Next IMF boss shouldn’t be European May 20, 2011 FAR too much time and energy is being wasted on trying to work out who the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) new boss will be. The truth is that it is unlikely to matter that much: the individuals entrusted with the running of large transnational bureaucracies almost invariably find it impossible to break away from the [...]
Wolseley says it will restart its dividend March 29, 2011 Wolseley, the world’s largest plumbing and building merchant, yesterday showed it was confident of growing in patchy construction markets by reinstating its payout to shareholders. The company said although markets have broadly stabilised it faced fragile economies in several regions and pressure from competitors to cut prices. “The group expects to continue to grow in [...]
Next IMF boss shouldn’t be European May 19, 2011 FAR too much time and energy is being wasted on trying to work out who the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) new boss will be. The truth is that it is unlikely to matter that much: the individuals entrusted with the running of large transnational bureaucracies almost invariably find it impossible to break away from the [...]
Rush to avoid hike in stamp duty March 20, 2011 Millionaires in London are scrambling to snap up properties before the rise in stamp duty, according to the latest Rightmove house price index released today. Across the whole market in the capital, asking prices were down 1.5 per cent in March on the previous month – yet are still up 3.8 per across the quarter [...]
Making your kitchen fit for a master chef June 2, 2011 THERE’S barely a TV minute, or channel flick that goes by these days without a celebrity chef whipping up an organic feast or gastronomic delight amid seductive lighting and a designer kitchen. Then there’s Masterchef, which has thrilled millions with its X Factor style drama. They’ve collectively inspired a nation of amateur culinary enthusiasts, and [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 30, 2011 RANDGOLD RESOURCES Societe Generale has started covering the miner with a “sell” rating and a 12-month target price of £34. The broker thinks Randgold is facing a host of operational, political, fiscal and macroeconomic headwinds. It believes that the firm’s expansion at some of its mines is likely to be delayed further by political instability, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 30, 2011 RANDGOLD RESOURCES Societe Generale has started covering the miner with a “sell” rating and a 12-month target price of £34. The broker thinks Randgold is facing a host of operational, political, fiscal and macroeconomic headwinds. It believes that the firm’s expansion at some of its mines is likely to be delayed further by political instability, [...]
SHOCK DEBT RISE FUELS EURO FEARS April 26, 2011 As Mario Draghi emerges as ECB president frontrunner… BANK of Italy governor Mario Draghi looks set to take the helm of the European Central Bank after Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday voiced French support for his appointment. The news of Draghi’s (pictured) likely appointment as a successor to Jean-Claude Trichet, who steps down in October, comes at [...]
SOTHEBY’S PAINTS A ROSY PICTURE February 28, 2011 Art-lovers and investors flocked to Sotheby’s in the last three months of the year, helping the New York-listed auction house post a 31 per cent rise in net income to $96.2m (£59.1m) on the back of a 46 per cent rise in revenue to $318m. The world’s largest listed auctioneer sold Picasso’s La Lecture (pictured) [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 4, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UNITED ANGER AT EU CARBON RULE The European Union’s plan to pull almost every leading airline into its scheme to limited carbon emissions is so “beyond the pale”, that a foreign government is certain to challenge it, according to the head of the world’s largest airline by passenger traffic, the newly merged United [...]