The Co-op boss who is on a mission to rejuvenate an iconic organisation September 19, 2010 IT IS EASY to see why Co-operative Group chief executive Peter Marks is so excited about the new £180m head office that will open on a 20-acre site in the centre of Manchester in 2012. The current 1960s 13-storey building across the road seems to be made almost entirely of linoleum and plywood. I have [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK September 19, 2010 IT WAS quite the night for celebrating on Thursday, when these six guests turned up to watch the aerial performers and fire-eating ballet dancers at Circus in the West End. Our diners started with cocktails, including two of the bar’s new £700 luxury punches – the “Millionaire” and the “VIPP”, each filled with a bottle [...]
Galliford Try bounces back September 15, 2010 UK housebuilder and construction firm Galliford Try posted a 6.5 per cent rise in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit, aided by growth in its housebuilding division, and said it was on track for expanding the unit. The firm, whose origins can be traced back to 1908 when WS Try formed a construction business that carried out [...]
FX MARKETS ARE POWERED BY BEIJING September 14, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT As I prepare for my “all-things-forex” seminar with Allister Heath on 23 September between 8 and 10am at the Grange Hotel (register at gftuk.com/cityam), I can’t help but marvel at the idea that China is now the primary driver of trade in the FX market. Although its own currency is [...]
Villa left stunned as Pulis inspires late Stoke show September 13, 2010 STOKE CITY (2) vs ASTON VILLA(1) WINGER Matthew Etherington admitted the shock appearance of boss Tony Pulis at half-time inspired Stoke to a dramatic late comeback. Pulis, inset, was expected to miss the game following the death of his mother but made a surprise appearance just after the restart to rejuvenate a Potters side looking [...]
STARS TURN A HAND TO WHEELER DEALING AT BGC’S CHARITY DAY September 13, 2010 TRIUMPH in the face of adversity yesterday at the Canary Wharf offices of inter-dealer broker BGC Partners, as fate chose the firm’s annual charity day to bestow upon it an inopportune instance of telecommunications failure. Half of BGC’s poor brokers battled for the entire day with faulty phones, with the system swapping calls between the [...]
FIT IN THE CITY September 13, 2010 IF you’re struggling to get your exercise mojo back after a lazy summer, why not try out a new class? I’ve picked four of the best the city has to offer this autumn, that promise to get you great results minus the workout boredom. Beautcamp Pilates: Everyone who tries this class always goes back for [...]
Still ahead of the curve: Art Laffer rises as Obama hits America’s rich September 12, 2010 WE SPEAK across the gleaming sweep of a boardroom table. Arthur Laffer has grabbed time for an interview while visiting CQS, a hedge fund. He is 70 this year, and the man who transformed the case for lower taxes with one sketch is in demand on this rare visit from the US. Today Laffer has [...]
WestLB sale due to start this month September 8, 2010 THE starting gun for the sale of German landesbank WestLB’s has to sound by the end of this month, the new finance minister of its home state of Northern Rhine-Westphalia said yesterday. The new state government is hoping to find a buyer among rival landesbanks, finance minister Norbert Walter-Borjans said. The bank has to be [...]
Land Secs says City shopping site all but full September 6, 2010 LAND Securities has managed to secure tenants for 96 per cent of its retail space in the One New Change shopping centre on Cheapside, over a month before the firm expects construction to end. The property developer said yesterday it is in talks over the remaining handful of units, which include the two rooftop cafes [...]