BILL OF THE WEEK September 27, 2009 Five lucky diners enjoyed a meal at Apsleys at The Lanesborough, Michelin-star chef Heinz Beck’s new restaurant, and his first outside of Italy. The guests got stuck into Beck’s tasting menu, a seven-course feast, priced at £75 a head. The menu began with Sea bass wafer, tomato confit and avocado. Scallops, amaranth and black corns [...]
City airport set to launch first NY flight September 27, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) is launching its business class only London to New York service tomorrow, despite the massive slump in business and first class travel that has resulted from the downturn. The service, which will run from London City airport, will cost those wanting a return trip, in a fully-flat bed, on one of two [...]
BAE plays down reports of 1bn fine over ongoing bribe charges September 27, 2009 BAE SYSTEMS yesterday played down reports that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had discussed fines of up to £1bn over an ongoing bribery charge. “BAE Systems’ view is that the interests of the company as well as all of its stakeholders, including the general public, are best served by allowing the ongoing investigations to run [...]
London and South East in homes boost September 27, 2009 HOUSE prices increased by 0.2 per cent in September, according to a survey published today. The survey, by the housing intelligence business Hometrack, records only the second monthly rise in house prices since July 2007. Hometrack’s director of research, Richard Donnell, warns however that “the headline growth marks what is essentially a London and South [...]
Prime homes get a lift in the commuter belt zones September 27, 2009 COMMUTER belt properties are continuing to outperform the rest of the UK, with the average price of prime country properties around London rising two per cent in the third quarter of 2009, according to the Knight Frank/City A.M. Prime Commuter Property index. In comparison, similar properties in the rest of the UK only saw their [...]
G20 promises welcomed by ECB’s Trichet September 27, 2009 JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said yesterday the members of the G20 must tackle global economic imbalances in its new role as the key international policy forum, in the wake of the Pittsburgh summit. The group’s new role, backed up by advice from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial [...]
Debt and taxes only sure things for 21st century September 27, 2009 While many market participants have enjoyed an awesome rally through 2009, the growing budget deficits are going to be hard to escape. In the US, there is hesitation to move away from a strong dollar policy rhetoric. Of course there has to be hesitation as the dollar still is the world’s currency reserve. On the [...]
WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE LATEST G20? September 27, 2009 JULIAN JESSOP CAPITAL ECONOMICSThe G20’s commitments will offend or impress no-one. Some of these – like promises to avoid protectionism – look pretty hollow in the light of actions recently taken. Overall, no harm done – an achievement in itself – but it remains to be seen whether real differences will be made. DAVID BUIK [...]
Barclays to begin spending spree by buying Portugese credit card business September 27, 2009 BARCLAYS is close to agreeing a deal to buy Citigroup’s credit card business in Portugal. The deal is expected to be announced early this week, and is not thought to exceed £60m. Britain’s second largest bank is looking to complete a string of purchases throughout Europe at the same time as Citigroup is seeking to [...]
Ryanair chiefs get cold-shoulder September 27, 2009 Three Ryanair directors – Kyran McLaughlin, Michael Horgan and Paolo Pietrogrande – received almost double the level of dissenting votes usually seen in director elections for the Irish Stock Exchange’s top companies. Proxy voting company Manifest, which advises institutional shareholders on corporate governance issues, has already dubbed the airline ‘‘one of Europe’s most shareholder unfriendly [...]
