Any Other Business – 04/09 September 3, 2013 There was some lively banter in City spinners Maitlands’ Upper St Martin’s Lane offices yesterday, where payday loan company Wonga was presenting its results. It appears that Wonga boss Errol Damelin (pictured) has grand ambitions for his firm, and The Capitalist hears that the chief executive repeatedly compared Wonga to tech giants like Amazon, Google [...]
Apple hands its retail empire to fashion veteran October 15, 2013 APPLE’s appointment of Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts as head of its retail and online stores is much more than just another hire for the technology titan. Apple’s retail business is an empire in itself, making revenues of $6.4bn (£4bn) in the first quarter of 2013 – making it just under half the size of Amazon’s entire [...]
If US tapering happens today markets have been proved right yet again September 18, 2013 Fans of liberal economics will often say the market is a fantastic co-ordinator of activity, and as an aggregator of information, is really good at predicting future events. The start of US Federal Reserve tapering has been "priced in" for September 2013 for a while now. That is, traders have expected this month as the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 08 October 2013 October 7, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Hedge fund DE Shaw limits investors One of the most profitable hedge funds has closed its doors to new clients, calling time on the industry’s ability to square vast inflows of money with the promise of market-beating returns. DE Shaw’s move means that of the largest six, only Man Group and Och-Ziff, are [...]
Atomic kitten: Nuclear boss claims cat taxi September 8, 2013 EXECUTIVES in charge of a £22bn nuclear decommissioning contract were yesterday criticised after their expenses claims came to light – showing they billed the taxpayer £714 to provide a taxi for a cat. The publicly-funded Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) consortium ran up hundreds of thousands of pounds in problematic claims at the Sellafield site in [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 21 October 2013 October 21, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Cameron to build on Royal Mail sale David Cameron is planning to build on the huge popularity of the Royal Mail privatisation by prioritising retail investors for the sell-offs ahead of the general election in 2015. Attracting retail investors will be a key aim as the government prepares to complete the sales of [...]
Home Retail’s chief executive to step down September 4, 2013 HOME RETAIL Group’s chief executive Terry Duddy is to step down next year after more than 15 years with the household goods retailer. The Argos and Homebase owner said yesterday that Duddy, who has served seven years as chief executive, will leave by the next annual general meeting on 2 July next year. The 57 [...]
Amazon expands Tech City hub by hiring 100 new employees January 9, 2013 AMAZON has announced plans to expand its global development hub in London, hiring 100 staff to work on new projects. The web retailer opened the eight-floor centre in Barbican in September, moving staff from its two UK acquisitions, Lovefilm and Pushbutton, to the office where hundreds are employed. The new staff, who will be hired [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 23 October 2013 October 22, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Ebay buys same-day courier service Ebay is acquiring a same-day courier service based in London and overhauling its own website as it seeks to compete against Amazon and Walmart and give itself a social media edge. The Californian ecommerce group is buying Shutl, a four-year-old start-up with operations in the US and the [...]
Ocado shorters scrambling to shrink positions July 22, 2013 HEDGE funds who bet against Ocado have continued to shrink their unprofitable positions in the online grocer, shares in which have soared since its £216m tie-up with supermarket WM Morrison in May. Ocado has been a longstanding favourite among shortsellers, who borrow shares in the hope that a company’s share price will fall. However, the [...]