Is the government right to seek to raise revenue by selling NHS services abroad? August 21, 2012 YES David Stout This idea to “sell” the NHS abroad is not necessarily new. But these proposals present an opportunity to do what is already being done in a much more systematic way. We know the NHS is well-regarded internationally, and these proposals mean we can help generate additional income off the back of our [...]
Rapid Responses August 21, 2012 Plain packaging [Re: As Australia confirms a law banning branded tobacco packaging, should the UK follow suit?, Thursday] Whether plain packaging of cigarettes prevents children from smoking is irrelevant. Cigarettes are illegal for under 18s to buy, and draconian and nannying measures like this will likely creep into the alcohol and unhealthy food markets. Liberty [...]
The car in front is a… What? A Kia? August 21, 2012 The car market used to be so much easier to understand. You used to be able to make a brand table that looked like a ladder, with value brands at the bottom and premium brands at the top. As a manufacturer you either made a lot of cars and sold them for less profit per [...]
Car talk August 21, 2012 Want one of these? Don’t hold your breath This unusual-looking beast is a one-off supercar built by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the bespoke division within McLaren Automotive. Called the McLaren X-1 it is based on the company’s carbon MonoCell structure and has a unique, bespoke “timeless” and “classically elegant” body. It took two and a [...]
Hollande’s raid on rich is the wrong kind of revolution August 21, 2012 AFTER little more than a hundred days in power, French President François Hollande’s popularity is dropping fast. Recent polls show that 54 per cent of French citizens are dissatisfied with his performance, compared with approximately 40 per cent in July. It’s little wonder – taxes on the rich, which initially attracted voters, are in danger [...]
Polly peck thief Nadir faces jail August 20, 2012 POLLY Peck International founder Asil Nadir, one of the London stock market stars of the 1980s, was yesterday found guilty of three counts of theft totaling £5.5m from the former FTSE 100-listed global conglomerate. Turkish-Cypriot born Nadir, who left the UK for northern Cyprus in 1993 and returned in August 2010 to face the charges, [...]
Soros reveals new stake in Man United August 20, 2012 BILLIONAIRE investor George Soros has splashed out on a 7.85 per cent passive stake in Manchester United, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission revealed late last night. Soros Fund Management bought over three million of the new class A shares, which were created for the club’s initial public offering (IPO) in New [...]
BAA’s airport sale lures Ryanair and Manchester August 20, 2012 MANCHESTER Airport Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, Bournemouth and East Midlands airports, is understood to be the front-runner to make a £1bn bid for Stansted Airport. Aviation firm BAA revealed yesterday that it is to sell Stansted Airport after it gave up on a long legal battle. BAA had been fighting a 2009 Competition Commission [...]
Stansted considered a prize asset now it is finally being sold August 20, 2012 THERE are more than a handful of less than busy investment bankers celebrating the decision yesterday by Spanish group Ferrovial that it will sell Stansted Airport. The group is finally doing so after three years of wrangling with the competition authorities. The Spaniards have been trying long and hard to avoid a sale, even threatening [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Citi chief rejects calls for bank splits Citigroup’s chief executive has knocked back the idea of big banks being split up after calls from people such as his predecessor Sandy Weill. Vikram Pandit said Citi, formed in Mr Weill’s time with mergers such as the acquisition of Travelers in 1998, had already gone [...]
