Brett Easton Ellis is back with a chilling seventh novel July 21, 2010 IMPERIAL BEDROOMS BY BRETT EASTON ELLIS PICADOR, £16.99 BY ZOE STRIMPEL ONCE part of the American literary brat pack of the 1980s that included Jay McInerney and Tama Janowitz, Ellis is in many ways the most intriguing and – thanks to his famed use of violence in 1991’s American Psycho, about Manhattan yuppie serial killer [...]
Why Britain needs to save far more July 20, 2010 THERE is no better way to kill a dinner party discussion than to bring up the subject of pensions. Just ask your friends when they expect to retire, and how much they hope to earn when they stop working. The usual answer – apart from the lucky few who still enjoy final salary schemes – [...]
Pressure from the bottom line will make firms female-friendly July 20, 2010 A COUPLE of weeks ago I was told a story about a law firm Christmas party. The senior partners took part in a game where pictures of their children were projected onto a screen, and they were asked to identify the cute faces. Presumably this was meant to show them to be rounded human beings, [...]
Selfridges Christmas in August July 18, 2010 Selfridges department store in Oxford Street is getting ready for Christmas early – 145 days before the big day. In the earliest start ever for the store, the Christmas shop will open on 2 August, allowing organised shoppers to start stocking up on festive decorations including pre-lit trees, crackers, fairy lights or even a £500 [...]
GOLDMAN’S KAFKA OFF TO GREENER PASTURES July 13, 2010 IT’S out of the revolving door for one of Goldman’s chief spinmeisters, Paul Kafka, who’s off to pastures new at rival UBS. I hear Kafka is now on gardening leave after almost four years as Goldman’s European head of corporate comms. He’ll be stepping up to the plate at UBS later in the year, as [...]
Northern Foods revenues slide July 13, 2010 Food manufacturer Northern Foods said sales fell in the first quarter of its fiscal year, reflecting its decision to pull out of low margin contracts. The company, which makes own-label products for retailers as diverse as premium food seller Marks & Spencer and discounter Aldi, said yesterday comparable sales were down 1.6 per cent in [...]
PROPERTY BIGWIGS GET OUT THEIR WALLETS FOR A DAY AT THE RACES July 11, 2010 FOR STARTERS, let’s head down to Ascot racecourse – always a pleasure – for the annual Property Race Day, playground of the suited and booted doyens of the property world. This year marked a change of scenery for the charity event set up by Parkwood Asset Management founder Derek Lucie-Smith, which moved from Sandown Park [...]
GOLDMAN CASE STRIKES FEAR INTO HEARTS OF PRUDENT COMPETITORS July 8, 2010 THE SEC’S fraud case against Goldman might have proved an almighty headache for the bank’s own staff, but at least it’s spawned a valuable lesson for rivals. Citi took the opportunity to send employees a missive in the wake of the accusations, imperiously titled “Think Before You Write: Avoiding Improper Electronic Communication”. The 11-page illustrated [...]
Real men only apply July 6, 2010 For a while, a few years back, it looked like the US trend for vast trucks and pickups was going to catch on here. Stateside rappers wearing signet rings the size of dinner plates applied the same “bigger is better” approach to all of their purchases, and cars like the mahoosive Hummer were suddenly very [...]
Warburg, maker of the modern City July 4, 2010 WITH a tan topped up over the weekend by a stay on a Greek island and his TV don’s hair – which looks like a tame version of Melvyn Bragg’s – a crisp white shirt, relaxed manner and a gentle Scottish accent, Niall Ferguson is without doubt a smoothy-chops. He’s also one of the best-known [...]