Permira fund grew by a fifth last year May 15, 2012 PRIVATE equity house Permira saw the value of its €9.6bn (£7.65bn) fourth fund jump by more than a fifth last year despite global economic turmoil. The value of investments made so far in Fund IV rose 21 per cent in 2011, according to the annual review, published yesterday. The fund began in September 2006 although [...]
Malaysia date for Arsenal tour April 10, 2012 FOOTBALL: Arsenal will kick off their pre-season tour of Asia with a game against a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur on 24 July, the club have confirmed. The Gunners will then face Premier League rivals Manchester City in Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest stadium on 27 July, before finishing the tour in Hong Kong on 29 [...]
World Entrepreneur of the Year June 17, 2012 DESPITE the gloomy economic outlook in Europe, Monte Carlo was buzzing, as Ernst and Young hosted its twelfth annual World Entrepreneur of the Year award last week. No fewer than 59 entrepreneurs from 51 countries gathered to compete for the top prize in an atmosphere of unfettered optimism. This year’s country winners included Reid Hoffman, [...]
A lesson from the age of the dinosaurs: Big isn’t beautiful in the long run April 19, 2012 Asteroids happen, and being big won’t save you. In our current world of apocalyptic economic threats, that’s a lesson that seems worth re-learning. The latest version comes in a fascinating study of the fate of the dinosaurs from the University of Zurich and the Zoological Society of London. The paper’s abstract explains that the study [...]
Murdoch slams government as Leveson looms April 22, 2012 RUPERT Murdoch unleashed an avalanche of criticism at the coalition government as he landed in London this weekend. The media mogul, who arrived in the UK on Saturday ahead of his appearance this week at the Leveson Inquiry, took to Twitter to slam George Osborne’s £10bn pledge to the IMF and the “pasty tax” unveiled [...]
Antarctica is a mysterious, icy wonderland and a visual feast September 23, 2012 THE Antarctic tundra is a black and white world, except for the occasional colourful beak, feather, foot or fin, or the blue ice and turquoise underbelly of a whale. While it is certainly remote and desolate, it is also pure and peaceful: it makes you feel alive. From October to March, there is no night [...]
Arsenal target Podolski can go February 29, 2012 ARSENAL target Lukas Podolski will be allowed to leave Cologne at the end of the season, according to the Bundesliga club’s manager Stale Solbakken. The German striker is reported to have already agreed personal terms with Arsenal, who yesterday announced they will play a pre-season friendly against Manchester City at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium on [...]
EPISODE 53 – MR CASHMAN IS MR BANKS April 16, 2012 Noel has taken to calling Emma and me Mr and Mrs Banks, which must make the suitably intimidating but frankly unlovely Maria, Mary Poppins. I’d loved the film as a child and had finally introduced Noel to it on television at Easter. Now I’m beginning to regret it. Noel immediately demanded the DVD, which arrived [...]
CRASH PADS May 24, 2012 For the City’s movers and shakers, it’s the million pound question: do you live in the town centre and save yourself hours of tedious, stressful commuting, safe in the knowledge that you own property in one of the world’s cultural hubs? Or, do you move to the commuter belt, get yourself a bigger house with [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 14, 2012 Flight of fancy [Re:A third runway at Heathrow isn’t enough. Let’s allow regional airports to take off, yesterday] Paul Kehoe sets out some salient facts based on the business evidence. Integrated transport is the way forward, along with removal of the complex structures imposed on the aviation industry to control prices, including fuel subsidies. Part [...]