European shares dip ahead of Greece showdown February 20, 2015 European markets edged down in the run-up to yet another showdown between Eurozone leaders and Greece, scheduled for today. Germany's Dax fell 0.24 per cent in early trading, while France's Cac dropped 0.31 per cent. The FTSE 100, on the other hand, remained largely flat, managing only a 0.09 per cent rise. The uncertainty hit [...]
Ashcourt Rowan’s turnaround king Jonathan Polin is a glutton for punishment February 2, 2015 “I am going to the beach for a week or two. I’ve not decided where. I want to go to the beach, then walk Machu Picchu, or somewhere. Somewhere with no mobile signal.” Jonathan Polin has earned a break, and he knows it – he has taken Ashcourt Rowan from the brink of collapse to [...]
10 times London was awesome in 2014 December 23, 2014 As if we didn’t already know how awesome London was, in 2014 it proved itself better than any other city (especially New York) in almost every way. 1. Best city in the world London is an economic powerhouse, technologically ready and a city gateway making it a transport and tourism hub. Basically, that makes London the [...]
BGC Partners urges GFI shareholders to reject CME bid as it warns founder is “actively sabotaging” takeover offer January 9, 2015 US-based brokerage BGC Partners has written a letter to GFI Group shareholders asking them to reject a rival bid for the company, adding add that its attempt to buy the rival group has been "actively sabotaged" by its management. The letter recommended shareholders turn down a bid by CME Group, pointing out its own "fully [...]
Hillary Clinton will make it to the White House if the Republicans remain divided April 13, 2015 Hillary Clinton announced on Sunday her intention to run to become the first female President in US history. She is the overwhelming favourite to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, despite recent controversies over her personal email use when she was US secretary of state between 2009 and 2013. Although general election day remains [...]
LiteBulb Group’s Simon McGivern and James Phillips talk Mary Berry, cashpoint encounters and woodwork January 18, 2015 It's not every day that you bump into an old friend at a cash machine in Fulham and end up hatching a business – but then Simon McGivern and James Phillips, the founders of LiteBulb Group, are not your average pair. They went to school together (although they didn’t know each other very well) and [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown sacks employee over “joke” tweet about hitting cyclist with car January 6, 2015 An employee at finance firm Hargreaves Lansdown has been sacked after tweeting that he had hit a cyclist while driving to work, but didn’t stop because he was late. Rayhan Qadar tweeted “Think I just hit a cyclist, But I’m late for work so had to drive off lol” on Monday morning telling the BBC [...]
Firms’ £1.8bn bill as pension deficits grow December 18, 2014 PROFITS at Britain’s leading firms are being dragged down by sustained pension fund deficits, thanks to falling bond yields, according to a study out today from Mercer. This problem is exemplified in AA corporate bond yields, which have fallen to 3.38 per cent as measured by the Markit iBoxx >15 year index. This figure is [...]
House of Fraser boss John King departs as department store reveals swathe of changes to top team following Chinese buyout February 18, 2015 House of Fraser chief executive John King is stepping down after eight years at the helm of the department store chain. King's departure comes just months after the business was bought out by Chinese consortium Nanjing Xinjiekou, and follows the retirement of former chairman Don McCarthy. King will be replaced by HoF's current [...]
From the LSE Gaddafi scandal to RBS: Sir Howard Davies’ comeback is nearly complete February 23, 2015 With Westminster being rocked by new cash for access revelations, now is a pertinent moment to pose the following question: How long does it take to bounce back from a scandal? Time can be a great healer of reputations, yet some people in the public eye fail to recover from a hit to their standing. [...]