Food prices soar to new high January 5, 2011 FOOD prices have surged above the peak they reached during the 2008 crisis, the United Nations (UN) revealed yesterday. The 2008 food crisis provoked food riots, the toppling of at least one government, and plunged over a billion people into hunger. And the UN’s food price index averaged 214.7 last month, a record high that [...]
BP hires new head of PR after Gulf spill January 5, 2011 BP has hired one of chief executive Bob Dudley’s former colleagues to repair the company’s public image following the Gulf of Mexico disaster, sources close to the company confirmed yesterday. Peter Henshaw is set to join the firm as a senior executive in the next month, with responsibility for rebuilding the company’s reputation. He most [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS January 5, 2011 NEW RESTAURANT FOR THE RA Not before time, the Royal Academy of Arts is going to be getting the dining room a venue of its stature deserves when restaurateur Oliver Peyton launches his latest there this month. It’ll be joining the dining rooms at the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection and Kew Gardens in Peyton’s [...]
Facebook value jumps to $50bn January 3, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs has given social networking site Facebook an unprecedented vote of confidence by investing $450m (£291m) in the company at an astounding valuation of $50bn. The amount represents a fivefold increase from a valuation just two years ago of $10bn. In addition to Goldman’s investment, the Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies, which invested $200m for two [...]
Goldman Sachs returns to the top of 2010 M&A league January 3, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs was the top global mergers and acquisitions advisor last year, retaking the position from rival Morgan Stanley, which derailed its multiyear grip on the ranking in 2009. Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were neck-and-neck in the M&A stakes throughout the year, according to Thomson Reuters data, ahead of rivals JP Morgan, [...]
Market for private tech firms soars January 3, 2011 A GROWING and largely unregulated market in privately owned shares has sprung up as technology firms continue to rise in value exponentially. Investors are clamouring to own a stake in the next major internet firm before they are publically traded, driving the biggest surge in demand for privately-owned tech companies since the dotcom boom. Facebook [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 3, 2011 Barclays Corporate Ian Gilmartin has been promoted to Barclays Corporate’s retail and wholesale team as corporate director. He was formerly head of marketing services in the tech and media sector. In his new job, he will be working with Richard Lowe, head of the retail division, and will be adding to his 16 years’ experience [...]
Rio Tinto gets ready to offer £2.5bn to take over Australia’s Riversdale Mining December 22, 2010 MINING group Rio Tinto could announce its A$3.8bn (£2.5bn) offer for Riversdale Mining today, before time runs out on Riversdale’s trading suspension on the Australian stock exchange. Talks between the two companies were ongoing yesterday, with Rio understood to be offering around A$16 a share for Mozambique-focused Riversdale. Riversdale could instead announce a longer suspension [...]
Usmanov hints at £700m Arsenal offer December 21, 2010 ARSENAL’S second largest shareholder Alisher Usmanov has reignited the battle for ownership at Emirates Stadium by declaring his intention to move to the brink of launching a formal £700m takeover offer. Russian billionaire Usmanov already owns almost 27 per cent of the Premier League outfit, but wants to increase that to 29.9 per cent – [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]