A winning formula: treats for tough times January 24, 2012 YESTERDAY, the Liberal Democrat deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was out posing for the cameras at a McDonald’s training facility in East Finchley. Two or three years ago, such a photo shoot would have been unimaginable. The fast-food giant, a bête noire of the chattering classes, was seen as politically toxic and blamed for everything [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE MCDONALD’S IMAGE HAS IMPROVED? January 24, 2012 CRAIG PIERCE | OFFSHORE LIFTBOATS LLC “Not really. Regardless of the marketing, the calorie count on their salads and lighter foods are still high. I would avoid eating there on a regular basis.” MARK BROWN | JLT INSURANCE “McDonald’s has been attempting to give itself a face-lift, certainly, but it is what it is. The [...]
Cairn ditches boss windfall after revolt January 24, 2012 OIL explorer Cairn Energy yesterday shelved a plan to pay founder and chairman Sir Bill Gammell £2.5m in order to quell a shareholder revolt. The decision was announced amid the wider furore over executive pay, which has led business secretary Vince Cable to draw up plans to tackle perceived boardroom excess. Gammell’s planned payment was [...]
Petrol supply under threat as Petroplus files for insolvency January 24, 2012 THE OWNER of the Coryton oil refinery, Petroplus, yesterday filed for bankruptcy, putting 1,000 jobs at risk as well as petrol supplies in the south east. The refinery in Essex, which supplies 20 per cent of fuel for south east England, halted sales and told staff it was not sure when supplies would restart. The [...]
UBS protesters drop court bid January 24, 2012 PROTESTERS who took over a disused UBS building in the City are set to leave after dropping their appeal against a possession order. The Occupy group, which set up the camp in mid-November, is expected to depart within a matter of days. Sun Street Properties, a subsidiary of UBS, recently won a possession order on the [...]
Barnier lifeline for NYSE deal January 24, 2012 EUROPEAN commissioner Michel Barnier offered some hope that Deutsche Boerse’s merger with NYSE Euronext will be given the go-ahead by competition regulators. Barnier placed a “waiting reserve” on the issue at a Commission meeting yesterday, meaning he could alter any recommendation by the EU antitrust authorities on the $17bn tie-in. However, sources familiar with the [...]
Gloomy start at Davos for chief execs January 24, 2012 CONFIDENCE among chief executives has taken a battering in the past year, with just forty per cent of company bosses in Europe strongly believing that they will bring in any revenue growth this year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ annual CEO survey published in Davos yesterday. The results are worst for Western Europe, where a mere quarter [...]
WE CAN ONLY SOLVE THE CHALLENGE OF PENSIONS TOGETHER January 24, 2012 GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AVIVA ONE of the great achievements of the post-war years has been the big rise in life expectancy. People are healthier and can enjoy longer lives, seeing their grandchildren and even great grandchildren growing up. This is to be celebrated. But this achievement also poses a big challenge: paying for the growing [...]
Greece stubborn over lenders January 24, 2012 GREECE is still not prepared to accept what its private creditors called their “final offer” to write down the value of its debt, the Institute for International Finance (IIF) told reporters in Switzerland yesterday. Setting the scene for a week of behind-the-scenes wrangling with European government officials as they gather in Davos, IIF chief Charles [...]
No sympathy for the Conservatives: Mick Jagger pulls out of PM’s event January 24, 2012 FROM a 1967 drugs conviction to a 2003 knighthood bestowed by the Queen, Mick Jagger’s transformation from rock’n’roll rebel to darling of the British establishment always seemed unlikely. And Sir Mick stayed true to his upstart reputation yesterday by scrapping an appearance at David Cameron’s tea party to promote Britain at Davos. The Rolling Stones [...]
