NEW FUNDS PLAN FOR CRISIS-HIT IRELAND
IRELAND may have accepted an €85bn handout to keep it afloat, but why stop there? The ever-popular Powers That Be in Ireland seem to have come up with a novel solution to the country’s solvency issues.
An advert has appeared on Ireland’s biggest property website, the appropriately named daft.ie, offering the Republic of Ireland for a cut-price €900bn (o.n.o.).
The classified ad, posted by one Brian Cowen, says the property is available to move into immediately, with “full planning permission for 300,000 homes, eight prisons, five public hospitals, 10,000 schools… as well as hundreds of unfinished road developments”.
It warns the property is “in need of some refurbishment” but comes with stunning scenery.
It adds one final point: “Neighbours are [blank] but can be quite helpful”. Put your guesses on a postcard addressed to The Capitalist.
TRUE BLUE SEES RED
Martin Broughton (right), the man who chaired Liverpool Football Club during its dramatic takeover discussions earlier this year, was back at the football club he knows best over the weekend – Chelsea. Attending an annual fundraising lunch, the lifelong Blues fan was asked whether it felt odd rescuing Liverpool, one of his club’s fiercest rivals, from financial meltdown.
Broughton sidestepped the question by turning the spotlight on a couple of Liverpool’s other advisers. Corporate lawyer Nigel Boardman, is a massive Arsenal fan, and the barrister used in the High Court, Lord Grabiner, supports Spurs.
A speaker at the lunch was Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, a lawyer from Skadden Arps, who joked that Chelsea were indeed interested in buying the site at Earls Court from property firm Capital & Counties.
But he said it wouldn’t lead to a move away from Stamford Bridge for the Blues. Owner Roman Abramovich just wanted the site to put his yachts in during the winter.
As for Manchester City, he quipped, can you believe they think it is possible to buy the Premiership? The irony did not go unnoticed.
YOU TUBES
TRANSPORT for London yesterday proved it is a master in the art of polishing the proverbial turd. Despite widespread chaos on the transport system as thousands of staff took to the streets, a triumphant press release proudly declared: “The Waterloo & City line is operating across the full line,” which would be altogether more impressive if the line wasn’t made up of only two stops.
RUDDY GOOD BOOK
City folk will be used to receiving one of Tony Rudd’s regular communiques on the state of the world. Now Rudd, who has been blind for many years, has gone one step further. Yesterday saw publication of the former City broker’s book on the Battle of Britain. It follows Rudd’s blog retelling the famous air campaign through regular diary entries.
Rudd, who was a journalist before he became a stockbroker, is father to Roland, senior partner of Finsbury and a master spin-doctor, so one might expect a bit of media coverage for this one.