The biggest Mad Man in the world still retains a close eye for detail April 7, 2010 This downturn is evidently really beginning to get on the nerves of WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. He says: “People’s expectations have shifted. Company profits were down 30 per cent in 2008, now that they were only down, say, 13 per cent last year, they are calling that good. But if profits keep falling [...]
The fund manager who swallowed New Star and is looking for more March 28, 2010 We are at the beginning of the end of the financial crisis, according to the chief executive of Henderson Global Investors. “It will be a very slow recovery throughout 2010,” says Andrew Formica, the 38-year-old boss of the UK’s third-largest listed fund manager, which boasts assets under management of £58.1bn. The confident Australian is sat [...]
CITY BROKER ISN’T JUST HORSING AROUND WITH NEW POLO VENTURE March 3, 2010 IT’S SET to be a good year for Daniel Fox-Davies, the jovial boss of City stockbroker Fox-Davies Capital. Foxy, you see, is a bit of a dark horse when it comes to his extra-curricular hobbies – along with running his oil and gas-focused brokerage, he spends much of his free time flying jets and helicopters, [...]
An MBA is the gateway to the international marketplace February 24, 2010 AN Australian-born executive based in London and married to a South African banker, Nick Kontopoulos could be seen as the very essence of today’s globe-trotting business internationalist. However it wasn’t until his MBA studies led him to China that he thought that he might end up living and working there. Kontopoulos, a marketing business developer [...]
Bailing out Greece is not the answer February 9, 2010 IT is now clear that Germany, the European Central Bank and others are seriously talking about bailing out Greece. The negotiations could still collapse; but there has been a significant shift over the past 24 hours, with a panicked European establishment increasingly desperate to salvage its beloved single currency. One option would be for Germany [...]
Don’t assume Pigs will be bailed out February 8, 2010 HISTORY is repeating itself – and much more quickly than we seem to realise. The consensus view appears to be that Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain – the PIGS – will by hook or by crook be given a bail-out if they need one, just as Dubai, RBS and AIG eventually were – and that [...]
All can fail: my new manifesto for the banks January 25, 2010 REGULAR readers of this column will know that I am no fan of many of the proposals being cooked up to reform the banks. I have opposed Barack Obama’s plan to ban retail banks from engaging in proprietary trading; George Osborne’s support of Glass-Steagall, which would break up commercial and investment banks; and Alistair Darling’s [...]
Golden oldies can offer the City a wealth of experience January 25, 2010 YESTERDAY, the actress Jane Fonda announced that she is to film a new workout video at the age of 72, 30 years and one hip replacement after the video that made her a global star. In the world of business too, oldies are still going strong. Warren Buffett – who will be 80 in August [...]
The government should learn from entrepreneurs December 14, 2009 REGARDLESS of their social class, the thing that unites most of the people that I work with is the aspiration to use their lives to build something amazing. Many of the people I deal with have significantly improved their lives through sharp focus, incredible hard work, and the application of their intelligence, energy, personal charm [...]
EU’s power grab is a disaster for London December 2, 2009 FIRST they came for the hedge funds, then private equity – now it is the turn of the banks, the securities industry and the insurers. The EU’s power grab is almost complete; it is pumping out new proposals on everything from derivatives to asset management virtually every day. The fact that most of these are [...]