Poor Britons turn to pricey payday loans December 7, 2011 THE DIRE state of many Britons’ personal finances has been underlined by new research that shows 3.5m people are considering taking out payday loans over the next six months. Concern over personal debt has reached the highest level since insolvency body R3 began making records, it said yesterday as it warned of “zombie debtors” who [...]
Choices for connoisseurs December 7, 2011 BOWMORE TWEED FITTING & TASTING Renowned Islay distillery Bowmore has dreamed up the ultimate gents’ Christmas gift through a collaboration with Savile Row tailoring maestro Malcolm Plews. Customers will be treated to a bespoke tailoring session on the ‘Row, including a made-to-measure jacket using a tweed pattern designed specially for the distillery, followed by a [...]
5 great whiskies for Christmas December 7, 2011 1. UNDER £50: COMPASS BOX SPICE TREE As the name would suggest, Spice Tree has some wonderful notes of festive-influenced spice and fruit, developed from blending together Highland malts, partly matured in French wine-tempered casks. Perfect to go with your Christmas pud. £35.50, www.masterofmalt.com 2. UNDER £100: MACKINLAY’S SHACKLETON REPLICA BLENDED WHISKY After finding a [...]
Blacks to be put up for sale December 7, 2011 Blacks Leisure plans to put itself up for sale after the struggling outdoor retailer failed to raise enough funds to carry on the business. The retailer had issued a profit warning last month in the run-up to Christmas, after the retailer in October said it was evaluating all kinds of funding options. “The directors do [...]
CITY SNAPS UP FLATS IN DELAUNAY NEIGHBOUR December 6, 2011 NO PRIZES for guessing who was first through the doors of The Delaunay: restaurant reviewer AA Gill, who was yesterday spotted having breakfast with the new brasserie’s co-owner Jeremy King. Of course, Gill was followed closely by The Capitalist, who caught up with King as he studied the architects’ plans for his next opening Brasserie [...]
Christmas trading is slow at Metro as it issues profit alert December 6, 2011 METRO, the world’s fourth-biggest retailer, issued a profit warning that sent shockwaves through the sector yesterday, saying Christmas trading had started slowly and the Eurozone debt crisis was undermining consumer confidence. Shares in the German group, which runs cash and carries, hypermarkets, electrical goods and department stores, slumped over 13 per cent. “We feel the [...]
FTSE ends flat as S&P eyes Eurozone rating downgrades December 6, 2011 THE UK’s top share index ended flat yesterday, with banks and retailers falling and sentiment hurt as credit agency Standard & Poor’s warned of a possible downgrade to most Eurozone countries. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.76 points or 0.01 per cent at 5,568.72 following a see-saw session, having closed at [...]
History reveals breaking up a currency union isn’t hard to do – but you must be fast December 6, 2011 WHAT happens when a country changes its currency, either by creating a new one to replace the existing one or when it leaves a monetary union? A good starting point is New Zealand’s switch from sterling to the NZ dollar at the end of the 1960s. That was a simple matter of redenomination and printing [...]
Downgrade bombshell puts brakes on FTSE gains December 6, 2011 The brakes were slammed on the recovery in European markets this morning after ratings agency Standard and Poor’s warned 15 Eurozone countries – including Germany – that they were teetering on the edge of a downgrade. Asian stocks and the euro fell after S&P piled pressure on a plan to solve the region’s debt crisis [...]
City wealth manager adds to our appeal December 6, 2011 THERE is more good news for City A.M.’s Christmas appeal with the addition of a generous personal gift from Greg Knight (pictured), practice principal at City wealth manager Welbeck Group today. Knight’s significant donation takes our total to an incredible £200,000 after only two weeks of fundraising. Knight, a former London Scottish rugby player who [...]