Froth and love in a wonderful, light romance May 14, 2009 OperaL’ELISIR D’AMORERoyal Opera HouseA PERFECT springtime opera, L’Elisir D’Amore is pure Italian frivolity. Played out to the tune of Donizetti’s jaunty but sporadically beautiful score, the opera – revived here at Covent Garden for the first time, with Laurent Pelly’s spritely production setting the action set in contemporary rural Italy – revolves around a dopey village boy [...]
Froth and love in a wonderful, light romance May 14, 2009 TheatreDUET FOR ONEVaudeville TheatreDUET for One provides us with what must be one of the West End’s most poignant performances in recent times, in the shape of Juliet Stevenson’s musician whose career has been curtailed by multiple sclerosis. It is a masterclass in control, nuance and subtle physicality, without ever seeming anything other than entirely [...]
MPS: CITY STILL DOESN’T GET IT May 14, 2009 THE CITY launched a counter-offensive against MPs yesterday, after the Treasury select committee criticised Lord Adair Turner’s review of regulatory reform and cast doubt on Sir David Walker’s suitability to lead a review of corporate governance in the banking sector. The influential group of MPs concluded in its report on the role of remuneration in the [...]
Barclays in talks to sell its BGI unit May 14, 2009 BARCLAYS has entered preliminary talks with US money manager BlackRock as well as other potential buyers for its prized asset management arm Barclays Global Investors (BGI). Any sell-off could generate at least $10bn (£6.6bn) for the bank but the ongoing talks could easily lead to nothing. The Barclays board is understood only to want to [...]
A Barclays sell-off would be a mistake May 14, 2009 IF Barclays does end up selling its Barclays Global Investors division to a rival such as BlackRock, it will be faced with two major problems. The first would be one of credibility: how can Barclays continue to operate as a universal bank if it lacks an asset manager? Selling iShares makes some sense; the business was [...]
Amec board’s pay too much May 14, 2009 THE furore over City pay hit another company last night, as over half of investors at engineering group Amec refused to back the company’s remuneration report. Around 40 per cent of its shareholders opposed the report on directors salaries and bonus plans, while 13 per cent abstained. Amec wanted to give its chief executive Samir Brikho [...]
MP expenses hit a high May 14, 2009 JUSTICE minister Shahid Malik ran up the highest expenses claim among his MP peers, it emerged yesterday. He has claimed the maximum amount allowed for a second home – £66,827, over three years. During 2008, he claimed £443 a week for a London town house, or £23,083 over the whole year. Meanwhile, on his constituency [...]
Savvy homeowners considering whether to lock themselves into a fixed-rate loan May 14, 2009 WE all know that interest rates are at record lows levels, and that those with tracker mortgages are rubbing their hands in glee. Indeed, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said this week that mortgage costs are at their lowest since 2004. But it won’t last for ever. With some suggesting that the economy could start [...]
WHAT’S AVAILABLE? BEST RATES May 14, 2009 First Direct offers a two-year fix of 2.99 per cent with a subsequent rate of 3.69 per cent (all rates are based on a 75 per cent, £150,000 mortgage). The fee is £898. Royal Bank of Scotland has a three-year fix of 3.99 per cent, rising to 4 per cent afterwards, with a £499 fee. [...]
FOCUS ON: PALMERS GREEN, N13 May 14, 2009 BLAGDENS CLOSE, SOUTHGATE, N14 6DE Price: £665,000 Located in a quiet cul-de-sac and within walking distance of Southgate Tube station – 40 minutes from Bank – this four-bedroom detached house has been extended to provide a lounge and fitted kitchen/family room. There is planning permission to extend further and the garden has been well maintained. [...]
