CELEBS ARE VERSED IN WHEELER DEALER ART September 13, 2009 A RAFT of celebrities got the chance to try their hand at wheeling and dealing last Friday, as inter-dealer broker BGC Partners held its annual charity trading day over in Canary Wharf. Among the famous guests were sporting heroes Sir Ian Botham, Linford Christie, Martin Johnson and Jade Johnson, as well as tens of others [...]
FEAST ON THE BRIDGE September 13, 2009 Southwark Bridge was transformed into a giant dining space on Saturday, as part of the Mayor’s Thames Festival. Instead of traffic, the public were treated to Feast on the Bridge, which aimed to reconnect them with the seasonality of food and enjoy a meal together. The medieval feast theme meant that festival-goers also enjoyed dance, [...]
JJB Sports investigation takes flight to Reykjavik September 13, 2009 THE Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has jetted to Iceland to investigate what is believed to be crucial evidence into an alleged fraud perpetrated by sportswear retailers JJB Sports and Sports Direct. The Icelandic visit is said to be of mutual interest to the SFO and the Icelandic government, which is trying to unearth financial crimes [...]
Ban on product placement on TV to be lifted September 13, 2009 PRODUCT placement is to be allowed on commercial television shows, as the government makes a complete U-turn in its attitude towards the controversial form of advertising. Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw is expected to announce a three-month consultation on the controversial new policy during his keynote speech to the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention on Wednesday. [...]
Brown seeks to safeguard Vauxhall jobs September 13, 2009 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown is set to lead talks at Ellesmere Port car plant this week, as part of a government push to safeguard thousands of jobs at Vauxhall’s UK plants. The move comes after US parent General Motors (GM) sold off a 55 per cent stake in its European arm to Canadian car parts [...]
HESTER:LET’STAKETHINGSSLOW September 13, 2009 STEPHEN Hester, chief executive of part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has warned a rapid boom after the recession could actually be damaging. In a BBC interview, Hester said a “gradual emergence from recession” that sees the economy “rebalance”is the best possible outcome.
High Court scrutiny for Aviva’s reattribution of 1.2bn estate September 13, 2009 AVIVA is to appear in the High Court today to seek approval for its plans to reattribute a £1.2bn inherited estate, in a case it expects will conclude in its favour in just two or three days. The insurer has offered investors £500m to sign away their rights to the estate – made up of [...]
Retail guru Davies to revive high street with GIVe stores September 13, 2009 RETAIL veteran George Davies is set to open the doors to his new stand alone shopping venture, GIVe, this Autumn. Davies, the founder of high street fashion store Next, Marks and Spencer’s womenswear range Per Una and Asda’s George clothing line has ploughed £20m of his own money into the chain. The much-hyped launch comes [...]
CPAlawyers set for riches September 13, 2009 A GROUP of 230 lawyers who control legal outsourcing firm Computer Patent Annuities (CPA) are all set to be made millionaires, as the firm gears up for a stake sale to private equity. The firm, which offers intellectual property support services, is expected to sell at least a quarter of its equity in a transaction [...]
INM days from bank debt deal September 13, 2009 Independent News & Media (INM) could be just days from a refinancing proposal that includes a debt-for-equity swap to pay a long-overdue €200m (£176m) bond. Any deal would dilute the stakes of its shareholders – including founder Sir Anthony O’Reilly and second-largest shareholder Denis O’Brien – but would give management breathing space to steer the [...]
