THE PESSIMIST May 25, 2009 WHILE the UK economy may have passed the absolute low point of this recession, any recovery is likely to be built on pretty fragile foundations. The key message from previous cycles is that, whatever their shape, full recoveries from UK recessions tend to take a long time. Even in the V-shaped downturn of the late [...]
New TNK-BP boss lined up May 25, 2009 TNK-BP, BP’s joint venture in Russia, said yesterday it had nominated a former Soviet vice-consul in Uganda as its next chief executive. Pavel Skitovich will replace TimSummers, who has been holding the fort since Bob Dudley fled Russia following a campaign of intimidation. “The search for a new chief executive is over,” a spokesperson for [...]
Versace denies dispute May 25, 2009 Italian fashion house Versace yesterday “unanimously and categorically” denied that there is friction between design head Donatella Versace and chief executive Giancarlo Di Risio. There has been speculation recently about Di Risio leaving the company, after disagreements with owner Donatella Versace over strategy and cost-cutting. Versace also reported a first-quarter fall in revenues of 13.4 [...]
ASHLEY’S TOON REIGN May 25, 2009 June 2007Ashley buys Newcastle United for £134m, greeted with a level of scepticism unusual for a buyout. January 2008Brings back local hero Kevin Keegan to manage the club in a blaze of glory. September 2008Keegan exits the club citing “interference”. Ashley faces a huge backlash, prompting him to announce his intention to sell. Autumn 2008Joe [...]
Britain is a world power in entrepreneurialism May 25, 2009 A COLLEAGUE of mine, who is a first-born child, once admitted that all of life is the playing out of what was done to you as a child by your elder siblings. Apparently, he once said to his younger brother pointing at a suitcase, “why don’t you get in and see if you fit?” Things [...]
Spending boost for West End’s stores May 25, 2009 HALF a million shoppers were drawn to London’s West End this bank holiday by a day of free parking and in-store entertainment. The event, which saw shoppers spend around £50m on Saturday alone, took the New West End Company six months to organise with co-operation from West End retailers, Westminster City Council and Transport for [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs May 25, 2009 WolseleyThe plumbers and builders merchant has appointed Michael Wareing, chief executive of accountancy firm KPMG, and Alain Le Goff, a former executive at consumer giant Reckitt Benckiser, as non-executive directors. Wareing, pictured, 55, joined KPMG in 1973 and became chief executive in 2005. Le Goff, 57, retired as executive vice president of supply at Reckitt [...]
RBS headed for row over share awards May 25, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland is at the centre of a new row over executive remuneration, after it emerged that the bank has given four senior executives share packages worth a combined £5m at current prices. The new compensation scheme will reward Ellen Alemany, the chief executive of RBS America with 5.9m shares, worth just over [...]
Iberia said to be nearing a deal with BA May 25, 2009 SPANISH Airline Iberia said yesterday that it could conclude its merger talks with British Airways (BA) within months, but fell short of giving an exact date for completion of the deal. Speaking before a presentation in Madrid, Iberia’s commercial director Manuel Lopez Colmenarejo said that corporate governance and the financial impact of BA’s pension deficit [...]
ONS tells firms to cease unfair calls May 25, 2009 The Office of National Statistics has warned six debt management firms and four cold-calling groups to stop making misleading calls or face legal action. The organisation couldn’t name the groups for legal reasons, but deputy director of consumer credit Nigel Cates said the firms were taking advantage of those “suffering distress through debt problems”. He [...]