How to live the Polynesian dream October 3, 2010 IT’S a hot and humid afternoon in Nadi on the Fijian mainland as we squash into the rather intimate 14-seater plane that is to deliver us to Taveuni in the north-east of the archipelago. Known as Fiji’s Garden Island for its pristine tropical rainforests and ridiculously beautiful beaches, Taveuni is to be the starting point [...]
Equality Act may cause surge in Tribunal claims September 30, 2010 LAWYERS warned that the Equality Act, which comes into force today, could cause a flood of claims to hit tribunals if businesses fail to comply with the new rules. The Equality Act 2010 was introduced by Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman’s and fulfilled a 2005 manifesto commitment. The Act brings together nine different anti-discrimination laws, [...]
AIG forced to defend suit over subprime exposure September 27, 2010 A JUDGE yesterday refused to dismiss a securities fraud lawsuit accusing American International Group (AIG)?of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages, which led to a liquidity crisis and $182.3bn of federal bailouts. The ruling by US district judge Laura Taylor Swain allows the case to go forward and could pave the way for [...]
Vivendi sells its NBC stake September 27, 2010 Vivendi has offloaded its stake in NBC Universal to General Electric (GE) for $2bn (£1.26bn). The French conglomerate sold a third of its 20 per cent stake and says it will sell the remainder for $3.8bn when GE completes a separate deal with entertainment firm Comcast. Earlier this month Vivendi chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said [...]
More than Voho, darling: Vauxhall is in for an overhaul September 23, 2010 SANDWICHED between the South Bank and the Battersea waterfront, it was never going to be long before Vauxhall took off. Until now Vauxhall has traded on two cards: “Voho” – Gayer Soho – and housing London’s politicos. However, this week’s launch of St George Wharf, more commonly known simply as The Tower, is a sign [...]
Unilateral rule making will harm City September 20, 2010 PERCHED at a regulatory crossroads, the government is on the verge of decisions that will shape the UK economy’s competitiveness for generations to come. That much was clear from the opening day of the City Week financial services forum yesterday, where financial services doyens united in a call to policymakers to think long and hard [...]
Female workers allege bias at Goldman Sachs September 15, 2010 THREE women who formerly worked for Goldman Sachs are suing the Wall Street giant for what they say is rampant gender discrimination that unfairly favours men in pay and promotions. The lawsuit filed yesterday alleges that Goldman has violated federal and New York City laws by engaging in a systematic “pattern and practice” of discrimination [...]
Ethical investors cannot have their cake and eat it September 14, 2010 AcademicS were making waves in the socially responsible investment (SRI) community this week, as a new study suggested that SRI funds offer lower returns than simple index-trackers. Conducted by the EDHEC-Risk Institute, the paper updates a study of French SRI funds by looking at 172 funds’ returns between 2002 and 2009. It shows that while [...]
Unions can’t agree on how to fight cuts to spending September 13, 2010 WHEN Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), addressed the organisation’s annual summit yesterday, he sounded more like Neil Kinnock than the heir of militant miners’ leader Arthur Scargill. “The government is pursuing a political agenda, so our response must be political,” Barber told delegates, as he sought to distance himself from [...]
The airline boss with a hit list of 12 bid targets in his desk drawer September 13, 2010 It is clear that British Airways (BA) chief executive Willie Walsh always likes to keep his foot hard on the pedal. The Dublin-born airline boss is in the middle of a bitter 18-month dispute with his cabin crew, and only a few weeks ago received US and European regulatory clearance to pursue a transatlantic tie-up [...]