Rent soars for best West End window space August 22, 2010 WEST END retail rents are set to soar further in the wake of a record £700 per square foot lease secured by Spanish retailer Desigual. The fashion chain will pay the eye-watering sum for the lucrative window-side parts of the shop floor, as part of a deal with property investor Prupim last week. Desigual’s rent [...]
Minister denies rift between Duncan Smith and Osborne August 22, 2010 SUGGESTIONS of a cabinet rift between George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith were scotched by a senior minister yesterday, but Whitehall sources insisted the pair were at loggerheads. David Willetts, the universities minister, said he was “not aware” of any acrimony between the chancellor and Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary. “All I can [...]
Swannell set to win M&S chairmanship August 22, 2010 ROBERT SWANNELL, the veteran investment banker and HMV boss, is expected to be confirmed as Sir Stuart Rose’s replacement at the chair of Marks & Spencer this week. Swannell spent the weekend thrashing out an agreement with M&S, friends said, and while his appointment was not sealed last night he is understood to be in [...]
McAfee finance boss to get windfall after Intel takeover August 22, 2010 NEW McAfee chief financial officer Jonathan Chadwick has seen stock options he was awarded just two weeks ago jump in value by more than $4m (£2.6m) following the firm’s takeover by Intel. Chadwick was given 97,000 performance-related stock options and 125,000 restricted stock options on 6 August as part of a lucrative compensation package. The [...]
Admiral Group rules out buying Churchill or Direct Line from RBS August 22, 2010 ADMIRAL GROUP, the insurer that releases its interim numbers on Wednesday, has dealt a blow to Royal Bank of Scotland’s hopes of finding a trade buyer for Churchill or Direct Line by ruling itself out of any auction. In an interview with City A.M., Admiral chief executive Henry Engelhardt said: “We don’t think we will [...]
SABMiller to examine £7bn Foster’s deal August 22, 2010 SABMILLER, the acquisitive drinks company, will look at a £7bn takeover of Australian brewer Foster’s Group’s beer-making arm when it demerges its businesses next year. SABMiller would be likely to come up against competition for Carlton & United Breweries from Asahi, the Japanese beer manufacturer, and America’s Molson Coors. Carlton & United is seen as [...]
Why gold bugs are predicting Armageddon August 22, 2010 DESPITE a nice run of data in the UK and across Europe over the last week or so, it’s still hard to shake off the prevailing view that a slow, bumpy grind out of economic turmoil is on the cards. However, we may look on this scenario as positively rosy if Egon von Greyerz, the [...]
Barclays hit by computer glitch August 22, 2010 THOUSANDS of Barclays customers were unable to access their bank accounts or withdraw money from cash machines this weekend after a system crash caused chaos nationwide. The problems, which began at around 1.30pm on Saturday, hit telephone and online banking services and caused frustration at retail outlets as embarrassed shoppers were forced to abandon purchases [...]
IMF to review Pakistan budget August 22, 2010 THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will review Pakistan’s budget and economic prospects following catastrophic flooding during talks with senior Pakistani government officials starting today. Pakistani finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and other senior Pakistani finance officials are traveling to Washington for the talks with the IMF, which will also be an opportunity to [...]
HSBC set to buy Nedbank in £3bn deal August 22, 2010 HSBC is poised to beat off competition from rival Standard Chartered to snap up a controlling stake in South African bank Nedbank this week for $4.4bn (£2.83bn). HSBC is understood to be on the verge of defeating emerging markets specialist Standard Chartered to acquire what may be the last big South African bank that regulators [...]