FASHION ICON MCQUEEN DIES February 11, 2010 British Fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found hanged at his flat in Mayfair yesterday. McQueen, 40, who was named British designer of the year four times, is thought to have become depressed over the death of his mother, Joyce, last week. He had been due to attend her funeral today. The Metropolitan Police say they [...]
BT has £9bn pension hole February 11, 2010 BT yesterday revealed a yawning pension deficit of £9bn. Shares in the company – which now has the biggest pension deficit in the private sector – nose-dived as the extent of the black hole was revealed. The firm announced an agreement with trustees to pay back the vast sum over 17 years, adding £525m into [...]
Motorola plans to split into two public companies in 2011 February 11, 2010 Motorola aims to split into two companies in the first quarter of 2011, separating its cellphone and television set-top box businesses from the rest of the company, it said yesterday. Motorola said each company would be independent and publicly traded, and that the separation would provide the businesses flexibility to grow in the long term. [...]
HEDGE FUND FASHION GURU HAS A SALES BOOM February 11, 2010 WE ALWAYS knew women were good at multi-tasking, but Britt Lintner really does take the concept to a new extreme. Regular readers may remember Lintner, who heads up her own flourishing womenswear label while managing to hold down a tough job in hedge fund sales at GLG Partners. And now I hear that not only [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF BT’S MASSIVE PENSION DEFICIT? February 11, 2010 ROS ALTMANN | INDEPENDENT PENSIONS EXPERT BT has a huge pension scheme with a massive deficit. The company is doing quite well, so it’s important it pays as much as it can into the scheme now. If it doesn’t, we could see a situation similar to British Airways, which is in serious trouble with its [...]
Credit Suisse in rude health after crunch February 11, 2010 CREDIT Suisse cemented its reputation as one of the victors of the global recession yesterday as it swung back into the black with net profits of Sfr6.7bn (£4bn) for 2009. Allaying fears after the Italian crackdown on tax havens left rival UBS gushing assets, Credit Suisse reported Sfr35.3bn net new money for its private banking [...]
Sir Win Bischoff adds reinforcements to the board at Lloyds Banking Group… February 11, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group yesterday appointed two new non-executive directors, the first board appointments since Sir Win Bischoff became chairman of the reviving institution. Glen Moreno, the current chairman of Pearson, becomes the group’s senior independent director. Moreno has significant experience in the banking industry, having held a number of positions at Citigroup between 1969 and [...]
…as it sells a £185m stake in Esure to Peter Wood February 11, 2010 Lloyds Banking Group is selling off its majority stake in online insurer Esure as part of its plans to scale back its non-core operations. New company Esure Group Holdings, run by veteran insurance entrepreneur Peter Wood, is paying £185m for the 70 per cent stake – “slightly more” than its book value. The management buyout [...]
CITY EYE February 11, 2010 CITY workers toast their fundraising efforts for the SOS Children’s Haiti Appeal yesterday evening at Leadenhall Market, after donning antiquated headgear for the second annual Bowler Hat Day. The event saw a number of Square Mile grandees taking part, including Cardew Group chairman Anthony Cardew and Strand Hanson chairman and chief executive Robert Hanson and [...]
Diageo warns it could leave UK over tax February 11, 2010 THE head of Diageo yesterday threatened to take his company abroad because of UK tax laws. Chief executive Paul Walsh said that it was “very difficult” to locate staff in the UK where they could be hit by a 50 per cent tax rate. He also called for corporation tax to be cut and the [...]
