW METRO BANK LURES IN CANDY BROTHERS
    Friday, 30th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    OFF to the preview party for Metro Bank’s new Holborn store on Wednesday evening, where anyone who was anyone gathered to drink champagne under the gaudy red-and-blue rafters and gush about the... [Read more]
  • PIMCO’S GROSS LOWERS THE TONE WITH A TOUCH OF TOILET HUMOUR
    Thursday, 29th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    FULL marks to Pimco managing director Bill Gross, who has excelled even his own high standards of witty repartee in his latest Investment Outlook newsletter. The most recent missive is dedicated to... [Read more]
  • CITY HEADS OUT FOR A GLORIOUS WEEK OF RACING AT GOODWOOD
    Wednesday, 28th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    HORSERACING fanatics in the City have abandoned ship again this week to head over to Glorious Goodwood, running all week until Saturday. Around 100,000 attendees are expected to descend on Goodwood... [Read more]
  • KILLING KITTENS ORGY ORGANISER WHIPS HER BUSINESS UP A NOTCH
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    THOSE Londoners with a persistent naughty streak have probably heard of Emma Sayle, the founder of sex party organising firm Killing Kittens. Up until now, Killing Kittens has specialised in what... [Read more]
  • ROTHSCHILD BANK HEIR COMES IN TO LAND ON PLASTIC BOTTLE BOAT
    Monday, 26th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IT’S the end of a rather long nautical road today for banking heir David de Rothschild. De Rothschild, a devoted environmentalist, set out from San Francisco back in mid-March, in an attempt to sail... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 26th July 2010
    LADIES who lunch are clearly back in fashion, if this £1,220.91 lunch bill is anything to go by. This group of well-heeled women headed to Le Cercle restaurant in Knightsbridge for a French tapas... [Read more]
  • 55 PER CENT BEER BREWER GETS HAMMERED BY ANIMAL ACTIVISTS
    Friday, 23rd July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    A DOLLOP of mirth for the City yesterday as it emerged that independent brewery BrewDog is up to its record-breaking tricks again. BrewDog, which has twice before held the record for the strongest... [Read more]
  • GET PRACTISING YOUR POKER FACE: A NEW CLUB IS COMING TO TOWN
    Thursday, 22nd July 2010
    WOULD you believe it, but I hear London’s very first official poker club is only just preparing to open its doors to the public. The venture is the brainchild of Chris North, a former captain of the... [Read more]
  • BANK CHIEF ‘OGRE’ GETS AN IMAGE OVERHAUL
    Wednesday, 21st July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    FAIRFAX chief executive Stefan Allesch-Taylor is on the blower following a story in this column yesterday about the boutique bank scouting around for a new investor – a move which could potentially... [Read more]
  • FAIRFAX CO-FOUNDER CRAWFORD ON THE HUNT FOR A NEW INVESTOR
    Tuesday, 20th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IS A changing of the guard in the offing down at boutique investment bank Fairfax? I hear that Rolly Crawford, who co-founded the firm back in 2006, is on the lookout for a new major investor to take... [Read more]
  • SUMMER’S SET TO SIZZLE AS CITY’S GOT TALENT MAKES A COMEBACK
    Monday, 19th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IT’S SUMMERTIME, and if you’re looking for a ray of sunshine to penetrate the daily grind of City life, look no further. Regular readers of this column will remember last year, when The Capitalist... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 19th July 2010
    IT’S OFF the beaten track for this week’s bill, racked up by six businessmen celebrating a deal with a short but sweet trip to Malta’s luxury boutique hotel The Xara Palace – frequented by famous... [Read more]
  • THOUSANDS TURN OUT FOR GREAT CITY RACE
    Friday, 16th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    THAT time of year seems to have crept up on us again, when thousands of City runners take to the streets for the most popular race of the year – the Standard Chartered Great City Race. After a chilly... [Read more]
  • A SUITABLY SPIRITED SENDOFF TO SIR STUART
    Thursday, 15th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    WE’LL begin by heading over to the Royal Festival Hall for Marks and Sparks’ annual general meeting, where the usual fun and games were to be had. Hundreds of ageing M&S veterans queued up for... [Read more]
  • GOLDMAN’S KAFKA OFF TO GREENER PASTURES
    Wednesday, 14th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    IT’S out of the revolving door for one of Goldman’s chief spinmeisters, Paul Kafka, who’s off to pastures new at rival UBS. I hear Kafka is now on gardening leave after almost four years as Goldman’s... [Read more]
  • CITY LOSES TO OCTOPUS IN FOOTY FORECASTS
    Tuesday, 13th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    OH, HOW they chortled in the City yesterday at comparisons between the world’s most famous cephalopod and those investment banks who dared to put out predictions on the outcome of the World Cup.... [Read more]
  • PROPERTY BIGWIGS GET OUT THEIR WALLETS FOR A DAY AT THE RACES
    Monday, 12th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    FOR STARTERS, let’s head down to Ascot racecourse – always a pleasure – for the annual Property Race Day, playground of the suited and booted doyens of the property world. This year marked a change... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 12th July 2010
    A RATHER civilised 50th birthday celebration for these four City types last week as they headed to the riverside High Timber restaurant for a slap-up meal. The group pre-ordered their food with the... [Read more]
  • GOLDMAN CASE STRIKES FEAR INTO HEARTS OF PRUDENT COMPETITORS
    Friday, 9th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    THE SEC’S fraud case against Goldman might have proved an almighty headache for the bank’s own staff, but at least it’s spawned a valuable lesson for rivals. Citi took the opportunity to send... [Read more]
  • FORMULA ONE CHIEF UNLEASHES TAX FURY
    Thursday, 8th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    WITH all the hubbub about capital gains tax rates in the run-up to the recent Budget, investors are no stranger to vituperative attacks on their profits, but it does come as a surprise when the abuse... [Read more]
  • BUSINESS IS BOOMING FOR TABLE DANCE KING
    Wednesday, 7th July 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    TABLE-dancing mogul Stephen Less may have made his fortune building up Secrets, London’s largest chain of lap dancing clubs, but he’s certainly no one-trick pony. I hear Less has been a rather busy... [Read more]
  • SOLVED: MYSTERY OF VANISHING FORMER PM
    Tuesday, 6th July 2010
    Victoria Bates
    IT WAS a rip-roaring ride for those who turned up at the swanky Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn yesterday to hear Mayor Boris Johnson exercise his notoriously sharp tongue. Boris, the... [Read more]
  • CITY GOES RURAL IN A PASSION FOR SPEED
    Monday, 5th July 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    CITY petrol-heads were out in force over the weekend, among 175,000 visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood House outside Chichester. Among the business visitors to the F1 racing event... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 5th July 2010
    THAT 4 July feeling clearly caught on in London last week as a gaggle of hungry City boys went to town this week at the diner-style Blues Kitchen in Camden. To start, they ploughed their way through... [Read more]
  • CITY A.M.’S STUNNING STRIMPEL PROBES THE STRANGE MALE BRAIN
    Friday, 2nd July 2010
    Juliet Samuel
    SUPER-GLAM Sketch last night played host to the debut book launch party of City A.M.’s very own lifestyle editor, Zoe Strimpel. Around 80 select guests were invited to celebrate the publication of... [Read more]
  • INSURERS STRAP IN FOR BLUNT’S MILE-HIGH RECORD-BREAKING GIG
    Thursday, 1st July 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    EVER wanted to watch James Blunt sing his heart out – live – at 42,000 feet? No, neither have we, but let’s not diminish Royal Sun Alliance’s (RSA) achievement in breaking the Guinness World Record... [Read more]
  • A TRADER NEAR YOU STARS IN KIDS’ BOOK
    Wednesday, 30th June 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    FINALLY! Proof that City traders aren’t all heartless: Danny Wilkinson, trader at an unidentified international broker, is today publishing a children’s book written with his aunt, Linda Wilkinson.... [Read more]
  • IT’S PRISKY BUSINESS OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE
    Tuesday, 29th June 2010
    Juliet Samuel
    THE Capitalist caught up with minister of state for business Mark Prisk yesterday during his afternoon of cold-calling potential customers for small business DIY Kyoto. The minister dropped in to the... [Read more]
  • CITY EYE
    Tuesday, 29th June 2010
    A MOTHER watches her son playing a piano in the churchyard of St. Paul’s. The pianos chained up around town are part of Street Pianos, a City of London festival event. [Read more]
  • BOXING BANKERS UNLEASH THEIR BULLISH INSTINCTS IN THE RING
    Monday, 28th June 2010
    JULIET SAMUEL
    ONE of the City’s biggest bankers’ boxing clubs is setting up a championship fight for a charity night soon. The Real Fight Club in Spitalfields, London’s original home to the practise of “white... [Read more]
  • AFTER FINANCE AND FILMS, CITY VETERAN IS STILL FULL OF BEANS
    Friday, 25th June 2010
    Victoria Bates
    WILL that Stefan Allesch-Taylor ever stop adding to his already thickly-strung bow? A City veteran of some stature (quite literally: Allesch-Taylor stands a formidable 6’10” tall), he is best known... [Read more]
  • ACTOR KEVIN SPACEY ENJOYS A RETURN TO THE TRADING FLOOR
    Thursday, 24th June 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    ACTOR and Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey is becoming quite the dab hand on the trading floor, if reports from our Stateside friends are to be believed. Bankers at Citigroup in New York were... [Read more]
  • OSBORNE TAKES FIZZ OUT OF THE CHANCELLOR’S DRINKS CABINET
    Wednesday, 23rd June 2010
    JUST six weeks into the new Lib-Con love-in, and the biggest mystery of the coalition has finally been put to bed. No, not how ultra-liberal Vincey is getting on with his toffier-nosed colleagues... [Read more]
  • QUICKIE DIVORCES GET QUICKER WITH HELP OF NEW IPHONE APP
    Tuesday, 22nd June 2010
    Victoria Bates
    FIRST we had divorce “gift vouchers”, with a company charging £125 for half an hour with a lawyer; now, it’s divorce apps for your iPhone. Dallas-based company Brainwash already offers one divorce... [Read more]
  • NOMURA READY FOR ROOF WITH A VIEW
    Monday, 21st June 2010
    VICTORIA BATES
    Only weeks to go now before the biggest decampment the City has seen in a while; Japanese bank Nomura’s move back to the City from the Canary Wharf offices it inherited from Lehman Brothers a few... [Read more]
  • BILL OF THE WEEK
    Monday, 21st June 2010
    AUSTERITY still seems to be the order of the day, if this little group dining at Camden’s Gilgamesh restaurant last week are anything to go by. Our diners barely touched their alcohol, claiming that... [Read more]