CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 5, 2011 Hastings Direct Liz Latter has been appointed as head of insurer development at the firm. She will work with Adrian Parry, head of Hastings’ panel development activities for the last two years, who will step back from his full-time commitments in early 2012 to pursue other commitments, but will continue to support the business. Latter [...]
SIX SECRETS OF THE SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR December 4, 2011 ENTREPRENEURS are an intriguing species. Charismatic, fragile, passionate, distracted: with such conflicting personality traits, it’s no wonder they sometimes fail to turn great ideas into viable – and profitable – businesses. At Piper, we have worked with countless entrepreneurs during our 25-year history. The best share characteristics that can make all the difference between failure [...]
Tragic Marilyn memoir is flawed gem November 24, 2011 Film MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Cert: 15 Marilyn Monroe returns to the big screen with a career-making performance from Michelle Williams, supported by an array of outstanding British talent. A true story, My Week With Marilyn combines two memoirs written by Colin Clark, a documentarian whose first job was as a production hand on the [...]
Blatter race row heats up as Ferdinand leads outcry November 17, 2011 EMBATTLED Fifa president Sepp Blatter was facing fresh calls to resign last night after he stood by his comments claiming racism in football is not prevalent, a stance which sparked a public spat between himself and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand. On a day when British footballers and politicians united in their blanket condemnation of [...]
The new Lord Mayor’s message for the City November 13, 2011 AS A keen rower since my schooldays, I have a long track record of steering a course through choppy waters. I suspect this may come in useful over the next twelve months. Having taken over as Lord Mayor at a time when the political and economic environment remains turbulent – and popular opinion towards the [...]
Newcastle stadium naming rights deal could backfire November 10, 2011 SPONSORSHIP experts have questioned Newcastle’s hopes of generating £10m a year from a stadium naming rights deal and criticised the club’s handling of the rebranding of St James’ Park. The Magpies have renamed their historic home the Sports Direct Arena as an interim measure, with a view to attracting a commercial sponsor willing to pay [...]
In the snow in British Columbia November 6, 2011 RUNNING through Vancouver in bright ski gear, carrying boots, boards and skis is an experience in itself. Before hitting the steep and deep slopes of Whistler Blackcomb – British Columbia’s powder playground – we decided to find our ski legs at Vancouver’s nearby family resorts of Cypress, Seymour and Grouse Mountains. The local resorts are [...]
JJB issues profit warning as losses widen October 31, 2011 JJB Sports, the struggling British retailer rescued by a deal with landlords in March, posted wider first-half losses and warned the full-year outcome was likely to fall short of internal expectations. “As with most retailers, our year-end outturn is dependent on Christmas trading, nevertheless if current trading conditions continue our year-end outturn is likely to [...]
Blacks’ losses mount as it eyes funding October 27, 2011 OUTDOOR goods specialist Blacks leisure yesterday announced a half-year loss of £16m and said it was examining its funding options in a bid to shore up the struggling firm. The company, which also trades under the Millets brand, is fighting for survival due to mounting losses and surging debts. The pre-tax loss for the six [...]
A high-speed slice of pure heaven October 25, 2011 THE Porsche I’m driving has no air conditioning and no audio system. The last time I drove a car without HVAC and an audio system was in 1987, and it was a Mini built 15 years earlier. It didn’t usually manage to go very far and certainly not anywhere fast. Which isn’t the case with [...]