Payday for Brits who lost out in Madoff scheme January 7, 2014 BRITISH investors who were burned in the Bernie Madoff scandal are set to get some of their money back, after the US authorities yesterday levied a $1.7bn (£1bn) fine on JP Morgan. Regulators said the bank bore some of the blame for the fraud by hosting Madoff’s accounts and failing to report concerns over his behaviour. [...]
Reactions to the chancellor’s statement December 5, 2013 THE BUSINESS GROUPDirector general of the CBIJohn Cridland The CBI had lobbied the government to cap business rates at two per cent and support business finance. “We have always advocated the dual approach of tackling the deficit and driving growth – the OBR forecasts confirm it is working. Let’s stick with what works. “The pressure [...]
Royal mail failing to meet targets says Ofcom November 22, 2013 The Office of Communications (Ofcom), has warned recently-privatised Royal Mail that it must meet its delivery requirements if it is to avoid fines. Royal Mail failed to achieve its requirement of 93 per cent delivery of first class letters the day after the they are posted, instead reaching 91.7 per cent. The figures were revealed [...]
Hungry for more? You will be November 21, 2013 FILM HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Cert 12a | By Simon Thomson Three Stars THE HUNGER Games: Catching Fire is a story of survival and defiance in a dystopian future, where children are forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of a ruling class, which uses the spectacle to hold the masses in fearful [...]
London’s Night Tube could see property prices jump November 21, 2013 Great news if you own London property. Maybe not so great if your rent is already eating up half of your wages. An impact study by GVA found that the Crossrail transport project would increase "residential and commercial value of as much as £5.5bn along the route between 2012 and 2021". The availability of a [...]
Management: Meet national culture November 20, 2013 A new book argues that cultural values can make or break a corporate strategy AMERICA has long been seen as a graveyard for British retailers. In 2001, Marks & Spencer sold its Brooks Brothers US chain for a third of the price it paid for it. Sainsbury’s bailed out of its Shaw’s business in 2004. [...]
Less than the sum of its parts November 17, 2013 FILM THE COUNSELLOR Cert 18 | By Simon Thomson Two Stars GREEDY and ambitious, a successful lawyer ignores the warnings of his friends in the criminal underworld, and becomes involved with a Mexican drug cartel. When a shipment goes missing, suspicion falls on the counsellor (Michael Fassbender), and the perfect life he has built comes [...]
Communicator and Rhombus in perfect shape for November Handicap November 7, 2013 RICHARD Hughes will be doused with champagne by his fellow jockeys for the second year running at Doncaster tomorrow afternoon after another fantastic season. He takes the ride on Hughie Morrison’s Nearly Caught in the November Handicap (3.35pm), but he has plenty of weight for a three-year-old and I’m inclined to look elsewhere. John Gosden [...]
Eight firms in oil market rigging case revealed November 6, 2013 SHELL, BP, Statoil, Morgan Stanley, Trafigura Beheer, Trafigura, Phibro Trading and Vitol were named as defendants yesterday in a case surrounding accusations of oil market manipulation. Four NYMEX traders have alleged that the North Sea Brent crude oil market has been manipulated by oil majors and trading houses since at least 2002, in a class [...]
We can cut carbon emissions but not with inefficient renewable subsidies November 5, 2013 HOPE for a breakthrough at the international climate change talks in Warsaw next week is evergreen: “Where there is a will, there is a way!” the hosts’ environment minister says. But despite this optimism, there is little global will for an overarching agreement akin to the failed Kyoto protocol. Yet there is a very different [...]