A corporate hit-man with a heart January 14, 2010 Film UP IN THE AIR Cert: 15 IN an age when films are sometimes made two years before they are released, Up in the Air’s most obvious selling point is its timeliness. Jason Reitman, director of Oscar-winning Juno, has made a film about people who fire people, and one of its most touching aspects is [...]
JANUARY SALES January 12, 2010 Agent: Chelsea lead Dzeko hunt CHELSEA are monitoring Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko, according to the player’s agent. Bosnian Dzeko has been tipped to leave the Bundesliga side but the Blues have competition from AC Milan. But Dzeko’s Italian agent confirmed: “Milan really likes the player. At the time in Italy they are the club which [...]
Novartis eyes deal to buy up rest of Alcon January 4, 2010 NOVARTIS yesterday said it wanted to buy the rest of leading eye care firm Alcon for $39.3bn (£24.3bn) to reduce reliance on prescription drugs, but is offering minority shareholders a worse deal than major owner Nestlé. The Swiss drugmaker, which bought 25 per cent of Alcon in 2008, said it was exercising an option to [...]
HUMAN LIE DETECTOR BOOSTED BY CITY COMPANIES ON THE WARPATH December 20, 2009 WE ALL know businesses are rather jumpier than usual given the difficult ride they’ve had over the course of the recession, but I hear some are taking truly unprecedented steps to counter risky office behaviour. Darren Stanton, who calls himself a “human lie detector”, tells me he has seen a surge in requests from corporates [...]
FORMER MERRILL LYNCH STAFFERS HERALD A TRIUMPHANT BULL RUN December 7, 2009 BANK of America’s integration with fellow banking scion Merrill Lynch might have been fraught with difficulty over the course of the past year, but it seems the powers that be are finally learning the art of tactful compromise. After Merrill’s beloved bovine logo appeared to have been dropped by BoA in favour of a new, [...]
CITY SLAMS PLANS FOR WINDFALL TAX December 7, 2009 THELABOUR government is facing an increasingly furious City backlash over plans to slap a punishing windfall tax on bank bonuses, with senior figures warning that the policy could prove the last straw for the UK’s ability to retain senior banking talent. Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to unveil the tax bombshell at tomorrow’s Pre-Budget Report [...]
F&C DITCHES THE DORCHESTER FOR A LEANER SHOWING AT PING PONG November 25, 2009 THINGS may be looking up in terms of the economy, but the corporate Christmas goose is looking just as lean as it was in the depths of the financial crisis last year – and a little bird tells me that asset management firm F&C Investments is among the companies trimming its budget. Usually, F&C staffers [...]
ANTI-BRIBERY RULES TO GET EVEN TOUGHER November 24, 2009 TOM EPPSPARTNER, RUSSELL JONES & WALKER BEFORElast week, some might have suspected the wave of criminal investigations into corporate corruption over the last 12 months was a blip. The inclusion of the Bribery Bill in the Queen’s Speech, however, should convince everybody that such investigations are here to stay. The bill, which is understood to [...]
IRB to ponder rule changes November 23, 2009 ENGLAND chiefs insist they would support changes in the rules to make the game safer, following a litany of injuries to Test stars. National team boss Martin Johnson was deprived of a host of regulars ahead of the autumn internationals, while at any one time around a quarter of Premiership players are in the treatment [...]
CITY SPORT AWARDS TO GET LEASE OF NEW LIFE November 23, 2009 SPORT fanatics in the City could be forgiven for wondering when their favourite event of the year is due to come around, now that the party season has entered full swing. But I hear the ICAP Square Mile Sport Awards – which last year saw sporting stars such as cricketer Darren Gough, swimmer Mark Foster, [...]