OUT OF OFFICE August 5, 2009 JAZZ AT VIVAT BACCHUSClerkenwell dwellers not content with food and fine wine should pop along to Vivat Bacchus in Farringdon this Saturday, where jazz pianist Jason Thompson (who has entertained the likes of Bill Clinton and Michael Douglas) will be in situ with his group, the JT Band. The food and wine here is always [...]
How the Russian oligarchs came to rise and reign in boomtime London August 5, 2009 LONDONGRADBY MARK HOLLINGSWORTH AND STEWART LANSLEYFourth Estate, £12.99ONE of the most visible signs of the times over the past few years has been the increasing Russification of London. The likes of Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, Oleg Deripaska, who made headlines when he entertained the then-EU trade minister Peter Mandelson and shadow [...]
Tough times for graduates, but top candidates can still find jobs August 5, 2009 THE TALK this week may have been all about healthy bank profits and the return of bonuses, but that will be cold comfort to university graduates struggling to kick off their City careers. As stories circle of highly qualified grads finding themselves locked out of training positions, with companies being forced to cut intakes and [...]
A SIGH OF RELIEF FOR FUND GURU DUFFIELD August 4, 2009 AFTER months of being down on his luck, perhaps the tide is starting to turn for veteran fund management guru John Duffield and his newest business venture, Brompton Asset Management. Duffield, who also previously set up Jupiter and New Star, originally named the firm Hyde Park Asset Management, before hedge fund marketing firm Hyde Park [...]
Menolly Cheapside wins tenant August 4, 2009 International law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe yesterday signed a lease to move its London headquarters to the new Menolly development at 107 Cheapside. The lease is for 44,500 sq ft of space at the new 185,000 sq ft development. Orrick has also taken an option over a further 20,000 sq ft and plans to [...]
Sony launches cheap Kindle rival August 4, 2009 Electronics firm Sony has launched a cheaper rival to Amazon’s Kindle book reader, undercutting its competitor’s product by some $100 (£59). Sony said it would start selling its Pocket Reader at $199, as well as a larger touchscreen version at $299. “Achieving the $199 price point, we believe, expands the market dramatically,” said Steve Haber, [...]
Focus DIY hopes for rescue plan August 4, 2009 Focus DIY will today unveil a restructuring plan aimed at saving it from collapse and will call on landlords to get behind the proposals. The retailer is proposing a company voluntary agreement (CVA), under which it would jettison stores standing empty. Landlords of the closed outlets would be offered dividends, paid in lump sums, in [...]
BNY Mellon nears Insight deal August 4, 2009 Bank of New York Mellon is in late-stage talks to buy the lion’s share of Insight, the fund manager inherited by Lloyds Banking Group from HBOS, in a deal worth up to £235m. BNY is understood to have beaten off competition from US private equity house Hellman & Friedman and asset manager Schroders. Abdullah Nauphal, [...]
WIFE STRIFE August 4, 2009 THE WIFE of fraudster Bernie Madoff, Ruth has come under fire from a former associates who say she almost certainly knew about her husband’s $65bn Ponzi scheme. She yesterday reached an agreement with a court meaning she cannot spend more than $100 on anything without telling a court-appointed trustee.
BSkyB and Deloitte bosses net millions August 4, 2009 THE senior partner of accountancy firm Deloitte, John Connolly, and the chief executive of BSkyB, John Darroch, have been awarded pay packages worth millions. Connolly, whose firm Deloitte is the auditor of the part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), grabbed an annual pay packet of £5.3m, benefiting from Deloitte’s profit-sharing scheme as the company earned [...]
