Why the London Stock Exchange’s French boss is taking on the world February 14, 2010 L ONDON’s financial services community has a new champion: Xavier Rolet, the 50-year old French banker who took over as the London Stock Exchange’s CEO last year. Unlike many British commentators, who seem desperate to talk down one the UK’s most important industries, Rolet realises how important a prosperous City is to the UK and [...]
Media stocks are starting to look very cheap February 11, 2010 A COMMON joke in media circles is that anyone with a pound burning a hole in their pocket can become a newspaper proprietor. Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev picked up the Evening Standard for £1, while it is said that some buyers offered just $1 for BusinessWeek (Bloomberg eventually paid $5m). Of course, these publications were [...]
Bidders circle German Kabel February 10, 2010 A CLUSTER of private equity firms are circling Kabel Deutschland, the German cable TV operator chaired by former BSkyB chief executive Tony Ball, it emerged yesterday. BC Partners and CVC Capital Partners joined forces earlier this week to launch a combined offer for the business. Bain Capital is also considering making an offer, while other [...]
THREE OTHER MOROCCAN RESTAURANTS IN LONDON February 8, 2010 KENZA Head down a tunnel off Devonshire Square and find your way into this Middle Eastern netherworld, full of sequined cushions, incense, magnificent carpets and – of course – belly dancers. The food mixes Moroccan and Lebanese flavours, and there’s a lot of it. Kenza, 10 Devonshire Square, EC2M 4YP. MOMO The West End’s most [...]
Who can conquer Ireland to land the greatest prize? February 4, 2010 England Manager: Martin Johnson Captain: Steve Borthwick Last season: Italy (h) won 36-11; Wales (a) lost 15-23; Ireland (a) lost 13-14; France (h) won 34-10; Scotland (h) won 26-12 = 2nd. Where they stand: Endured a disappointing autumn international campaign when they lost to Australia and New Zealand and looked unconvincing in their narrow victory [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 4, 2010 Betfair Ian Dyson, finance director of retail giant Marks and Spencer, has taken up a new non-executive directorship at the betting firm. Dyson, who joins the Betfair board immediately, joined M&S in June 2005 as group finance director, becoming group finance and operations director in 2008. He was also formerly finance director at the Rank [...]
Santander sees UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Santander see UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 55 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Gulf Finance House hit by S&P February 2, 2010 Gulf Finance House (GFH) said yesterday it is seeking to defer payment of a third of a $300m loan due next week as credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s slapped it with its third downgrade in 10 weeks. “Gulf Finance House … confirms that it has been in discussions with members of the WestLB syndicate [...]
Avatar climbs to new heights at the box office January 31, 2010 THE 3-D movie phenomenon “Avatar” moved further into rarefied territory at the worldwide box office during the weekend, surpassing the $2bn (£1.25bn) mark days after it broke the record held by “Titanic”. James Cameron’s sci-fi spectacular has grossed $2.039bn after seven chart-topping weekends of release, distributor 20th Century Fox said yesterday. The film last Monday [...]