Mark Kleinman: Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting results in Manchester Disunited January 9, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he tackles Ratcliffe’s own goal, Shawbrook setting the tone and a FTSE 100 Doomsday clash over pay Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting results in Manchester Disunited Sir Jim Ratcliffe might not like to admit it, but 2024 [...]
Thames Water to avoid state bailout, the FTSE 100 at 7900 and an ITV bid: my predictions for UK plc in 2025 January 2, 2025 Predictions may generally be a mug’s game, but looking back at my forecasts for the business world in 2024, I seem to have fared better than usual. Klarna, the buy now pay later giant, opted for a New York listing; Dame Alison Rose made a comeback in a senior private equity role; Unilever announced that [...]
Mark Kleinman: Hold the Telegraph front page – then hold it some more December 27, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles the Telegraph bid, Mike Ashley’s failed Boohoo approach and an oil deal in the North Sea I suspect you’d have got long odds on January 1 on the auction of The Daily [...]
Mark Kleinman: Boots’ dealmaker tries to formulate new potion December 19, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he tackles buyouts at Boots, big bonuses at Natwest and Reeves’ China charm offensive Boots’ octogenarian dealmaker tries to formulate new potion If life begins at 80, then Stefano Pessina, the octogenarian pharmaceuticals [...]
Mark Kleinman: Unilever puts buyout firms in the deep freeze December 12, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he tackles Unilever’s flakey ice cream approach, Thames Water’s demanding investors, and the long-winded sale of The Observer. Anyone for an ice cream fight? The decision of FTSE-100 consumer goods behemoth Unilever to [...]
Mark Kleinman: Tucker’s luck could mean handing over HSBC reins during a trade war December 5, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles HSBC’s chair changeover, the FCA’s recent climbdown, and a mighty job at Mitie. Tucker’s luck could mean handing over HSBC reins during a trade war Just as one swallow doesn’t make [...]
Mark Kleinman: Bidders’ screen test of ITV is a reheated repeat November 28, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles ITV takeover rumours, the deal extravaganza in professional services and fast moves in fintech. Bidders’ screen test of ITV is a reheated repeat Who’s up for an episode of ‘I’m an [...]
Mark Kleinman: Handbags (and more) at dawn for activist Ashley November 21, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles Mike Ashley’s newfound penchant for activist investing, Homebase’s turnaround and and Burberry’s flip-flopping Handbags (and more) at dawn for activist Ashley Paul Singer, Bill Ackman…and Mike Ashley? On the list [...]
Mark Kleinman: Thames needs to clear murky waters to restore credibility November 14, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles resetting Reeves, Thames Water and challenges for challenger banks Reeves’s post-reset reset may need new faces at City regulators How about a post-reset reset? Such has been the turbulence of Labour’s [...]
Labour’s ‘growth’ agenda already looks like a bad joke November 7, 2024 Well, that didn’t take long to unravel: the first Labour Budget for nearly 15 years, and the first ever by a female chancellor, saw the parallels with Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous 2022 mini-Budget emerging within hours. The comparison was misguided, although the jittery reaction of financial investors and rise in government funding costs told its own [...]
