Skyfall takes Bond to new heights October 25, 2012 FILM SKYFALL Cert 12A | **** AFter deftly eluding MGM’s creditors and safely delivering the Queen to the Olympic opening ceremony, James Bond is out of bankruptcy, off diplomatic protection detail, and back on the big screen for a superbly crafted and confident action thriller. With a dangerously unpredictable enemy bent on vengeance, Sam Mendes’ [...]
Lloyds ploughs £20m into new restaurant fund September 3, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group’s private equity arm said yesterday it has agreed to provide £20m for a new restaurant fund set up by the former boss of The Clapham House Group. Paul Campbell is setting up the fund through his vehicle Hill Capital in partnership with LDC to invest in restaurant businesses with a small number [...]
Co-op trends on Twitter after Lloyds decision July 19, 2012 There were many at the Co-op’s headquarters near Manchester who never thought it would happen. Not the successful bid for the Lloyds branches that Lloyds had been forced to sell for competition reasons by the EU. Despite a few jitters, Co-op insiders were always confident of clinching a deal. But one thing did surprise many [...]
Your first move onto the property ladder September 9, 2012 UK HOUSE prices saw their biggest fall for a year in the three months to July 2012, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). But the capital is bucking the trend. London property prices grew by 6.5 per cent over the last year, according to last quarter’s Greater London Authority London Housing Market [...]
Catlin survives catastrophes to boost its profit August 6, 2012 INSURER Catlin announced strong profits for the first half of 2012 yesterday, mainly thanks to the absence of any natural catastrophe claims during the period. Pre-tax profits at the group hit $231m (£148m) for the six months to 30 June, against a loss of $201m for the same period last year. This beat analysts’s expectations, [...]
KPMG cuts own staff after warning bankers of job losses August 23, 2012 Professional services group KPMG warned just yesterday that bankers faced more job losses and pay cuts unless the economy improved. A day later and the firm was back in touch, announcing that there are going to be cuts in its own UK headcount of around 11,300 people. Yesterday the firm said it was carrying out [...]
FTSE 100 flat despite Lonmin losses August 20, 2012 Britain’s leading share index opened flat this morning, despite widening losses in mining shares, tracking a decline in the price of copper. Beleaguered platinum producer Lonmin continued another day of losses, with the shares down more than 3.5 per cent. The mining company today issued an ultimatum to the striking workers. Defence group Chemring was [...]
FTSE 100 flat despite Lonmin losses August 20, 2012 Britain’s leading share index opened flat this morning, despite widening losses in mining shares, tracking a decline in the price of copper. Beleaguered platinum producer Lonmin continued another day of losses, with the shares down more than 3.5 per cent. The mining company today issued an ultimatum to the striking workers. Defence group Chemring was [...]
Off-licence hits back at Games branding rules July 24, 2012 OFF-LICENCE chain Oddbins hasn’t so much tweaked the noses of London 2012 chiefs as clamped them in a vice and swung them from a wrecking ball. In a tongue-in-cheek attack on the strict branding laws designed to protect the Games’ official sponsors, Oddbins have offered a discount to anyone who proves they’ve shunned all of [...]
FTSE rallies after ECB’s bond buying plan boosts investors’ confidence September 6, 2012 MINERS and banks led the rebound on Britain’s FTSE 100 yesterday, after investors gave an initial thumbs up to ECB president Mario Draghi’s bond buying plans, while strong US data also helped lift sentiment. The FTSE 100 100 closed up 119.48 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 5777.34 as the index recovered losses sustained over [...]