LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR | The Shortlist day six June 26, 2011 THOUGH pipeline deals that spurred record law firm profits last decade are yet to return, an influx of regulation and demand for innovative ways to raise capital means law firms are more in demand than ever. Whether running multi-billion pound IPOs or reforming how their businesses are run, our shortlisted firms are at the top [...]
A motoring show for Londoners June 7, 2011 As a car hack I have spent an awful lot of time at international motor shows over the years. Sure they can be hard work, they’re often very busy and can get too big to afford you a really good overview on what’s going on. Ideally, it’s good to see rival cars close together to [...]
Exclusive offer for readers June 1, 2011 THERE are portable speakers, and there are portable speakers – and then there’s the Wowee One, an incredibly dinky, fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand gizmo that just happens to pump out the most remarkably powerful sounds. In fact it works with pretty much any fixed or portable sound device – iPods, iPads, laptops, desktops, CD players, you name it [...]
The man who’s locking horns with indecisive EU regulators April 17, 2011 MENTION Brussels to any senior London-based insurer and you will always get the same reaction: anger and exasperation. With just over 18 months to go before the introduction of Solvency II, the insurance industry’s equivalent of the new Basel III banking rules, European regulators have still not produced a framework that properly reflects the business [...]
Gadgets for globetrotters April 6, 2011 APPLE IPAD 2 Thinner, lighter, faster and cooler still than its predecessor (and this time with a camera too), the new generation iPad is already inspiring tech-envy in airport executive lounges everywhere. Keep that seat-back telly switched off on a long-haul flight, and sit back with this instead. From £399. www.apple.com/uk NOKIA BOOKLET 3G Light [...]
Gizmos that can make the commute a bit more fun March 9, 2011 Shouting into your mobile on the train during the morning commute may be frowned upon, but there’s nothing to say you can’t watch telly. AverMedia.com’s Hybrid Volar dongle will turn your laptop into a digital TV recorder, so you can watch 50 digital Freeview channels. Or listen to the cricket commentary on the radio. The [...]
WHAT’S NEW IN GADGETS AND TECHNOLOGY February 23, 2011 SONY LAUNCHES NEW VAIO RANGE Sony unveiled its new range of Vaio laptops this week, including the strikingly-coloured C Series. Available in luminous orange, green and pink, it features light emitting technology that makes your laptop look like it’s glowing. For the more demure consumer, you can also grab it in black or white, and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LLOYDS DROPS MORTGAGE BROKERS OVER SUSPECTED FRAUD Concerns over suspected fraud have prompted Lloyds Banking Group to cull the list of brokers it allows to sell its mortgages. The UK’s largest mortgage lender has removed some 900 individuals over the past four years from its “approved panel” of brokers, including 300 in the [...]
Banks boost capital ahead of Basel rules January 19, 2011 THE AMOUNT of risk-adjusted capital (RAC) held by banks around the globe is increasing as institutions prepare for new regulatory requirements. Banks worldwide had an average eight per cent RAC ratio as of June last year, up from 6.7 per cent at the same point in 2009, according to Standard & Poor’s (S&P) latest analysis. [...]
Petrofac gives job to drilling boss who quit over oil disaster January 5, 2011 OIL services firm Petrofac has hired the former boss of BP’s exploration and production (E&P) arm to run its energy developments business, less than four months after he quit BP in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Andy Inglis, 51, will join the Petrofac board in March after relocating to London from Houston, [...]