Turbans and tiaras: inside India’s luxury rolling palace November 7, 2010 HOW do you look in a bindi and turban, with a garland of flowers round your neck? I didn’t know either, until I found myself in some gardens outside Jaipur, the third stop on our week-long but epic journey through Rajasthan on India’s most luxurious train. The answer, for me, was really quite good (see [...]
Russia in talks for Potash bid November 5, 2010 A RUSSIAN group said yesterday it was in intensive talks ahead of launching a rival bid for Potash Corp, as BHP Billiton said its blocked $39bn (£24.7bn) bid for fertiliser group Potash Corp was not dead and pledged to work with the Canadian government. Phosagro claimed it was in intensive talks with the Russian government [...]
The former City trader aiming for pop stardom November 5, 2010 THERE are plenty of stories about people who escaped the City to get into farming, painting, charity work or plough any number of non-rat race new directions. However, in taking the City worker-to-pop star route, 26-year-old Roxanne Emery is pretty much unique. And refreshingly, the former trader’s change of direction wasn’t even because she wanted [...]
The expat life: a tale of two Swiss cities November 4, 2010 CLEAN, efficient, low taxes and great skiing – Switzerland is quite frankly fantastic. Far from being somewhere you are exiled, it’s the sort of place that you should be begging to be sent. And it could happen to you sooner than you think: punitive taxes in the UK have already forced Brevan Howard amongst other [...]
RBS in MUFJ project deal November 3, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is in talks to sell a $6.4bn (£4bn) project finance book to Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, which includes loans for London’s orbital M25 motorway and a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. Sources told City AM the sale would help the government–backed bank boost its balance sheet. RBS, led by [...]
Petropavlovsk lowers targets November 3, 2010 RUSSIAN gold miner Petropavlovsk yesterday further lowered its gold production guidance for 2010 while claiming many difficulties it encountered this year have now been overcome. Petropavlovsk, formerly known as Peter Hambro Mining, now expects to produce 510,000 to 530,000 ounces of gold in 2010, down from the 636,500 to 670,000 guidance stated in August and [...]
Lebedev bank is stormed by armed and masked cops November 2, 2010 Armed police stormed a Moscow bank controlled by the billionaire owner of the Independent and Evening Standard in a dramatic raid yesterday. Around 30 Russian police carrying Uzis and clad in balaclavas terrified staff as they demanded access to documents. Tycoon and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev was in the offices of his National Reserve [...]
Hats off to 1920s elegance October 28, 2010 Hats these days get a raw deal. They’re either dramatic creations worn for summer occasions – all too often resembling odd flower arrangements or wedding cakes – or they’re unseemly woollen things we wear for skiing. But it seems that with the resurgence of 1920s glamour, hats are having a moment of long-neglected elegance. Sahar [...]
England’s 2018 bid team retracts complaint over Russian criticism of ‘boozy, crime-ridden’ London October 28, 2010 ENGLAND have decided to turn the other cheek in the war of words with rival World Cup 2018 bidders Russia amid fears an escalating row could damage their chances. Relations reached a new low this week when one of Russia’s top football figures, Viacheslav Koloskov, dismissed England as “absolutely primitive”. That barb was in response [...]
Russians slam English again October 27, 2010 FOOTBALL: Russia have been accused again of denigrating England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup after one of their top officials labelled their main rivals “absolutely primitive”. Viacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the Russian Football Union, lashed out after England complained about criticisms of London made by Alexei Sorokin, chief of the Russian bid. [...]