London Stone to stand its ground as developer wins planning okay October 15, 2013 THE LONDON Stone, an ancient City landmark, is to stay in its place outside 111 Cannon Street, according to redevelopment plans for the building approved last night. A row broke out last year between 111 Cannon Street’s previous owner Minerva and a number of heritage societies after the developer wanted to move the ancient Grade [...]
No grousing as luncheon gets rid of the pies October 15, 2013 THE BEST rebrands tend to seem obvious in hindsight. And serving grouse and wine to a room full of wealth managers was always likely to go down well. Yet even the organisers of the inaugural Grouse & Grape Luncheon were surprised by the clamour for tickets, having packed Dartmouth House with around 250 of Mayfair’s [...]
Gold yarn ties up the Booker October 15, 2013 ELEANOR Catton snapped up the Man Booker prize last night for her second novel, the Luminaries. Catton is the youngest winner of the prize so far, at only 28, and has clinched the award with the longest book that has ever managed to take the top spot. Man Group head Manny Roman was in attendance [...]
EU takes a step toward union of Eurozone banks October 15, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) will take the lead in regulating Eurozone banks, the European Council members agreed yesterday. But the group failed to come to a deal on what happens to failing banks, which is the next key step in creating a banking union. Establishing a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) made up of the [...]
Ireland unveils budget running up to exit from bailout strictures October 15, 2013 THE IRISH government announced its budget for the year ahead yesterday, holding back slightly on the austere finances of past years. Finance minister Michael Noonan announced the plan for the year ahead, forecasting a budget deficit of 4.8 per cent, as the country’s protracted bailout programme rolls to an end. Noonan said: “By the time [...]
Growth hopes grow as Germans gain confidence in the recovery October 15, 2013 GERMAN businesses are increasingly confident in the economic recovery, defying worries around the US debt ceiling and giving economists hope that growth can continue to improve. The ZEW sentiment index, published by the Centre for European Economic Research yesterday, increased to 52.8, up from 49.6 a month ago, beating expectations. That means the index is [...]
Cyprus upbeat over future October 15, 2013 Cypriot finance minister Harris Georgiades said during an event yesterday that he hoped the country’s capital controls would end early in 2014, and suggested that GDP would only contract by seven per cent this year, against the nine per cent expected.
Brand Index: There’s still time for M&S’s autumn range to blossom October 15, 2013 LAST week Marks & Spencer’s general merchandise arm was dealt a blow when a number of respected analysts warned that it is continuing to lose market share in women’s fashion, leading to a fall in its share price. Autumn sales figures won’t be released until next month, but if the naysayers turn out to be [...]
HSBC clients raided in Belgium October 15, 2013 BELGIAN police raided the homes in Brussels and Antwerp of some 20 clients of HSBC Private Bank yesterday as part of an investigation into tax evasion, Brussels prosecutors said. The prosecutors’ office said in a statement that the investigation had begun after French tax officials handed a CD to their Belgian counterparts containing details of [...]
Diageo aims to speed up sales growth in Africa October 15, 2013 DRINKS giant Diageo wants to further speed up its sales in Africa by expanding into new countries, rebranding its Guinness brand and tapping into the growing spirits market. The FTSE 100 company currently makes £1.4bn in annual sales from its Africa division, accounting for 12 per cent of the group total. Over the past decade, [...]