New look board behind the turnaround at RBS February 25, 2010 The Royal bank of Scotland chairman yesterday pinned the bank’s change in fortunes on the strength of its new board. Philip Hampton said the people who brought the institution to the brink of collapse have all been culled. The board, which has stemmed RBS’ losses at £3.6bn after it lost £24bn the year before, has [...]
Riesch ends Vonn dominance February 18, 2010 MARIA Riesch snatched women’s super-combined Olympic gold from the grasp of Lindsey Vonn – who promptly insisted she couldn’t be happier. Vonn and Riesch are a rare breed in international sport, close rivals who are even closer friends. Riesch was the first to congratulate Vonn following her sensational downhill victory and one day later the [...]
Vonn revels in golden dream February 17, 2010 ON a treacherous piste named Franz’s Run, American Lindsey Vonn summoned the daredevil spirit of the legendary Klammer to secure the Olympic women’s downhill title. Just a week ago Vonn, the dominant force in World Cup racing, announced in front of a packed media conference that a shin injury could have ended her Games before [...]
Pitman to take Virgin money chair January 26, 2010 FORMER Lloyds TSB chairman Sir Brian Pitman is expected to be named chairman of Virgin Money as early as today. Pitman, 78, will join chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia in planning Virgin’s assault on high street banking. He won widespread respect for his 18-year tenure at Lloyds and will be a heavyweight addition to the team.
Rosen unfazed by luge death February 15, 2010 BRITISH luge slider Adam Rosen insists he has no intention of quitting the sport following the tragic death of Georgia’s Nodar Kumaritashvili. Rosen nearly missed the Olympics after crashing during a training run at the controversial Whistler Sliding Centre track five months ago. But he recovered from his injuries, which included a dislocated hip, in [...]
City mourns Sir Brian Pitman March 11, 2010 SIR Brian Pitman, one of the most respected bankers of his generation, has died aged 78. Pitman, who was latterly chairman of Virgin Money, led Lloyds Bank for 18 years before retiring almost a decade ago. In his time as chief executive and then chairman of Lloyds, Pitman built the bank from a £1bn business [...]
CITY VIEWS: will the government’s push to drive smoking underground work? February 1, 2010 ADRIAN TURNER | PELDON ROSE “I think it’s a good thing, although I’ve never actually had anything against smokers. I think all the government’s measures against smoking are good in principle, but personally I think that banning it from pubs was a bad idea.” JAMES HOLMES | LLOYDS TSB “I’m trying to quit, so anything [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC March 3, 2010 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “The Bank should keep interest rates on hold and make no further changes to quantitative easing [QE]. The economy is growing again – the services sector PMI data was especially encouraging yesterday.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “Raise 25 basis points. The recovery is gaining momentum and emergency policy is no [...]
Virgin mulls free football March 16, 2010 VIRGIN Media is considering plans to give away Premier League matches for free as part of a package including its broadband, TV subscription and telephone services. It joins BT Vision, which is also considering offering top flight matches as part of its existing “bundle” deal, according to industry sources. If the firms go ahead it [...]
Rudman shows a ruthless streak February 8, 2010 OLYMPIC silver medallist Shelley Rudman has vowed to keep her friends close and her enemies even closer in a bid to ruin home favourite Melissa Hollingsworth’s Vancouver Games dream. Britain’s 28-year-old skeleton star pipped her great mate and rival to second spot in Turin four years ago but has struggled to overhaul her nemesis on [...]