ODDS ON EXODUS August 2, 2009 BOOKMAKER William Hill is set to announce tomorrow it is moving its online sports and phone betting operations from the UK to the tax haven of Gibraltar. Chief executive Ralph Topping has spoken out about his dislike of paying 15 per cent betting tax while offshore rivals like Paddy Power pay nearer 1.5 per cent.
DICK FULD LIVES UP TO KING KONG REPUTATION August 2, 2009 BOY, when all those ex-Lehmanites said Dick Fuld used to rule the roost with an iron fist, they really weren’t kidding. Nicknamed “the Gorilla” for his aggressive manner, the Lehman Brothers boss was always renowned for taking a hard line when it came to business. But according to an article on the collapsed bank in [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK August 2, 2009 PERHAPS it’s just me, but there seem to have been an awful lot of City types eschewing their fine dining venues recently for local Indian and Chinese haunts where they can splash out, safe in the knowledge it won’t cost the earth. At £1,229.85, a curry for four people might sound like a pricey night [...]
All eyes on Anglo update ahead of Xstrata report August 2, 2009 MINING giant Xstrata is braced to post disappointing results at its interims tomorrow, but the focus will be on its nil-premium merger with rival Anglo American. Xstrata made the approach for a “merger of equals” back in June, but was met with hostility by Anglo, which last week reported a 69 per cent drop in [...]
KICK OFF AT ESPN UK August 2, 2009 ESPN will today become the first non-UK channel to show Premier League football in the UK, as it launches its ESPN UK channel on Sky and Virgin Media. The channel will show 46 live Barclays Premier League matches – which it bought the rights to after Setanta UK went into administration – plus a selection [...]
ITV mulls new chief August 2, 2009 ITV’s board is today due to discuss the candidates short-listed to replace Michael Grade as chief executive, with some analysts expecting an announcement at its interim results on Thursday. HMV chief executive Simon Fox was last week the City’s new favourite to step into Grade’s shoes when he steps down at the end of the [...]
Curtain up on a global drama of a different kind August 2, 2009 IT’S August and the streets of the Square Mile feel different. Many (especially those with families) are on holiday or thinking about it, the pace of news from Westminster and Whitehall is subdued and London is filled with foreign tourists marching across the City’s Millennium Bridge or up Ludgate Hill to enjoy our history and [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 2, 2009 Davis Service GroupThe textile maintenance business has appointed Peter Ventress, currently president of office furniture provider Staples, as its new chief executive.Ventress, 48, was formerly chief executive of Corporate Express, before the company was acquired by Staples last year. He will succeed current boss Roger Dye, who earlier this year announced his intention to retire [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 2, 2009 LOGICALogica received a double upgrade to “overweight” from Morgan Stanley, which says the stock is now its top pick. “Time to get positive”, said the broker, as it raised the price target 86 per cent to 130p. It said that the discount on the stock due to gearing concerns is no longer warranted and that [...]
Metrovacesca quits Walbrook August 2, 2009 Legal & General is set to land £120m in compensation after Spanish property company Metrovacesa pulled out of the Walbrook property project in the City. Metrovacesa bought the Walbrook project from Legal & General in September 2006 for £240m. It had agreed to begin demolishing the buildings in Walbrook Square before December 2012 to build [...]