THREE OTHER JAPANESE RESTAURANTS November 2, 2009 ROKARoka is rightly Soho’s favourite, buzziest Japanese and one of the area’s best restaurants. The sushi, sashimi and goodies from the Robata grill are all divine and choosing one dish over another is an eternal struggle. The airy, colourful interior lifts the whole experience further. Go for the tasting menu if you have time. 37 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 2, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VODAFONE’S GHANA DEAL ATTRACTS SFO INTERESTThe UK Serious Fraud Office has contacted Vodafone about its controversial deal to buy a controlling stake in Ghana’s third-largest mobile phone operator. The SFO has not launched an investigation into the deal, but is monitoring allegations of irregularity that have been made in Ghana. INDIAN SURGE BENEFITS [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 2, 2009 Close Brothers Corporate FinanceThe independent corporate finance advisory firm has appointed Will Thompson to head up its support services sector team. Thompson joined the firm in March this year to lead the European healthcare services team, having previously been at Morgan Stanley. He has also worked at Lazard and Barings. He has advised on numerous [...]
Russia warns on Ukraine gas November 1, 2009 Vladimir Putin the Russian Prime Minister warned the European Union yesterday that gas supplies via Ukraine may be disrupted because of another pay dispute with Kiev. Putin said he wanted to “draw attention to signals, including those sent through official channels to Kiev, concerning possible payment problems for the delivery of Russian gas”.
Kremlin seeks Western capital with bond issue November 1, 2009 A RUSSIAN delegation will arrive in London this week to announce an £11bn bond issue as it seeks Western investment in its struggling economy. Deputy prime minister Alexei Kudrin, who is also Russia’s finance minister, will meet business secretary Peter Mandelson, bringing with him senior figures from the Russian central bank and finance ministry, as [...]
Russia cuts interest rate October 29, 2009 Russia’s central bank yesterday cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 9.5 per cent in an attempt to boost bank lending and reduce the attractiveness of short-term investments in Russian assets. It also reduced the repurchase rate charged on central bank loans to 8.5 per cent from nine per cent. Analysts thought that the [...]
BP SMASHES EXPECTATIONS October 27, 2009 OIL major BP smashed market expectations yesterday as it released third-quarter profits that were down year-on-year but still managed to wow investors. Profits were down 50 per cent from the $10bn (£5.8bn) it reported a year ago, at $4.98bn. This was because oil now trades at around $80 a barrel, plummeting from a peak of [...]
LSE CHIEF XAVIER ROLET PONDERS AN OVERHAUL OF INTERIOR DESIGN October 26, 2009 XAVIER Rolet, the dynamic new top dog over at the London Stock Exchange, just can’t seem to ease up in his quest to stamp his mark on the exchange. In the past few months, Rolet has been very busy – commencing talks to buy up rival Turquoise, axing the LSE’s long-standing M&A and PR advisers, [...]
Campari’s chief is taking a breather before returning to the M&A trail October 25, 2009 Having forked out a cool $2bn (£1.2bn) on 16 separate acquisitions over the past 15 years, it is no wonder that Campari – the world’s sixth largest drinks firm – is now calling for a temporary halt to the spending. Its chief executive, Bob Kunze-Concewitz, recently struck a cautious note due to the downturn that [...]
Valencia seals victory for a patient United October 21, 2009 CSKA MOSCOW (0) vs MANCHESTER UTD (1) SIR ALEX FERGUSON hailed a job well done after his Manchester United side put themselves on the brink of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages with a hard-fought victory over CSKA Moscow. Antonio Valencia’s strike four minutes from time maintained United’s 100 per cent record in the [...]