… as it lays out plan for orderly redundancies November 29, 2009 JP MORGAN Cazenove has already set out proposals for an orderly redundancy process ahead of the completion of its takeover by JP Morgan early next year, in an attempt to calm jitters among staff fearing for their jobs. The blue-blooded City broker has posted documents on its internal website with details of the procedure, which [...]
EX-BANKER TO LAUNCH ART FUND VENTURE November 29, 2009 REGULAR readers may remember Nasser Azam, the former equities and derivatives trader at Merrill Lynch who swapped his high-flying City career for life as a humble artist. But it seems Azam has discovered a way to combine his twin passions, having just launched a new art investment fund called the Azam Collection. Actually, it isn’t [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK November 29, 2009 SOMEONE must have been rubbing their hands with glee when this group of friends popped up at the Buddha Bar recently. For not only did the extravagant group splash out on copious amounts of sushi and a range of decadent main courses – including Wagyu beef with Thai butter sauce, sesame tuna and sea bass [...]
Shock decline in profits for services firms November 29, 2009 HOPES that Britain’s services sector would pull the economy out of recession may be overdone, according to the latest Service Sector survey from the Confederation for British Industry (CBI), published today ahead of the sector’s purchasing manager’s index due on Thursday. Both professional and consumer services firms saw an unexpected drop in volumes and value [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: DO YOU EXPECT THE PMI TO SHOW STRONG GROWTH IN SERVICES IN NOVEMBER? November 29, 2009 HOWARD ARCHER IHS GLOBAL INSIGHTStronger business and financial sector activity is lifting services demand and output. In addition, there are indications that consumer spending on services may have bottomed out. However, the survey evidence currently needs to be treated with caution. DAVID PAGE INVESTECWe suspect that this month is likely to see a levelling off [...]
Selfridges to make 100m November 29, 2009 Selfridges, the London luxury department store group, is today expected to unveil profits of £100m in its 100th year as the store is buoyed by a surge of wealthy overseas shoppers taking advantage of the weak pound. The retailer, which also has stores in Manchester and Birmingham’s Bullring centre and plans to open another in [...]
New Look holds talks with raft of bankers ahead of IPO November 29, 2009 High street fashion chain New Look is ramping up plans for its possible £1.7bn stock market flotation next year and has met with a roster of heavyweight bankers. The budget fashion chain, owned by private equity firms Apax and Permira, is believed to have held a beauty parade of possible advisers including Deutsche Bank, Goldman [...]
Mamas & Papas to sell online through tie-up with Shop Direct November 29, 2009 MAMAS & Papas, the baby clothing to pushchair brand, is set to profit from an online sales boost due to a tie-up with Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay’s Shop Direct business. Shop Direct, the UK’s biggest catalogue group, will sell Mamas & Papas’ range through its online department store Very.co.uk. Very’s marketing campaign is [...]
Winser to cut her cloth in provocative new role November 29, 2009 KIM Winser, Britain’s fashion darling who oversaw the rehabilitation of Pringle and revived trench-coat maker Aquascutum, has been hired as a senior adviser by private equity titan 3i. Winser, who quit in May as chief executive of the raincoat firm after her staged management buyout collapsed, will advise 3i on its retail and consumer investments. [...]
Final chapter for Borders November 29, 2009 Borders, the failed bookseller, launched a stock liquidation sale in its 45 stores over the weekend as administrators prepare to shut down its shops. Up to 1,100 Borders UK staff could lose their jobs. MCR, the administrator, is preparing to appoint the restructuring specialist Hilco to liquidate the failed company. Phil Duffy, a joint administrator [...]