TASTING NOTES February 2, 2011 I’LL be honest, I wasn’t terrifically enthused with the idea of cocktails combining booze with, er, root vegetables. Actually not just root vegetables, a variety of veg, though with parsnip and beetroot playing a couple of starring roles. I was picturing gloopy veggie soup with gin stirred in as I climbed the stairs to Roast, [...]
From sleazy chic to grand hotel-glam February 2, 2011 THIS week’s hottest launch took place down an unassuming alley off Soho’s Brewer Street (the old Raymond Revuebar site) where imposing oaken doors hide London’s newest spectacle, The Box. This sister club to NYC’s theatrical speakeasy is not for the faint hearted. Lurid murals line the walls of the womb-like reception room where would-be revellers [...]
Be the king of presentations February 2, 2011 COLIN FIRTH’S portrayal of George VI in The King’s Speech will have struck a chord with many in business. True, they might not have had to address the nation as it goes to war, but many will have faced the ordeal of delivering speeches to a large live audience. It’s one of the hardest things [...]
Taking the oblique route is the fastest way to business success February 2, 2011 OBLIQUITY BY JOHN KAY Profile Books, £8.99 HAPPINESS is not achieved by trying to be happy – it is a question of pursuing other ends. Achieving them makes you happy. Take having children. Break it down into the nappy changing, sleepless nights and messy meal-times and you might wonder what exactly makes it an enjoyable [...]
How to make sure that your manager appreciates you February 2, 2011 IN THE film The Social Network, the original co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin, freezes the company’s bank account after feeling unappreciated by Mark Zuckerberg. An audible sigh of sympathy spreads across the cinema, as Eduardo rants and raves in his attempt to get his contribution recognized. You don’t have to be behind a social phenomenon [...]
City revolts over bill for bust firms February 2, 2011 LEADING City investment management and stockbroking groups were yesterday in open revolt about plans for them to pay £233m to a controversial compensation fund after the collapse of the financial products seller Keydata. There was a growing feeling last night that prudent firms – from tiny blue-blooded Mayfair fund managers to giants such as BlackRock [...]
Violent clashes in Egypt put pressure on oil price February 2, 2011 VIOLENCE erupted in Egypt yesterday as supporters of outgoing president Hosni Mubarak turned on tens of thousands of pro-reform protesters. Three people were killed and more than 610 injured during bloody clashes on the streets of Cairo, according to official health ministry figures, as armed Mubarak supporters stormed Tahrir Square, the hub of Egypt’s largely [...]
US corporate results cheer February 2, 2011 A BEVY of American corporations posted forecast-beating results yesterday, benefiting from a resurgence in advertising budgets and consumer spending over the Christmas period. Media giant News Corp said its quarterly net income had jumped from $254m (£157m) to $642m on the strength of its TV businesses, though a $500m settlement charge last year depressed comparable [...]
World still addicted to easy money February 2, 2011 Most of the world is enjoying a strong economic rebound, with corporate profits, trade and output roaring ahead. But it is vital to make a distinction between short-term buoyancy (which many pessimists under-estimate) and the long-term structural problems at the heart of the global economy. The latter are worse than most people realise. Bill Gross, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LLOYDS DROPS MORTGAGE BROKERS OVER SUSPECTED FRAUD Concerns over suspected fraud have prompted Lloyds Banking Group to cull the list of brokers it allows to sell its mortgages. The UK’s largest mortgage lender has removed some 900 individuals over the past four years from its “approved panel” of brokers, including 300 in the [...]
