The Vickers Report got the causes of the crisis wrong: Its solutions are wrong too November 16, 2011 THE Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) misdiagnosed the causes of the banking crisis, and its prescriptions are therefore equally wrong. That is the blunt message of a report and briefing paper that Miles Saltiel and I are publishing today with the Adam Smith Institute. And yet – there is some merit in the idea of [...]
Commodities drag FTSE 100 down as euphoria wears off December 1, 2011 THE UK’s leading share index closed lower yesterday, led by weaker commodity prices, as earlier gains were reversed in tandem with a weaker showing on Wall Street as Wednesday’s boost from central bank intervention moves proved short-lived. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 16.08 points or 0.3 per cent at 5,489.34, just [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 23, 2011 Little Chef The roadside chain has appointed Graham Sims as its new chairman. Sims is currently chief executive of Qunatilis, a non-executive board member at the UK Border Agency, and chairman of Kensington Consultancy Group. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years at BP, rising from operations manager for Portugal to UK retail managing [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 17, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES AUCTION OF ICELAND FOODS BESET BY DELAYS The auction of Iceland Foods, the frozen food retailer, is facing unexpected delays, with second-round bids now not expected to be lodged until the new year. Work on second-round bids for Iceland Foods – put on the block in May by its majority Icelandic owners with [...]
Exchanging a career for entrepreneurial success December 11, 2011 DID anyone try to discourage you from starting the business? I ask Rupert Lee-Browne, the founder and chief executive of foreign exchange company Caxton FX. “No,” he says resolutely. “Well, they probably did, but I wouldn’t have listened,” he laughs. Lee-Browne, who describes himself as a “rubbish worker,” always had “an itch” to start something [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GRAFF PLANS $1BN HONG KONG IPO Graff Diamonds, retailer of some of the world’s most expensive jewellery, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise $1bn and value the company’s equity at about $5bn. The London-based company, known for high-end jewellery items such as 100-carat diamond tiaras, is raising capital [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GRAFF PLANS $1BN HONG KONG IPO Graff Diamonds, retailer of some of the world’s most expensive jewellery, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise $1bn and value the company’s equity at about $5bn. The London-based company, known for high-end jewellery items such as 100-carat diamond tiaras, is raising capital [...]
FTSE weak as investors eye G20 November 3, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked falls in Asia as leaders of the world’s biggest economies gathered in France for a G20 summit set to be dominated by the threat of Greece falling out of the Eurozone. The leaders of France and Germany, angered at Greece’s shock move to call a referendum on its latest bail-out plan [...]
FTSE weak as investors eye G20 November 3, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked falls in Asia as leaders of the world’s biggest economies gathered in France for a G20 summit set to be dominated by the threat of Greece falling out of the Eurozone. The leaders of France and Germany, angered at Greece’s shock move to call a referendum on its latest bail-out plan [...]
Debenhams eyeing web sales growth September 18, 2011 DEBENHAMS will issue its first results under new boss Michael Sharp tomorrow with an added emphasis expected to be placed on online growth. The figures for the fourth quarter come as UK retailers face headwinds as household budgets are squeezed. Analysts are expecting the chain to focus on its international growth – particularly at its [...]