Meet the oil man who is toughing out the harsh new era of low prices May 31, 2009 THE CHIEF executive of oil services business Wood Group Allister Langlands is in remarkably relaxed mood for a man who has seen oil plummet from $147 (£91) a barrel last July to around $65 currently, with all the mothballing of lucrative new projects a slump like that brings. The Aberdeen-based firm may have posted an [...]
Q & A : CVC’S ROYAL MAIL BID May 31, 2009 Q.WHAT IS CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS?A.CVC is one of the world’s biggest private equity houses with 19 offices across Europe, Asia and the US. Since its founding in 1981 it has snapped up stakes in department store chain Debenhams and Formula One Group among over 250 others. It is in line to buy Barclays’ iShares asset [...]
Peep toes and sky high heels make the perfect summer shoe May 26, 2009 WHEN the mercury rises you need to keep your feet cool and summery without forfeiting the professional look. This is hardly an onerous task, thanks to the wealth of Spring/Summer shoes that are both stylish and office-appropriate – simply cut, low on straps and made from good quality leather. Our favourite hot-weather shoes for the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES OPINIONS SHIFT TOWARDS LONGER WORKING LIVESA majority of Britons now favour longer working lives if it means a more generous pension in retirement, a significant shift of opinion in the few years since the subject was raised by the Pensions Commission report in 2005. A Financial Times/Harris survey of 1,126 adults in Britain [...]
Museum of fun May 21, 2009 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2Cert: PGTHIS Bank Holiday’s slice of family-centric fodder pulls off that rare cinematic trick – it’s a sequel that’s better than the original. However, given that the original Night at the Museum was a dog’s dinner of a film, the bigger surprise is that it was ever a big enough hit [...]
MF Global shares fall on bigger quarterly loss May 21, 2009 FUTURES and options broker MF Global posted a wider quarterly loss yesterday, hurt by a 37 per cent drop in revenue, and claimed $30m (£18.9m) as due from its former parent company, sending its shares down 12 per cent. The company’s commodities businesses, including metals, energy, and agriculture, saw lower volumes and tighter spreads, chief [...]
CITY GRANDEES UNITED IN FOOTBALLING LOVE May 19, 2009 SURELY it’s a sign of the times when even the guest speaker at a City awards bash isn’t quite certain why he’s been invited? Last night saw 300 business world luminaries pack the ballroom at the Hilton hotel on Park Lane for the 2009 M&A Awards, where sports television presenter Ray Stubbs, pictured below, had [...]
Why Randgold Resources’ boss can afford to go on a 48-day bike safari May 17, 2009 BIG, burly, loud and infectious: Mark Bristow, the founder and chief executive of Randgold Resources, looks every inch a mining man. The 6’3” South African is in good form as he bounds into the gold miner’s functional London office in the shadow of the Savoy Hotel (it is undergoing a 16-month £100m refit – the [...]
Why Randgold Resources’ boss can afford to go on a 48-day bike safari May 17, 2009 Age: 50 Work: He became chief executive officer at Randgold Resources in 1995. Before that he held senior posts at Randgold Exploration, African Platinum, Harmony Gold Mining Company and DRD Gold Education: Holds a PhD in geology from the University of Natal in Durban Family: Married with two sons aged 18 and 20 Homes: Selling [...]
WHAT’S AVAILABLE? BEST RATES May 14, 2009 First Direct offers a two-year fix of 2.99 per cent with a subsequent rate of 3.69 per cent (all rates are based on a 75 per cent, £150,000 mortgage). The fee is £898. Royal Bank of Scotland has a three-year fix of 3.99 per cent, rising to 4 per cent afterwards, with a £499 fee. [...]