O2 ready for digital deals November 2, 2011 O2 owner Telefonica this week said its new digital division already has three deals in the pipeline. The new arm of the company, formed in September, plans to invest heavily in up-and-coming tech firms, which can be integrated into the Telefonica brand or licensed to other companies. Matthew Key, chief executive of the new division, [...]
Houellebecq’s bizarre new novel is (almost) brilliant November 2, 2011 THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY BY MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ Heinemann , £17.99 THE arcane title of this book should serve as a fair warning to the reader familiar with Atomised, Platform and other cult Houellebecq novels. While those books are driven by sexual desperation and erotic tragedy (alongside the usual heaping helpings of profound dystopia), The [...]
Amanda Staveley seals her biggest deal October 31, 2011 She reportedly turned down Prince Andrew, and on Saturday Middle Eastern dealmaker Amanda Staveley rejected Mehrdad Ghodoussi twice before accepting him as her new husband at an opulent Buckinghamshire wedding. The acceptance on the third time of asking – as is customary in Iranian tradition – was one of two marriage ceremonies at the union [...]
UPCOMING | EVENTS October 27, 2011 First Birthday Celebrations • The West End says happy birthday to One New Change, with two exclusive performances in one week. What: The Wonderful West end will perform hits from Chicago to Mamma Mia to Jersey Boys plus many, many, many more. Where: One New Change, EC4M 9AF (lower ground floor atrium) When: Two exclusive [...]
Barclays to offer 90pc mortgages October 26, 2011 BARCLAYS launched a new bid to entice prospective house-buyers back to the market yesterday by offering no-fee mortgages needing only a ten per cent deposit. The bank has refused to offer 90 per cent loan-to-value mortgages since 2008 when it pulled them during the financial crisis, but is now following rivals such as NatWest and [...]
London lets the world in October 26, 2011 TWENTY-FIVE years ago today the doors of the London Stock Exchange were blown wide open. In one sweeping moment of market deregulation, London’s horizons suddenly broadened, and money flowed into the Square Mile. Outside investment broke up the LSE’s boys’ club and fixed commission charges for brokers, which effectively killed competition, were scrapped. The brainchild [...]
When black bowler hats gave way to red braces October 26, 2011 THE BIG Bang set the City on a course of profound expansion, not just of wealth, but of people and culture and even location. Twenty-five years after deregulation, London’s financial and legal districts are full of the sort of people that would have made the bowler-hatted old boys of the post-war period shudder. Women, foreigners, [...]
ARM boss Warren East plans to take over the world – one chip at a time October 25, 2011 Afew years ago a friend of mine tipped a little-known chip designer called ARM Holdings. He said it was going to be the next big thing. A year later, after its shares had shot up, he cursed his luck for not taking his own advice. But he prudently decided not to invest while it was [...]
Opening up a new vista in air travel October 23, 2011 THE Nina J is bobbing up and down in the clear sparkling Riviera water, flanked by other super yachts that occasionally eject bevies of python and white linen-clad babes ready to take Monaco by storm. Around the pier, portly perma-tanned sugar daddies squeeze the waists of their young Ivankas as they ponder how to blow [...]
SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND October 20, 2011 PRIVATE EYE FIRST 50 YEARS EXHIBITION The V&A is hosting an exhibition to celebrate the first 50 years of the satirical magazine. Two rooms are packed with works from its most famous cartoonists, such as caricaturist Gerald Scarfe. Free, until 8 January, www.vam.ac.uk BANG BANG BANG, ROYAL COURT THEATRE A new play from Stella Feehily. [...]