Seductive scents by hot Paris perfumer June 20, 2011 SEDUCTION, surrender, forbidden. You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d been plunged into the depths of a torrid French romance novel but these are, in fact, descriptors for perfume. Kilian, the Paris-based fragrance house founded by perfumer Kilian Hennessy, is rapidly getting male and female fans hot under the collar with its collection of luxurious evocative [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BREVAN HOWARD CAPITALISES ON TURMOIL Brevan Howard, the world’s largest macro hedge fund, has made close to $1.5bn over the past three weeks on the back of turmoil in the global markets. In a month in which equity markets worldwide have seen declines of more than 10 per cent, the gain comes as [...]
BBA CONFERENCE | HIGHLIGHTS June 29, 2011 The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) annual conference took place at the Guildhall yesterday. Here are some of the highlights: • BBA chief executive Angela Knight (pictured, bottom right) said that some of the many regulations being introduced “simply don’t work right, don’t fit together, are not coherent”, such as the requirement to hold more capital [...]
The gastropub kings with their sights set on the City August 17, 2011 IF you’re the sort of person who appreciates London’s classier pub offerings, the chances are you’ve been a customer of Tom and Ed Martin. The brothers, a pair of gangly good eggs who exude bonhomie and serious business ambition in equal measure, are the operators of an impressive number of the capital’s upper echelon public [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 22, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LLOYDS LOOKS TO EASE DISPOSAL Lloyds Banking Group is in early talks with the City regulator about easing the capital burden for prospective buyers of some of its branches in an effort to remove one of the biggest obstacles to the sale. It hopes to pave the way for a bidder to qualify [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 22, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LLOYDS LOOKS TO EASE DISPOSAL Lloyds Banking Group is in early talks with the City regulator about easing the capital burden for prospective buyers of some of its branches in an effort to remove one of the biggest obstacles to the sale. It hopes to pave the way for a bidder to qualify [...]
US mortgage probe widens May 23, 2011 JP MORGAN Chase, UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank are being scrutinised by the New York State Attorney in an expanded probe into mortgage practices at large banks. Units of bond insurers Ambac Financial, MBIA, Syncora Holdings and Assured Guaranty have also been subpoenaed by the state’s attorney general for information related to [...]
JPMorgan profit beats forecasts July 14, 2011 JPMorgan Chase & Co posted a higher-than-expected jump in second-quarter profit as it wrote off fewer bad mortgages and credit card loans. The bank managed to make more loans during the quarter than in the first quarter and added staff, signs that bright spots are emerging in a sector long plagued by credit losses and [...]
Beauty’s in the i of the beholder August 2, 2011 LAST week BMW flew hundreds of journalists from around the world into Frankfurt to show them the future of motoring, as illustrated by its new sub-brand ‘i’. And the future looks pretty impressive if the near-production cars BMW revealed are anything to go by. The German manufacturer showed the first two of its ‘i’ branded [...]
Bellway upbeat as home sales and orders rise June 10, 2011 House developer Bellway has posted a better than expected view of its market, describing its spring selling as “healthy”. Its average home unit sales rate was 111 properties per week in the four months to the end of May, up nine per cent on the same period in 2010. Average selling prices were up four [...]