Tories best to tackle our fiscal crisis May 5, 2010 AT first sight, there are few similarities between Greece, a tiny and desperately mismanaged economy on the fringes of Europe, and Britain, one of the world’s largest economies – and for all the Labour party’s blunders and mismanagement, still an astonishingly prosperous country. Thanks to what turned out to be virtually the only good decision [...]
Revitalise for spring May 3, 2010 1.HEAD TO THE PARK ONE of London’s best features is its multitude of open green spaces – and while they’re fabulous places for a jog, they can also be used for more organised training. Fitness company One Element runs group training sessions in spaces including Battersea Park, Wandsworth Common, Richmond Park and Parsons Green, with [...]
Bigotgate overshadows fiscal crisis April 28, 2010 SO FAR during this election campaign, only two events, both televised, have had a real effect, capturing the public’s imagination. The first leaders’ debate triggered the vertiginous rise of Nick Clegg, whose LibDem party gained over ten percentage points in the polls in just 90 minutes without him needing to say anything new; and then [...]
The man who thinks MBAs should make ethics centre stage in the boardroom April 28, 2010 AROUND a year ago, in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and in the midst of governments bailouts, a group of Harvard Business School MBA students decided to create an oath that would help to promote more ethical behaviour in business. They were stung by criticism of MBAs, who were blamed by some [...]
Goldman faces fresh legal suit over its SEC disclosures April 26, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs faces fresh legal action after shareholders filed a suit against the bank over its investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The class action, which was filed yesterday in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, accuses the bank of failing to notify shareholders that the SEC had issued Goldmans [...]
Wal-Mart in case setback April 26, 2010 ASDA owner Wal-Mart suffered a blow yesterday when a US court ruled a sex-discrimination lawsuit against the retailer can proceed as a class-action case covering more than one million female employees. Wal-Mart , the world’s largest retailer, had asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to undo class-action certification in what could [...]
Bangalore blasts will concern ICC April 20, 2010 THE blasts in Bangalore at the weekend were not only a worry for Indian Premier League chiefs, but will also be pretty disturbing for the ICC ahead of next year’s World Cup on the sub-continent. Bangalore is historically a very friendly town, but so anxious are the IPL, they have been forced to move this [...]
Charles Schwab’s legal settlement almost wipes out first quarter profit April 20, 2010 US Brokerage Charles Schwab yesterday agreed to pay $200m to settle a federal class-action lawsuit related to a money-losing bond mutual fund, erasing nearly all of its first quarter profit. Schwab in March 2008 became the target of litigation and regulatory probes focused on its YieldPlus Fund, a short-duration bond fund that plunged in value [...]
Rickie’s return just misses the mark April 15, 2010 Film CEMETERY JUNCTION Cert: 15 HAVING proved he can make it in Hollywood, Ricky Gervais has brought a whole load of Tinseltown gloss back with him for this tale of small-town kids in the Seventies. Written and directed by Gervais and old mucker Stephen Merchant, the film is polished, conventional and formulaic to the degree [...]
Banks avoid facing class action suits as Financial Services Bill passes into law April 14, 2010 BANKS have walked away from potentially paying out billions of pounds in class action settlements, after a clause in the Financial Services Bill surrounding the matter was struck before the bill passed though parliament. The Financial Services Bill, which reached Royal Assent during the wash-up period last week, saw clauses 18 to 25 struck out [...]