Journalist set to profit from company sale September 20, 2009 The FOUNDER of financial commentary site Breakingviews.com appears set to sell it to Thomson Reuters for around £10m. Hugo Dixon, who ran the Lex column of the Financial Times for five years before setting up Breakingviews in 1999, has been in talks with Reuters since July, but the two parties have struggled to agree a [...]
Microsoft grants investors vote on pay September 20, 2009 SOFTWARE giant Microsoft has agreed to let its shareholders vote on its bosses’ pay packages, following the fierce debate over executive pay in the recession. The firm will hold a vote every three years on its executive pay, starting with its annual meeting on 19 November, although the result of the vote will not be [...]
RIVERS OF BUBBLY AND HALF A COW: CITY BOYS TAKE MACHO CHALLENGE September 20, 2009 EMERGING pleasantly sated from an overdose of fine wining and dining this past weekend, The Capitalist was intrigued to see two City institutions taking a stand on how to deal with the effect of the recession on the Square Mile lunch market. A little bird at Gaucho – catering for the red-blooded males and less-than-faint-hearted [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK September 20, 2009 To chic yet understated City dining hotspot High Timber at the weekend, for dinner for four at the cosy private table in the restaurant’s wine cellar. Our diners kicked off with Dom Perignon champagne and starters of ham hock, foie gras and scallops, before moving on to calves’ liver and cote de boeuf.Along with a [...]
Next claims Tesco copied clothing line September 20, 2009 TESCO, the supermarket famed for its aggressive price war tactics, was yesterday batting away allegations that it has illegally copied clothing ranges from fashion retailer Next. Next has filed claims with law courts alleging the supermarket has lifted up to five clothing lines – and stolen two design motifs originally designed by Next. Tesco denies [...]
Brit talent returns to Fashion Week September 20, 2009 LONDON Fashion Week kicked off with the usual smatterings of fresh new talent over the weekend, but all minds were fixed on the return to the UK of iconic brands Burberry, Pringle and Matthew Williamson. Williamson, who earlier this year unveiled a fashion line for high-street giant H&M, yesterday returned after seven years in New [...]
Belgian bank set to make loss selling off its British brokerage September 20, 2009 BELGIAN bank KBC has put its London brokerage and corporate finance house, KBC Peel Hunt, up for sale. The struggling bank has had to borrow around €7bn (£6.3bn) from the Belgian government, and is now likely to make a huge loss on its investment by selling the brokerage. KBC bought Peel Hunt in a deal [...]
JD Sports on the up while JJB struggles September 20, 2009 RIVAL sportswear retailers JD Sports and JJB Sports are due to report half-year figures this week amid mounting controversy in the sportswear sector.JD Sports has been relatively resilient throughout the downturn, reporting sales lifts and profiting from the ailing fortunes of its rivals. Selling mainly sportswear fashion, rather than sports equipment, it has been cushioned [...]
M&S searches for next Rose September 20, 2009 Marks and Spencer yesterday hit back at claims that shareholders were wary of an internal candidate being appointed to succeed Sir Stuart Rose. Earlier this month Rose’s key ally and food boss of the retail chain, John Dixon, was elevated to the main board – suggesting to observers that he will be in the running [...]
Goldshield set for takeover battle from management September 20, 2009 Pharmaceutical firm Goldshield is is locked in the midst of a takeover battle after plans of a management-led buyout were revealed. On Friday the group’s independent directors announced that Neopharm, the Fuhrer family owned firm, made a 440p per share bid for the group, valuing the company at about £161.2m. But the group’s management refrained [...]