Nest egg: How best to save for your children’s future August 20, 2014 As GCSE results come out today, and the dust settles on last week’s A-Level results, many parents will be thinking about how they can help their children through university. But while Fidelity calculations suggest that education is the costliest part of raising a child from birth to 21, at an estimated £71,780 in total, many [...]
Dixons Carphone share price falls on first day of trading after £3.6bn merger August 8, 2014 Shares in Dixons Carphone rose yesterday morning only to close down 1.8 per cent in their first formal day of trading since Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail merged to create a £3.6bn consumer electronics empire. The FTSE 250 company aims to exploit the ever-growing presence of consumer electronics in people’s lives and the so-called [...]
Dish of the Day: Vivek Singh’s lamb and sweetcorn curry July 29, 2014 I’ve been executive chef with the Cinnamon Group since 2001. That was at the start of the wave of modern Indian cuisine in Britain. The Cinnamon Club in Westminster was the first restaurant in the group to open about 14 years ago and it’s a temple of gastronomy. It’s very close to the House of [...]
Cochin, Kerala: The Indian town with all the beauty of Goa without the tourists July 18, 2014 The road from the Cochin airport is lined with enormous signs advertising wedding silk and jewellery shops. Is this India’s biggest wedding depot? “Saris!” was all I could get out of the driver for an explanation. But soon enough, bright pink and turquoise beach shacks began to line the road, Zen-looking men in nappy-like skirts [...]
Peer lending and crowdfunding an “increasing source of finance” for UK firms July 18, 2014 Peer lending and crowdfunding are becoming an "increasing source of finance" for firms, as non-bank alternatives are giving a growing number of UK firms a helping hand, according to the Bank of England. In its quarterly report on trends in lending, the central bank reports that credit conditions for businesses are improving, with net lending [...]
City Moves for 15 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 14, 2014 Quindell David Currie has been appointed non-executive director at the software, consultancy and technology-enabled outsourcing provider. He recently established Codex Capital Partners, and is a former head of Investec Bank’s investment banking division. PwC Mark Pugh has been appointed asset management leader in the UK at the professional services firm. He has been an assurance [...]
City Moves for 09 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 8, 2014 Universities Superannuation Scheme Jeremy Hill will be returning to the pension scheme trustee company, taking up the role of group general counsel. A qualified solicitor, Hill first worked for the firm between 2009 and 2011. He has previously held leadership roles at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Merrill Lynch Investment Management, along with positions at [...]
Carphone Warehouse and Dixons deliver rise in profits ahead of £3.7bn tie-up June 26, 2014 High street stalwarts Dixons and Carphone Warehouse both revealed strong results yesterday ahead of their £3.7bn merger later this year. The owner of Currys and PC World reported an underlying profit before tax of £166.2m in the year to 30 April – up 10 per cent on the previous year. Chief executive Sebastian James said [...]
Dixons profits surge ahead of Carphone Warehouse merger June 26, 2014 Dixons Retail, the owner of Currys and PC World, has reported a jump in profit before tax of 76 per cent to £166.2m for the financial year ended 30 April. Online sales were a particularly bright spot, rising by 16 per cent to £1bn, while customer service metrics reached their highest recorded levels in all [...]
Fog of war June 23, 2014 A new exhibition marks 100 years since the beginning of World War I From Robert Capa’s grainy pictures of the D-Day landings to Nick Ut’s photograph of the Vietnamese “Napalm Girl”, many of the 20th century’s most iconic images were taken in conflict zones. Some question the motives of war photographers – studies have shown [...]