S&P was right to warn the Eurozone December 6, 2011 THERE was anger at Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, last night, focusing on the timing of its decision to put fifteen Eurozone countries on negative watch. I disagree: for once, the agency demonstrated bravery uncharacteristic of the times we live in. I’m no defender of the rating agencies, who performed appallingly during the bubble [...]
Tottenham launch second legal bid in bitter battle for Olympic Stadium May 9, 2011 TOTTENHAM last night confirmed they have launched a second legal challenge against the controversial decision to hand West Ham the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games, as City A.M. reported first last month. Spurs chiefs have applied to the High Court for permission to bring a claim for judicial review of a series of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES EU PUTS BANKS’ SHORTFALL AT JUST €90BN Europe’s grand plan to strengthen its banking system is set to fall well short of current market expectations identifying a capital shortfall of less than €100bn (£87bn) that must be made up over the next six to nine months, according to the latest official estimates. The EU’s [...]
STANMORE, HA7 October 6, 2011 CASTLE KEEP PENTHOUSE Price: £999,995 Castle Keep Penthouse is a duplex apartment over two floors and a roof terrace. It has high ceilings, an elegant dining room with a marble fireplace, three double bedrooms all en suite, a luxury bespoke oak-finished kitchen, guest cloakroom and laundry room. Contact: Savills on 01923 824 225 or go [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES Evraz raises prospect of Severstal merger Evraz has raised the possibility of a merger with Severstal in a deal that would unite Russia’s two biggest steelmakers to create the world’s eighth-largest producer by output, with a combined market capitalisation of £12bn. Alexander Abramov, Evraz’s chairman and founder, said in an interview with the [...]
The captain of industry who says the UK needs to be more like Asia November 20, 2011 FROM the CBI’s offices on the second floor of the Centre Point tower, you get a great view of the construction site that will eventually become the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station. It is fitting that the CBI, which was one of the railway’s biggest supporters, is so close to the action, and a reminder [...]
Barclays next to drop case May 8, 2011 BARCLAYS is to follow Lloyds in abandoning an industry-wide appeal against a high court ruling that will cost banks billions. The decision will leave other banks with little choice but to drop the case against the FSA on payment protection insurance (PPI). But City A.M. has learned that despite the likelihood of the banks giving [...]
Nationwide grows despite tough market May 25, 2011 NATIONWIDE Building Society gained market share and grew underlying profits by almost a third in the past year despite ongoing housing market stagnation, it said yesterday. Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, turned a £276m underlying profit in the year to April, up from £212m in April 2010, against a backdrop of low growth in [...]
Horta-Osório does a spot of kitchen sinking May 5, 2011 WAS Antonio Horta-Osório being entirely honest yesterday when he denied kitchen sinking at his first set of results? Not quite: what he did was gut the Lloyds kitchen entirely, clogged dishwasher and all. Then, not content with clearing out his own house, he broke into the homes of RBS, HSBC and Barclays, and stole their [...]
Horta-Osório does a spot of kitchen sinking May 5, 2011 WAS Antonio Horta-Osório being entirely honest yesterday when he denied kitchen sinking at his first set of results? Not quite: what he did was gut the Lloyds kitchen entirely, clogged dishwasher and all. Then, not content with clearing out his own house, he broke into the homes of RBS, HSBC and Barclays, and stole their [...]