Four great experiences for the true aficionado December 8, 2010 l You can’t beat a day of pampering for unwinding after the Christmas rush. Any chap looking to really indulge a lady should look to the spa at the plush Sofitel St James’s Hotel, whose ultimate package includes a crystal necklace from renowned French glassware company Baccarat. For pampering, you get the Zenith Signature treatment, [...]
The games that ruled the roost in 2010 December 8, 2010 RED DEAD REDEMPTION (PS3, X360) £29.99 What was merely potential in gritty Wild West game Red Dead Revolver became reality in this blistering follow up, in which former outlaw John Marston tracks down his former compadres. The technical brilliance of the gunplay is more than matched by the beautiful scenery and oppressively tough, dusty atmosphere. [...]
San Leon Energy in £60m fundraising December 7, 2010 AIM-listed oil and gas exploration company San Leon Energy yesterday announced it has raised £59.6m through a new share placement. The firm says it will use the proceeds of the placing to fund an extensive seismic and drilling programme over the next 18 months, including the drilling of up to 17 wells. The funds will [...]
Get out your pith helmet and start building railways, roads and ports December 7, 2010 AT THE end of the 19th century, British investors were funding railways throughout India and across South America, telephone cables underneath the Atlantic and gold mines in the South African Transvaal. In the first great age of globalisation, the most important thing was to build infrastructure, only after which could trade follow. That is as [...]
Sberbank set for record year December 6, 2010 SBERBANK, Russia’s biggest lender, yesterday beat forecasts for third-quarter net profit, helped by a bigger loan portfolio and lower provisions, putting it on course for a record year. “We expect fourth-quarter results to be no worse than in the third quarter,” chief financial officer Anton Karamzin said on a conference call yesterday, adding full-year net [...]
The head of the world’s largest law firm reveals his plans for expansion December 5, 2010 The new chairman of Baker & McKenzie has a tricky hand to play. Eduardo Leite, who began his three-year term at the beginning of last month, may lead over 10,000 staff (including 4,000 lawyers) spread over 40 countries in 68 offices. And the firm may have produced the biggest revenues in the industry this year [...]
Getting to grips with the BRICs: Foreign Office insights for the City December 5, 2010 FOUR former British Ambassadors to Brazil, Russia, India and China gathered recently at the Royal Automobile Club in SW1 to discuss these fast-growing economies, collectively nicknamed the BRICs. The objective was to help an audience of business people better understand how these countries see themselves in the context of their emerging status as world powers; [...]
Fifa upheaval is England’s best hope of a winning bid December 5, 2010 BY 2030, the next time England could possibly host the World Cup, I expect Fifa to have changed. I think the Football Association will lobby massively for that to happen following the ridiculous humiliation they endured over their bid to host it in 2018. That change could mean each member association having one vote, instead [...]
Accusations fly after England humiliated December 2, 2010 A BACKLASH at media allegations of corruption and vote-swapping pacts were blamed last night after England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup ended in abject humiliation. England were eliminated from the contest in the first round of the secret ballot after polling just two votes – one of which was from their own delegate [...]
Russia and Qatar toast success as tournament breaks new ground December 2, 2010 RUSSIA and Qatar celebrated last night after their vows to take the World Cup into uncharted territory earned them the right to stage the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Qatar, with a population of less than two million, were the shock winners, but Russia also prevailed having been almost written off just hours earlier. Prime Minister [...]