A BRAND NEW BAG ON GEORGE’S BIG DAY March 23, 2011 YESTERDAY’S budget saw George Osborne depart from a 150-year-old tradition, when he debuted a brand new red dispatch box for his journey from Downing Street to the Treasury. The battered briefcase touted by almost every chancellor since 1860 was made for William Gladstone, and only James Callaghan and Gordon Brown have diversified since, the latter [...]
Tea total: a new brew sensation March 23, 2011 WHAT do the credit crunch, European leveraged capital markets and looseleaf tea have in common? The answer is Ajit Madan, who left his job at Societe Generale when the credit crunch rendered his slice of the pie a mere shadow of its former self, to follow his entrepreneurial dreams. “It was a part of the [...]
The City club where it pays to be a member March 23, 2011 LONDON is the world’s leader when it comes to private members’ clubs. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been scarred by sticky floors and suffocating crowds at some point in our lives, or maybe it’s because we hate being kicked out at 11pm. Whatever it is, private is how we roll, and nowhere does this stand [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 23, 2011 DEUTSCHE TELEKOM Goldman Sachs rates the telecoms group “neutral”, up from “sell”, with a target price of €10.90 (£9.47). The broker thinks the possible sale of T-Mobile USA will be positive for the firm even if it doesn’t go ahead, given the $3bn cash and spectrum assets promised in the break clause. The sale would [...]
The boys are behind me March 22, 2011 ENGLAND captain John Terry announced his return as the team’s leader by admitting: “I’m not everybody’s cup of tea” but insisted that he has 100 per cent support of his international team-mates. Terry will wear the armband for the first time in over a year at the Millennium Stadium for the Euro 2012 qualifier with [...]
World Cup starts at last March 22, 2011 AT LONG long last after 42 generally one-sided and predictable matches the World Cup can officially begin with the top eight teams in the world having made it through to the last eight. The group stages have been a complete waste of time and by maintaining such a long-winded format the latter stages have potentially [...]
United Supporters Trust fury at Glazers £109m loss March 22, 2011 THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, Duncan Drasdo, has accused the clubs owners of wasting money after the Glazers announced losses of £109m yesterday. The loss by Red Football Joint Venture, the family’s parent company that owns United, includes some one-off costs from setting up the £526m bond scheme last year to [...]
Usmanov ups stake in Arsenal March 22, 2011 RUSSIAN-BASED billionaire Alisher Usmanov has again increased his share in Arsenal to over 27 per cent. The Uzbek oil magnate remains the club’s second largest shareholder behind American Stan Kroenke who, unlike Usmanov, holds a seat on the board. Under the financial rules of the City, were any party to cross the 29.99 per cent takeover [...]
Fifa president Blatter will leave his position in 2015 March 22, 2011 FIFA president Sepp Blatter has announced that he will stand down to make way for his successor in four years time – assuming he is re-elected in June. Blatter is seeking a fourth term as Fifa president and is being challenged by Asian confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam. The 75-year-old told Uefa’s Congress in Paris [...]
Osborne to hike tax allowances March 22, 2011 GEORGE Osborne will today unveil small tax cuts, help for first-time buyers and a series of symbolic measures to show he is tough on the rich. But his Budget could be overshadowed by spiralling inflation and weaker public finances, preventing him from pulling any rabbits out of his hat. The chancellor will announce that he [...]
