BILL OF THE WEEK May 25, 2009 TO VIVAT Bacchus London Bridge on Saturday night for a cosy dinner of scallops, two separate African antelope delicacies (springbok and kudu tartar) and plenty of cheese. I hear the dishes were picked out specially by the restaurant team for our four diners, who put up their feet as they were served with a feast [...]
UN CONDEMNS NUCLEAR TEST May 25, 2009 NORTH Korea tested a nuclear weapon yesterday, briefly shaking Asian markets and triggering an emergency UN Security Council meeting on the communist state’s act of defiance. US President Barack Obama said Pyongyang’s bid to develop nuclear weapons was a threat to international peace and security, and called on world leaders to condemn the test. China, [...]
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 [...]
Shell on trial over deaths May 25, 2009 A CIVIL trial that will judge any involvement by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell in the executions of protesters in Nigeria will begin in New York on Wednesday, more than 13 years after their deaths. Shell is accused of being connected to the 1995 hangings of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other protesters by Nigeria’s [...]
Tories pledge deep change May 25, 2009 CONSERVATIVE party leader David Cameron has promised that his party will deliver a radical redistribution of power, in an attempt to address voter disquiet over MP expenses. “We need to look seriously at the immense power prime ministers wield through their ability to call an election whenever they want. If we want parliament to be [...]
Markets mustn’t ignore geopolitical risk May 25, 2009 FOR most investors, consumers and employees around the world, the only public policy debate that really matters is how to deal with the recession – understandably so, given the devastation it has already wreaked. In Britain, we are also seeking to rescue democracy from corrupt politicians. Yet while there is plenty to worry about at [...]
End of an era at AG Barr May 25, 2009 ROBIN Barr, the chairman of Irn-Bru maker AG Barr, is standing down after over 48 years at the company. AG Barr has been run by a family member for 135 years, a tradition that will end with Robin Barr’s retirement. Barr is one of only two people in the world who know the secret recipe [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES OPINIONS SHIFT TOWARDS LONGER WORKING LIVESA majority of Britons now favour longer working lives if it means a more generous pension in retirement, a significant shift of opinion in the few years since the subject was raised by the Pensions Commission report in 2005. A Financial Times/Harris survey of 1,126 adults in Britain [...]
SEC revises staff trading rules May 25, 2009 US financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tightened up its rules regarding employee trading, on the back of an investigation into the dealings of two unnamed enforcement lawyers. Staff will be prohibited from trading securities of any company under SEC investigation, and will be required to supply trading statements to the commission so [...]
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 [...]