SPORT | IN BRIEF March 23, 2010 Button’s eyeing Aussie success FORMULA ONE: World champion Jenson Button says McLaren can close the gap on their rivals at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Button could only finish seventh in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix a fortnight ago, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton was third. But Button said: “It’s a low downforce circuit which suits [...]
Lewis gets his way at M&B as Laffin goes January 28, 2010 THE scene was set for a venomous Mitchells and Butlers board meeting yesterday – and the key players did not deviate from the script. Simon Laffin, the chairman, knew his time at the helm of the pub chain was up. Sympathetic cheers from the swathes of minority shareholders packed into the ICC Birmingham would have [...]
M&B chair could be ousted at crunch annual meeting January 27, 2010 THE power struggle at Mitchells & Butlers will come to a head later this morning when a bitter annual meeting kicks off. More than 400 investors will gather to decide on new board members in a vote that has been shrouded in controversy. A feud has festered between the board of the pub chain, which [...]
TORIES TO PRIVATISE THE POSTAL SERVICE October 22, 2009 SHADOW business secretary Ken Clarke yesterday said that a Tory government would privatise the Royal Mail if it wins the next election, as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced a second three-day walk out next week. Clarke said that only private capital and management could give Royal Mail a new lease of life and end [...]
READERS TREATED TO OBSCENITY OVERLOAD March 30, 2010 WHEN it comes to judging the various literary tomes spurned by the credit crunch, this innovative scale has to take the biscuit. The Capitalist chances upon a rankings guide to the latest books about the crisis, courtesy of Paul Kedrosky’s Infectious Greed blog – and instead of measuring them by content, style or informative value, [...]
M&B rejects olive branch from Joe Lewis January 25, 2010 MITCHELLS & Butlers (M&B), the pub group that owns All Bar One, yesterday said it was rejecting a last-minute olive branch from currency trader Joe Lewis, its largest shareholder, over the make-up of the firm’s board. The move sets the scene for a dramatic showdown at the group’s annual meeting on Thursday. Current chairman Simon [...]
Post strikes will do most damage to Royal Mail October 18, 2009 IF THIS week’s postal strike goes ahead from Thursday, as expected, the Square Mile will not come to a grinding halt. The rise of the internet, email and electronic trading platforms mean that the Royal Mail’s integral role of facilitating business between City firms are long gone. I suspect that more damage will be caused [...]
Keep it stylish to keep dry September 14, 2009 WITH autumnal showers looming, a natty raincoat is an essential part of every self-respecting gent’s wardrobe – and it’s an item as British as a Savile Row suit. Burberry first managed the leap from functional to stylish with its WWI invention of the trench coat – a piece of military-wear so snazzy it remains a [...]
Exiled banker thrown $7.5m lifeline by CIT February 8, 2010 Ousted banker John Thain has been brought in from the cold with a new role as chairman and chief executive of US commercial lender CIT worth up to $7.5m (£4.8m) a year. The former Merrill Lynch boss, who oversaw the bank’s acquisition by Bank of America (BoA), will receive $500,000 in cash, $2.5m of restricted [...]
Debenhams appoints new chairman January 28, 2010 DEBENHAMS has appointed Nigel Northridge as its new chairman to replace John Lovering. The company said Northridge – currently chairman of betting group Paddy power – will step up to the role on 1 April Lovering had chaired the retailer since 2003 and led its flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. Northridge is [...]