The lady with the power of heeling July 16, 2009 FOR more than a century, we have been heeling exceptional people,” says Olga Berluti, doyenne of the bespoke shoe business and maker of some of the most sought-after men’s footwear around. You sense she could mean “healing” too – she has an almost moral belief in the value fine shoes bring to her customers. For [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES RIKSBANK BORROWS €3BN FROM ECBThe European Central Bank (ECB) stepped in yesterday to help avert a Baltic financial crisis by lending €3bn (£2.6bn) to the central bank in Sweden, whose banks dominate the region’s financial sector. The ECB move signalled the Frankfurt institution’s willingness to shore up official European help for countries such [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 8, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES ARCELORMITTAL ATTEMPTS TO EASE DEBT BURDENArcelorMittal has started talks with its banks about making conditions for re-paying its $26bn (£16.2bn) of debt less onerous, in a bid to reduce financial pressure on the company as the global downturn continues. The world’s biggest steelmaker has taken this step as an insurance policy against its [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 8, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES ARCELORMITTAL ATTEMPTS TO EASE DEBT BURDENArcelorMittal has started talks with its banks about making conditions for re-paying its $26bn (£16.2bn) of debt less onerous, in a bid to reduce financial pressure on the company as the global downturn continues. The world’s biggest steelmaker has taken this step as an insurance policy against its [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 3, 2009 RWC PartnersThe asset manager has appointed Mike Corcell to its London office to launch a new UK long/short equity fund, expected to open in the third quarter of this year. Corcell joins RWC from SAC Investment Management, which he joined last year after a five-year stint at Threadneedle, where he launched and managed the $700m [...]
Fears of Baltic contagion are threatening krona’s health June 9, 2009 FOLLOWING Eastern Europe’s liberalisation in the early Nineties, the three Baltic states led the way in shifting towards an open market economy. They experienced stronger growth rates, lower unemployment and were more successful in bringing down inflation to manageable levels compared to the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. All three managed to peg their [...]
Recovery hopes are pushing smart traders towards metals contracts June 17, 2009 BELOW me, dozens of men in dark suits are standing in a ring, yelling at each other and making special hand signals. Around the ring clerks are sitting, often with a telephone held to each ear and giving a running commentary down the line on the events unfolding in front of them. In the cacophony [...]
Marston’s and GKN are next to raise cash June 18, 2009 THE WAVE of companies seeking to raise fresh capital from shareholders showed no sign of abating yesterday as engineer GKN and pub group Marston’s both announced rights issues. GKN aims to raise £423m, while Marston’s is asking the market for £176m. GKN’s 50p offer price represents a 39 per cent discount to Wednesday’s closing price. [...]
Clifford Chance loses top spot, but global reach means it will still flourish July 7, 2009 IT WAS never going to be a great result, but even so the news that partner profits at Clifford Chance were down a whopping 37 per cent in the year ending in April compared to the previous one revealed the once globe-conquering law firm to be uniquely exposed in the financial crisis. A reordering of [...]
Small car, big noise June 2, 2009 WHEN I covered the Geneva Motor Show back in early March, I said I wasn’t a fan of the shape of the new Polo. Now in its fifth generation, it looks like a new Golf from the front but with the Lupo attached to the rear. I just don’t get it. I want to get [...]