Cocooned in style at the Ritz’s Salon May 15, 2012 THE Salon is a little known part of the Ritz, up on the seventh floor. It’s a surprisingly unguilded haven – plainly decorated, and quiet but for the civilised murmur of ladies having their hair and nails done and the odd door closing softly behind someone going in for a treatment. Into this rarefied atmosphere [...]
EPISODE 56: OVER THE LIMIT May 15, 2012 We’ve walked to school in silence, Noel swinging his book bag, but as we enter the playground Noel asks, “Daddy, why were you sleeping in the spare room?” I’m about to attempt an answer when Billy dashes past us. Noel wheels into his best friend’s slipstream and they are gone. Somehow, during this manoeuvre, Noel [...]
Prep for summer with Rodial’s new sculpt treatment May 15, 2012 FIT IN THE CITY This week I continue my search for the city’s best beach shape-up regimes. TRIED & TESTED: THE POWER PLATE/RODIAL SUMMER SCULPT Every so often a collaboration occurs that’s so sexy you sign up for it without really knowing what it is. This summer’s sexiest link-up is between Power Plate (www.powerplate.com/uk) and [...]
Rusal earnings fall by 84pc as metal takes hit May 15, 2012 RUSAL, the world’s biggest aluminium producer, yesterday posted an 84 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit as metal prices fell. Net profit, which included its share of earnings in Norilsk and non-cash items, slumped to $74m (£46m) in the three months ended March from $451m a year earlier. While global aluminium consumption in the [...]
EURO FEARS SPARK ROUT IN MARKETS May 14, 2012 MARKETS plummeted across Europe yesterday as fears mounted that Greece may leave the Eurozone, driving a mass sell-off as investors fled risky assets. Shares dropped sharply, while peripheral governments saw borrowing costs jump. European leaders openly acknowledged the prospect of the country leaving the euro, while Greece’s political leaders failed even to meet last night [...]
Queen of Wall Street quits as JP Morgan clears the decks May 14, 2012 JP MORGAN cleared out the entire senior team in its chief investment office (CIO) last night after Ina Drew, one of Wall Street’s most powerful women, quit the bank over $2bn (£1.24bn) in hedging losses. According to an internal memo seen by City A.M., Achilles Macris, who led the trading desk that placed the bank’s [...]
Rush to safety as worried investors flee periphery May 14, 2012 BORROWING costs jumped again yesterday in peripheral Eurozone as fears grew that Greece is on its way out of the currency union. Investors piled cash into “safe haven” countries, driving down borrowing costs in the UK and Germany and fleeing riskier assets. German backing for bailouts and austerity took a beating as Angela Merkel’s CDU [...]
It’s austerity all right – but not of the kind we actually need May 14, 2012 IT has long been a theme of this column that the government and its critics alike have exaggerated the extent of the government’s belt-tightening. The coalition is doing this to try and reassure the bond markets while seeking to minimise the hit to the public sector; the opposition because it wants to blame the recession [...]
Moody’s cuts the ratings of 26 Italian banks May 14, 2012 CREDIT rating agency Moody’s last night downgraded its long-term debt and deposit ratings on 26 Italian financial institutions, blaming the country’s return to recession and limited funding opportunities. Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, which together account for almost a third of Italy’s banking market by assets, were among those hit by the downgrades, three months after [...]
What next if Greece leaves the euro? May 14, 2012 Q Wouldn’t this be a disaster for Greece? A The country’s GDP would take a big hit; UBS estimates that up to 50 per cent could be lost. Yet a currency devaluation may help the recovery, and debts could be written off. Q How would it actually work? A The Greek government would legally establish [...]
