Small cap stars celebrate with the dinosaurs January 31, 2013 WEDNESDAY night’s ninth annual Quoted Company Awards, this year held at the Natural History Museum, was a considerably more cheerful affair than in recent years, thanks to celebrity impressionist Rory Bremner. Winners included Lupus Capital’s Martin Towers for non-executive director of the year, Snoozebox Holdings for IPO of the year, Entertainment One’s purchase of Alliance [...]
Equistone exits UK energy firm at a premium February 18, 2013 EQUISTONE, the private equity group, yesterday exited its majority stake in oil and gas company Hydrasun after selling it to a Bahraini-listed investment company. The sale, which comes over five years after Equistone backed a management buyout of the firm, represents more than a 2.5x premium to the firm’s original money investment of £38m. The [...]
Three technological earthquakes are breaking up businesses for the better February 7, 2013 WE LIVE in extraordinary times. Robots are cleaning floors, accompanying soldiers into battle and just starting to drive our cars. Artificial intelligence is turning phones into personal assistants. The internet is connecting more of us than ever, in more ways than ever. For all the economic gloom, remarkable technologies are transforming our lives for the [...]
London’s first female-only well-being members club opens its doors in Belgravia January 28, 2013 THE CAPITAL is experiencing a new wave of women’s only clubs. While men have long enjoyed the benefits of the popular Turf Club and Boodle’s, there’s been a void in the market for women – but that’s changing. In September Prada’s sister brand Miu Miu opened a pop-up women’s-only private members club at Café Royal [...]
How to manage your risk by using a pairs strategy November 19, 2012 MARKETS are fraught with uncertainty: the fiscal cliff, conflict in the Middle East, the Eurozone crisis, and slowing growth in China are just some of the problems that could potentially derail equity markets. Therefore, traders must use risk management techniques to mitigate their risk exposure. But if investors suddenly sought safety by moving their money [...]
Blade Runner charged with shooting model girlfriend dead February 14, 2013 PARALYMPIC star Oscar Pistorius is due to appear in court today charged with the Valentines Day murder of his model girlfriend after she was shot dead at his home in South Africa early yesterday morning. Pistorius – dubbed Blade Runner for his trademark prosthetic legs – was arrested at his luxury home in a gated [...]
Float through the traffic in the E300 February 25, 2013 Mercedes-Benz’s latest hybrid executive saloon is so smooth it is more magic carpet than automobile Traditionally, delivering high fuel economy hasn’t been a primary focus for large executive cars. But the times they are a-changin’. Car manufacturers know they need to provide cleaner and more efficient vehicles to appease European regulators and discourage buyers from [...]
My recent attempt to pass on some rock solid business advice December 9, 2012 I DON’T want to study rocks!” My teenage son Tom looked at me like I was an ugly alien. We were discussing what he should read at university, and he was keen on economics and maths to pursue a career in finance or business.“But I think the big finance boom is over, Tom. And mining [...]
Gilt yields dive to record lows on RPI decision January 10, 2013 INFLATION-LINKED gilt yields plunged to record lows after markets were surprised by the UK statistician’s decision not to change how the retail price index (RPI) is calculated. RPI-linked gilts maturing in 2040 plummeted to yields of minus 0.05 per cent, before rising to close to zero, having stood at just above 0.22 per cent before the [...]
An operatic reminder of how the internet disrupts our world for the better January 17, 2013 IT HAS been a week of crushing victories for the internet. It continues to claim victims among retail firms blindsided by the web’s 24/7 stores, with their limitless inventories and weightless products. With thousands of jobs on the line, and hundreds of shops at risk of closure, it would be easy to see the change [...]