ECONOMICS GURU MAGNUS WOWS THE CROWDS ON SPEAKER CIRCUIT November 15, 2009 GEORGE Magnus, senior economic adviser to investment bank UBS, has a fair few accolades to his name – not least the dubious honour of having predicted the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression in an uncannily prophetic research paper. But I hear the dapper 60-year-old has recently earned himself a new title, that [...]
FSA GIVEN RIGHT TO VETO BONUS DEALS November 15, 2009 THEFinancial Services Authority will have the power to tear up pay and bonus contracts that violate its guidelines under planned legislation to be unveiled as part of the Queen’s Speech onWednesday. Lord Myners, the City Minister, claimed yesterday that allowing the regulator to render void some contracts would prevent excessive risk-taking from threatening the stability [...]
Say hello to the new Cotswolds November 12, 2009 THE Cotswolds are lovely, but the problem with them is that everybody knows it. Prices are high – whether you’re buying dinner or a house. If it’s the latter, entering the market can be a struggle as demand far exceeds supply, and when you do land your dream cottage, you’ll be paying over the odds [...]
Sir Nick sees dreams come true after receiving knighthood from the Queen November 10, 2009 SIX-TIME major winner Sir Nick Faldo spoke of his honour at being knighted by the Queen at a ceremony at Windsor Castle yesterday. The 52-year-old was handed the accolade for his achievements in golf, which make him the most successful British player in the modern era. “I had dreams as a young boy of being [...]
Eco case raises philosophical questions November 10, 2009 ALL those people who designated their religion as “Jedi Knight” in the last census may have delighted at the case of the so-called “eco-employee” last week. The employee in question is Tim Nicholson, who formerly worked for residential landlord Grainger. Nicholson claims that he was made redundant because of his environmental beliefs, and has been [...]
Anglo American snaps up Hampton to boost board November 9, 2009 MINING company Anglo American yesterday confirmed the appointment of RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton to the board. Sir Philip joins as non-executive director in the latest of a series of senior changes at the precious metals group. Seen as a heavyweight figure in the City, Sir Philip was previously chairman of J Sainsbury, a position [...]
Kraft’s bid hugely undervalues Cadbury November 9, 2009 IRENE Rosenfeld, Kraft’s boss, is pursuing a canny strategy. She knows that she cannot dramatically sweeten the value of her bid for Cadbury and therefore stands no chance of winning at the moment – after all, her biggest shareholder, the thrifty Warren Buffett, has told her to remain disciplined – so she is planning to [...]
BACKLASH MOUNTS AGAINST TOBIN TAX November 8, 2009 OPPOSITION politicians and City figures slammed Gordon Brown’s talk of a ‘Tobin tax’ yesterday, dismissing it as a “theoretical proposal” that would be impossible to put into effect without disastrous consequences for London. The Tories are understood to oppose Brown’s plan and are believed instead to favour levying a small fee on banks’ balance sheet, [...]
Dyson’s kids clean up cash November 8, 2009 SIR James Dyson, the man who pioneered the bagless vacuum cleaner, has given £45m of his fortune to his three children. Each of the Dyson offspring, all in their thirties, have received £15m from a shares deal, according to documents filed at Companies House. The Dyson company bought back shares for £150m in February 2008 [...]
Boss Johnson made to fret over Strettle November 8, 2009 DAVID STRETTLE hopes to be fit to rejoin Martin Johnson’s England squad this week despite suffering a back injury in Harlequins’ 15-15 LV Cup draw with Scarlets yesterday. The winger former part of Johnson’s original 32-man squad for the autumn internationals but was released to play for the Quins after being omitted from the 22 [...]