Stockholm Syndrome and Dementors rule the law December 21, 2010 A HARD year for the City’s legal market is drawing to a close, and lawyers at those firms that haven’t cancelled their Christmas parties are looking forward to a booze-filled lead up to the New Year. And giving their two cents in RollOnFriday’s annual Firm of the Year survey. There seems to be little festive [...]
Cable demotion cheers Murdoch December 21, 2010 James Murdoch, the chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, was said to be “cock-a-hoop” last night, after Vince Cable was stripped of his role in deciding whether the satellite broadcaster can be taken over by News Corp. Sources close to Murdoch, who is also chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia, said Cable’s demotion [...]
The case of the invincible business secretary December 21, 2010 WHEN Vince Cable told undercover reporters his departure from government would bring down the coalition, most Westminster insiders thought the famously grumpy business secretary was indulging in a little hyperbole. Few, if any, thought the audacious claim would be tested just a few hours later. In the event, the Prime Minister agreed with his business [...]
Lib Dems gear up for a bumpy ride with Cable on the ropes December 21, 2010 EVEN as the story of business secretary Vince Cable’s indiscretions broke late on Monday, campaigners linked with the the office of Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes were frantically sending out press releases. Surely an example of an impressive scale-up of the famously scatty Lib Dem media operation? Er, not quite. “Don’t use King’s Stairs [...]
Alexon warns on profits as the big freeze hits its sales December 21, 2010 WOMENSWEAR retailer Alexon yesterday said the UK’s big freeze had hurt the past three weeks’ trading and could wipe up to £1.5m off its full-year profit forecast. The retailer said sales fell 19.9 per cent for the three weeks to 18 December in stores open for more than a year – leaving it with a [...]
BAA re-opens runway and apologises for chaos December 21, 2010 AIRPORT operator BAA last night re-opened the southern runway at Heathrow airport in a bid to end the snow chaos that has left thousands of passengers stranded. Airport bosses hope the move will help them to reduce the delays and cancellations caused by the weather, with 700 flights axed yesterday and only a third of [...]
Has the snow hit your Christmas shopping? December 21, 2010 MATT HAWKER | ZENITH BANK “I wasn’t really affected as I did most of my shopping early – although I have done less shopping online than other Christmases.” GRAEME IRWIN | ALEXANDER DAVID SECURITY “No, I’m an old fashioned shopper so tend to buy presents and take them home from work with me. I’ve done [...]
FTSE surges to a 30-month high as risk appetite boosted by strong US earnings December 21, 2010 MINERS and banks drove Britain’s top share index to a 30-month closing high yesterday, as risk appetite rose due to easing tensions on the Korean peninsula and upbeat earnings from US software maker Adobe Systems. The FTSE 100 index ended up 60.19 points, or one per cent, at 5,951.80, its highest close since early June [...]
Christmas party poopers Everton spoil City’s opportunity to go top of the table December 20, 2010 MANCHESTER CITY v/s EVERTON A BATTLING display from 10-man Everton prevented Manchester City from topping the table at Christmas for the first time since 1929. Roberto Mancini’s side were boosted prior to kick-off by the news of Carlos Tevez’s transfer request u-turn, but that was as good as it got on a night of missed [...]
Delay could prove fatal for Gartmore December 20, 2010 HENDERSON is unlikely to agree an acceptable offer for Gartmore before the Christmas break, sources close to Henderson say, raising the risk that the embattled fund manager could collapse before a deal is done. Henderson confirmed yesterday it is in negotiations to snap up its stalling rival and is said to have offered 95p per [...]