It’s time to bring a sorry saga to a close April 4, 2012 THE PAST few months have been pretty unhappy ones for shareholders in Omega Insurance. Having spurned a takeover approach from rival Canopius, Omega’s board then entered into discussions with insurance entrepreneur Mark Byrne. These were in the hope of cementing a deal in which he would take a minority stake and also (mysteriously) seize control. For [...]
Murdoch and Hannam’s departures symbolise power shift April 4, 2012 THERE can be no doubt that James Murdoch’s decision to step down as chairman of BSkyB is good news for the company. It will allow its highly capable chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, to continue building one of Britain’s most successful firms without being distracted by endless speculation about the future of its chairman. That said, [...]
Murdoch and Hannam’s departures symbolise power shift April 4, 2012 THERE can be no doubt that James Murdoch’s decision to step down as chairman of BSkyB is good news for the company. It will allow its highly capable chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, to continue building one of Britain’s most successful firms without being distracted by endless speculation about the future of its chairman. That said, [...]
US DATA KEY TO CONTEST AMONG BULLS AND BEARS April 2, 2012 FX 360 ONE of the more astounding aspects about the recent price action in the currency market is the absolute lack of direction in euro-dollar. Over the past week the pair has traded in a miniscule 150 point range – its narrowest swing in more than four years. With the Greek saga now behind us [...]
Vue looks good as cinema firm set to expand April 1, 2012 VUE, the private equity-backed cinema chain, is set to ramp up its expansion plans as Britons spend more on affordable luxuries in the economic downturn. The chain, bought by Doughty Hanson in a £450m deal nearly 18 months ago, will open two sites this year and two next year as part of a development pipeline [...]
Pensioners in protest over Budget cuts March 22, 2012 GEORGE Osborne was forced to defend his “granny tax” Budget yesterday after pensioners’ groups attacked his “outrageous assault” on older people. The chancellor (pictured) said pensioners would be “better off” despite his shock decision to phase out their age-related allowances, first introduced by Winston Churchill in 1925. Saga boss Ros Altmann criticised the move, at a [...]
Pensioners in protest over Budget cuts March 22, 2012 GEORGE Osborne was forced to defend his “granny tax” Budget yesterday after pensioners’ groups attacked his “outrageous assault” on older people. The chancellor (pictured) said pensioners would be “better off” despite his shock decision to phase out their age-related allowances, first introduced by Winston Churchill in 1925. Saga boss Ros Altmann criticised the move, at a [...]
Gangster saga hits right note March 22, 2012 Film WILD BILL Cert: 15 **** THIS isn’t your average East End gangster saga. Wild Bill is an impressively subtle, no-nonsense debut from first-time director Dexter Fletcher, centring around Bill Hayward (Charlie Creed-Miles), a troubled guy coming out of prison, trying to live the good life while still tangled up in his murky past. It [...]
Granny tax to hit 4m people March 21, 2012 MORE than four million pensioners will be hit by a “granny tax” after George Osborne said he would freeze the amount of income that is not subject to tax. The chancellor is set to raise £3.3bn from the measure over five years as part of Treasury measures to simplify the “complicated” system of age-related allowances. Osborne [...]
BC goes back to the future with new deal for Foxtons March 18, 2012 THE private equity firm that lost control of Foxtons amid the housing slump is on the verge of buying it back from its banks. BC Partners, led by managing partner Charlie Bott, is set to take a majority shareholding for between £55m and £75m, two years after the estate agent was shored up by a [...]