Inside Track: The Royal Mail outcome has not disappointed at all November 21, 2013 AS JOHN Major’s supposedly favourite think tank, the Bow Group, yesterday urged an independent investigation into the sale of Royal Mail Group, it seems that a growing number of people believe the bankers on the deal performed a bad job and should all be sent to the Tower of London or some such place to [...]
Who says green has to mean dull? November 11, 2013 The powerful and attractive new Porsche Panamera is a vast improvement on first generation hybrids PORSCHE has been selling its hybrid Panamera since 2011 but this is its first plug-in car. Its predecessor, like other first generation hybrids, had an absurdly limited electric-only range of just two miles, which meant its hybrid components only served [...]
Fears for London as listing regulations are tightened November 5, 2013 THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) yesterday strengthened its listing rules to protect minority shareholders in the wake of the scandals surrounding ENRC and Bumi, two companies that floated in London and became mired in controversies over corporate governance. The new rules, which will eventually affect already listed companies with large shareholders such as Sports Direct, [...]
The big changes for companies floating in UK November 5, 2013 1 The new regulations will attempt to ensure listed companies are run independently of their controlling shareholders, including measures that give independent shareholders a veto over transactions between listed companies and a controlling shareholder when this independence is threatened. 2 They will require separate approval of independent directors by independent shareholders, in addition to gaining [...]
Caterham Group appoints new chief executive November 4, 2013 CATERHAM Group has appointed Graham Macdonald as its chief executive as the company hopes to transition into a global car business. Macdonald will remain chief executive of the Caterham Cars division, and has taken over additional responsibility for all arms of the Caterham business – including the F1 Team, Caterham Technology and Innovation, and Caterham [...]
Any other business – 04/11 November 3, 2013 London’s 2012 Olympic games and the sporting success enjoyed by the likes of Andy Murray and Mo Farah this summer may have recaptured the nation’s enthusiasm for sport. However acting on it is a different matter. New research shows that 41 per cent of Londoners are so unhealthy that they are left out of breath [...]
Technology has caught up with the BBC and the licence fee is now indefensible October 28, 2013 CONSERVATIVE Party chairman Grant Shapps has placed a question mark over the BBC’s licence fee funding model. In Shapps’s view, the Beeb needs to get its house in order before its Royal Charter is renewed in 2016 – to restore trust following the Savile affair and to salve public annoyance at executive payoffs. If it [...]
Welcome to Miami, the US party capital October 27, 2013 Miami is a hedonist’s paradise. Steve Dinneen discovers the nocturnal delights Florida’s clubbing hotspot has to offer A FRIEND of mine became a YouTube sensation on the eve of President Obama’s 2008 election victory. He drunkenly – and, with the benefit of hindsight, ill-advisedly – resigned from his job live on Dutch TV, complete with [...]
Ashley offloads shares as Sports Direct reports 15pc jump in sales October 23, 2013 GOLDMAN Sachs said yesterday it would sell up to 16m shares in Sports Direct acquired from the retailer’s founder and deputy chairman Mike Ashley, after the retail chain reported strong sales for the second quarter. The bank said it would sell the shares to institutional investors, with bookbuilding starting immediately. The announcement came after Sports [...]
We’re entering an era of real-time business with startups setting the pace October 23, 2013 REAL-TIME reaction is the new currency in business and – for the most part – entrepreneurs and lean start-ups are making mincemeat out of big corporates. “Business has sped up in the past ten years,” says Rupert Lee-Browne, founder of broker Caxton FX, which has evolved from order-taking by fax to instant responsiveness in its [...]