Debenhams launches Jenny Packham range February 5, 2012 DEBENHAMS has unveiled its latest womenswear collection created by one of the Duchess of Cambridge’s favourite designers, as part of the retailer’s ongoing move to grow its market share of occasionwear ahead of its rivals. British designer Jenny Packham – also a favourite among Hollywood A-listers – will launch an affordable range of dresses, accessories [...]
Olympus sets date for crucial meeting February 5, 2012 MICHAEL Woodford, the Olympus chief executive who was ousted in October when he revealed the company’s £1.1bn accounting fraud, has said he intends to attend the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting scheduled for 20 April. A new management team is expected to be approved at this meeting, as 19 current and former Olympus executives are being sued [...]
Nigel Doughty, a grandee of private equity, found dead February 5, 2012 CITY financier Nigel Doughty was found dead at his home in Lincolnshire over the weekend, shocking the private equity community in which he was a major figurehead. The 54-year-old was found in his home gym and is believed to have suffered a heart attack. As the co-founder of private equity group Doughty Hanson with Richard [...]
Kuwaiti finance markets are steady after Islamist-led party gains power February 5, 2012 KUWAITI financial markets were steady yesterday after the Islamist-led opposition won control of parliament in an election, a victory which could worsen political tensions but conceivably also lead to fresh government spending measures. The main stock market index, which has been edging up from multi-year lows over the past three weeks, was up 0.03 per [...]
Putin protests gather steam February 5, 2012 Vladimir Putin’s opponents vowed yesterday to press on with demonstrations against his 12-year domination of Russia after tens of thousands attended a march which kept up the momentum of their protest movement. “We’ll be back,” the organisers said on a social network site, one day after demonstrators defied the cold to stage the third mass [...]
Deutsche Telekom bids for rights February 5, 2012 Deutsche Telekom will bid on its own for exclusive satellite and cable rights to show Germany’s Bundesliga soccer games live, a magazine reported, opening a possible bidding war with Sky Deutschland. Should Telekom receive the rights, which are estimated to cost about €225m (£187m) every year, Der Spiegel reported yesterday that it might look to [...]
Chronicle wins at the box office February 5, 2012 Thriller “Chronicle” edged ahead of haunted house film “The Woman in Black” in a tight box-office race that saw both movies beating pre-weekend forecasts, studio estimates released yesterday showed. “Chronicle” brought in an estimated $22m from US and Canadian theatres.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 5, 2012 Mastercard UK The global payment processing network has appointed Marion King as president of its UK and Ireland business. King was previously CEO of VocaLink, a payments service provider to banks, corporations and governments. Prior to this she worked at Reuters for 14 years, holding a series of senior roles, most recently as managing director [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 5, 2012 CLUFF GOLD Seymour Pierce recommends “buy” on Cluff Gold shares due to its acquisition of the Sega gold project in Burkina Faso for $30.5m. The new project – just 20km from Cluff’s Kalsaka mine – brings an extra 35 per cent of additional resource to the group. As $74/oz for the asset, this looks decent [...]
US in jobs boost as unemployment rate dips February 3, 2012 Non farm payrolls in the US rose by 243,000 in January meaning a jobless rate at 8.3 per cent – the lowest since February 2009. The key data is seen as one of the indicators of the state of the country’s economic recovery. The jobless rate fell to 8.3 per cent – the lowest since [...]