US consumer confidence boosts late London trading May 26, 2009 BETTER than expected consumer confidence data out of the US gave the FTSE 100 a much-needed boost yesterday afternoon, after Asia’s sell-off – driven by concerns of heightening geopolictical tension on the Korean peninsula – infected the London markets in early trading. “Following the release of the US consumer confidence data there was an immediate [...]
SWINE FLU HITS THE CITY (WELL, SORT OF…) May 25, 2009 IT had to happen eventually: the global swine flu outbreak has officially claimed its first City victim. Well, that might be a touch exaggerated, since the poor chap in question – Sterling Printers director Simon Pearson-Miles, who’s better known in the City simply as “PM” – only contracted a mild sniffle after coming into contact [...]
AN ABUNDANCE OF GLITTER FOR THE ASIAN WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT May 21, 2009 LONDON’s most successful Asian ladies were out in force on Wednesday night for perhaps the sparkliest evening of the year, the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, in association with Lloyds TSB. The star-studded guest list included Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as BBC Dragon James Caan, MP Tessa Jowell, Lib Dem [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 20, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESCANNES HIT BY CUTBACKS AND CAUTIONThere are still outward signs of glamour on the Croisette in Cannes, but economic reality has gripped the film market at this year’s 62nd film festival. Some of the biggest parties have been cancelled and, for the first time in years, it is easy to get a hotel room. [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 20, 2009 SVG CapitalThe private equity firm has appointed Lynn Fordham as its new chief executive officer and Tony Dalwood as chief executive of SVG Advisers, its advisory arm. Fordham joined the SVG Capital board as finance director in July last year, having previously held positions with Barratt Developments, BAA, Boots, Man Group and Chubb. Dalwood joined [...]
BLANK’S CHELSEA APPEARANCE SETS CITY TONGUES WAGGING ON HIS HEIR May 18, 2009 ANY idea that the downturn would affect corporate hospitality at the Chelsea Flower Show, traditionally one of the biggest, most important corporate schmooze-fests of the year, was smashed to smithereens at last night’s gala preview opening. Chelsea veterans including Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, ICAP billionaire Michael [...]
Blank’s exit won’t end Lloyds’ troubles May 17, 2009 IT was always Sir Victor Blank, one of the Labour Party’s favourite businessmen, who was most likely to be Lloyds Banking Group’s sacrificial lamb. It was he, after all, who was the main driver of Lloyds TSB’s ill-fated takeover of HBOS; he first discussed the idea of the deal with Gordon Brown over drinks in [...]
Russian plots Lloyd’s entry via Chaucer May 14, 2009 RUSSIAN billionaire Alex Knaster unveiled plans to buy his way into the Lloyd’s of London insurance market yesterday, saying he is interested in taking a 29.9 per cent stake in Chaucer Holdings. Chaucer chief executive Ewen Gilmour confirmed the interest and ongoing takeover discussions, from Knaster’s private equity firm Pamplona Capital, in an official statement [...]
L&G sales up but capital fears persist May 13, 2009 INSURER Legal & General (L&G) reported above-consensus first-quarter sales of £382m yesterday and said the worst of the crisis appears to be over, but fears over the firm’s capitalisation levels continued to dominate. L&G revealed a 3 per cent global sales rise, from £372m a year ago, which was massively bigger than analyst expectations of [...]
Darling under fire as City exodus looms August 27, 2008 Two more leading financial services firms warn that they may quit Britain over tax Brit Insurance CEO Dane Douetil, a leading figure in the Lloyd’s of London market, has reignited fears of a mass exodus of big business from British shores, by confirming that his firm is seriously considering leaving the UK for another tax [...]