Short sellers in dash to bet on Saga share price fall June 9, 2014 HEDGE funds are queuing up to bet on a further fall in the share price of newly-floated companies like Saga and AO World amid renewed scepticism in the new issues market, statistics show. Short sellers, who borrow shares from other investors to make gains when the price falls, currently have close to one per cent [...]
New year’s resolutions to make you think more like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg December 31, 2014 As if running a $221bn (£142bn) company isn't enough, Mark Zuckerberg is known for his commitment to keeping new year's resolutions. Every year, the Facebook founder sets himself a new challenge – a process which, he told an audience last week, forces him to "do other things outside of [work]". But Zuckerberg doesn't just go for [...]
The National Theatre’s head chef Simon Flint on organising chaos February 24, 2015 There are two main challenges to running the restaurants at the National Theatre: people have very high expectations because the theatre is so good, and they’re often in a hurry, so we need to serve great food quickly. Our restaurants are open at other times, but pre-theatre – which is 5–7.30pm – is very much [...]
McDonald’s Big Cheese: UK makeover chief Steve Easterbrook now has the whole world on his plate January 29, 2015 Steve Easterbrook, who used to play cricket at Durham University alongside ex-England captain Nasser Hussain, has long been viewed as one of McDonald’s star players – obtaining a captaincy of his own yesterday at the world’s biggest fast food chain. McDonald’s new Watford-born chief executive will take on the challenging task of reviving the group’s [...]
Rib-thumpingly good beef: STK’s sticky shortrib March 10, 2015 Barry Vera on the rib dish that keeps his discerning STK customers coming back for more. Ribs were an obvious choice for STK because of the American influence, but I wanted us to create something a bit better than your standard sticky ribs that get all over your fingers. I wanted something that you could [...]
Washington DC: Where to eat in the political capital of the western world December 14, 2014 Washington DC has grown from somewhere you work to somewhere to eat. Over the past few years, ravenous London scenesters have been snarfing down a vast array of steaks, burgers, hot dogs, shakes, pizzas, burritos and all sorts of other full-flavoured Americana from a diverse range of restaurants, pop-ups and food trucks. US [...]
Retail sales edge up – but goods are still getting cheaper November 20, 2014 Retail sales have continued their upwards trajectory for the 19th month in a row – but it appears to be largely driven by falling prices and discounting. Figures published this morning by the Office for National Statistics show that consumer spending in October increased by 2.8 per cent year-on-year, but the amount of goods [...]
Sheryl Sandberg’s full, moving Facebook tribute to her husband Dave June 4, 2015 It's been a month since Surveymonkey chief executive Dave Sandberg died from a head injury while using a hotel gym in Mexico. Last night his wife Sheryl, the chief operating officer of Facebook, posted a moving tribute to him on the social network. "I know I will never feel pure joy again," she wrote. "There [...]
Bottom Line: Swann’s SSP could prosper in City’s search for quality June 16, 2014 THERE was a telling comment last week during a session held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain examining initial public offerings. “We’re going to go through a rather different period now,” EY’s Richard Hall, a veteran of last year’s bumper Royal Mail float, told an audience of private equity investors. “There are still some [...]
Why pumpkins are not just for carving this Halloween – and how you can turn yours into great recipes by celebrity chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Ainsley Harriott and Mark Hix October 28, 2015 This week the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall described the UK as the food waste capital of Europe. The facts make it hard to disagree. Every day 24 million slices of bread are thrown out by UK households. More than one in five households admit to binning an entire loaf of bread before even opening or slicing [...]