‘The world of Cat TV is more cut throat than you would ever imagine’ – inside the strange business of TV… for cats
Spies and?Russians in classic le Carré London September 15, 2010 OUR KIND OF TRAITOR by john le carré Viking, £18.99 A LE Carré book is an event whether you’re a fan or not. He is the last great British thriller writer, a former spy for MI5 and MI6, and a man with an intellectually political core. He also manages to provide page-turners in a way [...]
Unloved European equities are cheap and attractive September 14, 2010 IT WAS not so long ago that European equities were underloved and underowned. A combination of the sovereign debt crisis and fears of a patchy economic recovery saw investors dumping European-listed stocks in favour of almost anything else. Global fund allocations to European equities languish at around 13 per cent, close to the lows of [...]
CPI remains at 3.1pc September 14, 2010 Consumer price inflation held steady in August, after unexpectedly strong rises in airfares, clothes and food prices offset falling fuel costs, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer price inflation came in at 3.1 per cent last month in contrast to economists’ expectations for a fall to 2.9 per cent. On [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS September 13, 2010 HEL YES! FINNISH POP-UP Another month, another pop-up. The latest high profile temporary eatery, to open alongside London Design Week, is HEL YES!. It’s Finnish (get it?) with 120 covers, a bar and an exhibition created and executed by a creative team of Finnish designers and food connoisseurs. Highlights include “archipelago bread”, made from wheat [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 12, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES RESPITE OVER CITY BONUSES DETAILS Britain’s banks will be spared the embarrassment of giving details of big bonus payments to staff in their annual reports next spring after the Treasury admitted the relevant legislation will not be on the statute book in time. The delay to new disclosure requirements is likely to create [...]
Jim O’Neill to take new role at Goldman September 12, 2010 JIM O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, has been appointed to the newly created role of chairman of the bank’s asset management division, the bank announced this weekend. O’Neill will advise clients on investment strategies but will also continue to comment on key economic issues. His appointment is subject to regulatory approval from the Financial [...]
BP and energy peers propel the FTSE while banks drag September 8, 2010 EENERGY stocks led by BP pushed Britain’s top shares higher yesterday, outpacing falls in banks that were weighed down by European recovery concerns. The FTSE 100 closed up 21.92 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,429.74, after breaking a seven-session winning streak to close down 0.6 per cent on Tuesday at 5,407.82. Meanwhile the FTSE [...]
Liechtenstein give Scotland huge scare before late drama September 7, 2010 EURO 2012 QUALIFYING ROUND-UP SCOTLAND came within minutes of the most embarrassing result in their history before scraping a 2-1 victory at home to minnows Liechtenstein. Mario Frick set up the possibility of a huge upset when he curled the visitors ahead just after half-time in the Group I Euro 2012 qualifier. Striker Kenny Miller [...]
Record for foreigners in UK shopping bonanza September 6, 2010 LAST month was the busiest on record for international shoppers hitting UK stores, a new survey showed today. Sales were up 18 per cent with shoppers from China, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia leading the boom. The hike came despite Middle Eastern shoppers heading home for religious festival Ramadan during the month. The growth in Chinese [...]
Gazprom mulls float of units September 6, 2010 RUSSIAN energy company Gazprom said yesterday it planned to combine its numerous electricity holdings under a single entity that it would float on the stock market. Combining the assets, some of them large electricity providers, would create Russia’s second-biggest power producer after state-controlled Rushydro, Renaissance Capital analyst Vladimir Sklyar said. The consolidation would be done [...]