Detail on LSE chief’s pay plan June 4, 2009 City A.M. yesterday reported that the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) new chief executive Xavier Rolet could earn £5.2m in his first year in the role. The LSE has subsequently pointed out that Rolet could earn up to £2.3m this year through his base salary, benefits and bonus, if targets are exceeded. Should he choose to [...]
FSA EXTENDS SAVER PROTECTION June 4, 2009 THE FSA, led by Lord Turner, is extending seperate deposit protection for savers whose building societies are bailed out by another one until the end of 2010. The FSA is trying to reassure people whose combined savings in a merged society exceed the current £50,000 limit.
Car sale falls hurt Matthey June 4, 2009 JOHNSON MATTHEY beat expectations with a one per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit yesterday, but warned sales will fall in the coming months as the global car industry continues to struggle. The world’s biggest distributor of platinum, which is used to make jewellery, car catalysts and as an ingredient for drugs posted an adjusted [...]
Acer’s deal with Google is bad news for Microsoft June 4, 2009 ACER’S announcement that it will start selling a laptop pre-loaded with Google’s Android operating system will come as a blow to Microsoft. For the last quarter of a century, the firm founded by Bill Gates has dominated the operating software space with a monopoly that has earned awe and anger in equal measure. But Google’s [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE RECESSION IS BEGINNING TO EASE? June 4, 2009 PAUL MCNALLY BRIT INSURANCE“I haven’t really noticed the recession, full stop. The pubs are full, the restaurants are busy. People say the housing and stock markets are down but that isn’t relevant unless you’re buying or selling, so elements of the crisis have been overblown.” ANNA KINGSMILL-VELLACOTT AKV“My gut feeling is that confidence is beginning [...]
The robots are back, and this time they’re noisy June 4, 2009 TERMINATOR SALVATIONCert: 12ADESPITE the hi-tech sci-fi and bone-crunching, metal limb-crushing action sequences, the excitement of the first two Terminator movies came from the simple thrill of the chase. The execrable T3 pretty much did for that element, and it’s hardly been revived for the fourth instalment (though a chase sequence does account for the film’s [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS June 4, 2009 FILMANYTHING FOR HER Highly-praised French thriller starring Diane Kruger. SUGAR Superior baseball movie from the makers of 2007 indie hit Half Nelson. THE HIDE Intriguing, two-handed mini-drama, starring In The Loop’s Alex MacQueen. DVDVALKYRIE Tom Cruise and a host of British thesps fail as military plotters against Hitler. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON Brad [...]
Large cap index flat as lack of direction stalls progress June 4, 2009 Gains in energy stocks, pharmaceuticals and banks outweighed losses in miners yesterday, leaving the FTSE 100 0.1 per cent, or 3.52 points, higher at 4,386.94. “The market’s evenly balanced. It’s discounting good news so although it may go higher over the next few weeks, it is slightly overvalued,” said Graham Secker, equity strategist at Morgan [...]
Law’s puckish interpretation of Hamlet is a palpable hit June 4, 2009 HAMLETWyndhams TheatreTHE second major celebrity to lift Yorrick’s skull this year, Jude Law has more at stake than David Tennant, after too many mediocre films and bad tabloid headlines. Luckily, in making the opening night without slipping a disc he’s already outdone the Timelord – and as it happens, he carries off Hamlet rather well. [...]
EXHIBITIONS June 4, 2009 TRACEY EMINWhite CubeWE have a slightly different Tracey Emin here from the one who thrust her unmade bed into Tate Britain a few years ago. Mature, Royal Academician Emin is hardly settling back with her pipe and slippers, but this is a show that puts the emphasis back on her skills of draftsmanship. Not that [...]