The girl that’s helping City ladies sparkle May 6, 2010 LAUREN Adriana could have taken the easy route of gliding, It-Girl style, through her twenties. At 24, she is fashion aristocracy, being the grand-daughter of designer Paul Smith and the child of fashion world insiders. She’s friends with all the right people (including the world’s most famous jeweller Joel Arthur Rosenthal, known as JAR) and [...]
Liberty feels good about occupancy rates after UK retail market stabilises May 5, 2010 LIBERTY International said yesterday that shopping centre occupancy rates will stay firm in 2010, thanks to the stabilisation of the UK retail market. Occupancy at Liberty’s shopping centre division, Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), has been maintained at 98 per cent for the period 1 January to 5 May. Patrick Burgess, chairman of Liberty International said: [...]
The man who could be chancellor plans radical changes for the City May 3, 2010 Allister Heath and David Crow pay a visit to Vince Cable ahead of the last week of the election campaign FEW politicians have emerged from the financial crisis with their reputation intact. Vince Cable must be the only one who has actually enhanced his, with his brand of left-wing policies playing perfectly to the shifting [...]
Santander in £426m profit April 29, 2010 SANTANDER, the eurozone’s largest bank, grew its UK profits by more than 15 per cent in the first quarter as it bit off a greater market share in mortgage lending. The Spanish giant yesterday said trading profits were £426m in the three months to March. In a challenge to Britain’s high street players, Santander expanded [...]
Volcanic ash cost Heathrow and Stansted £28m in losses April 29, 2010 AIRPORTS operator BAA took a £28m one-off hit from the six-day flight disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano. The group, which owns six airports in the UK including Heathrow and Stansted, said despite the impact of the volcanic ash, which forced them to close both London airports, it remained financially resilient. First quarter figures for [...]
Hammerson says property market fragile April 29, 2010 ANGLO-FRENCH property investor Hammerson remains cautious about the outlook for the retail and commercial property markets, due to the weak economic recovery. “The economic recovery in our markets remains fragile, and uncertainties remain, not least regarding the level of unemployment and the prospect of further tax rises,” the company said yesterday . In the UK, [...]
Boots tops reputation poll as banks languish April 28, 2010 Alliance Boots knocked Marks & Spencer off the top spot, in a survey of company reputation. The Reputation Institute’s UK Pulse Report 2010 ranked retail brands highly but the list of 140 firms made torrid reading for the finance industry. Royal Bank of Scotland languished at 138, with Lloyds at 136 and Barclays at 129. [...]
New volatility products help investors to hedge April 28, 2010 EUROPE’s sovereign debt crisis has gained momentum this week after Greece’s debt was downgraded to junk status. Similar to the financial shock in 2008, this has rocked global stock indices and volatility has spiked higher in recent days. Volatility indices, such as the Vix in the US and VSTOXX in Europe, measure the “fear” in [...]
Rich List shows huge swing back to wealth April 25, 2010 THE RICHEST people in the country saw an astonishing reversal in fortunes this year as their collective wealth rocketed more than £77bn. The annual Rich List compiled by the Sunday Times shows the super-wealthy managed to more than claw back losses made during the dark depths of the global recession. The wealth of the 1,000 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 21, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FIAT TO SPIN OFF NON-CAR DIVISIONS Fiat is to demerge its non-automotive divisions from its core carmaking business in a watershed moment for the 111-year-old Italian industrial group. The spin-off will see Fiat’s Iveco trucks, Case New Holland farming and construction equipment, and industrial and marine engines divisions split off from its Fiat, [...]