HSBC’s spectacular boardroom row September 23, 2010 BIG companies need to get their PR in order. BP’s reaction to its oil spill was all over the place at first, with its CEO Tony Hayward repeatedly putting his foot in it; the Prudential failed to communicate adequately to the media and shareholders during its hopelessly mismanaged bid for AIA. Now, disappointingly, it is [...]
Chinese stake purchase boosts WPP’s expansion September 13, 2010 Advertising giant WPP yesterday announced that it has taken a majority stake in Chinese retail marketing consultancy DPI through one of its wholly owned subsidiary companies in the region G2. The company refused to say how much it was paying for the stake, but the move continues its investment in China which is currently WPP’s [...]
FOCUS ON: BRENTWOOD, ESSEX October 14, 2010 CREST BASE Price: From £183,000 This new development in the heart of Brentwood has both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for sale. The living area is open-plan and each flat also has a bathroom and a kitchen. Depending on the stage of construction, you can personalise various aspects of the internal finish. For commuters it is [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 31, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph MAUDE DEMANDS SERCO ANSWER Serco is to be ordered to explain to the government why it took the highly unusual step of writing to its leading suppliers to demand that they pay a blanket 2.5 per cent “cash rebate” on their work this year or risk losing future contracts. Serco, [...]
Yahoo on alert over £13bn bid October 14, 2010 STRUGGLING internet giant Yahoo is preparing itself for a possible $21bn (£13bn) takeover bid from a private equity-backed AOL. Yahoo has retained Goldman Sachs to advise it on a bid as market speculation reached fever pitch last night. Any deal would be one of the most significant in the online world in the last decade. [...]
ANALYST OF THE YEAR | The Shortlist day 4 September 2, 2010 ANALYSTS are the heart and soul of the City, and the five on our list are legends in their own sectors. Whether it is looking at the future of the energy industry, pontificating on the biggest M&As, or just looking at the movements of the markets in general, when the members of our shortlist talk, [...]
The banks want to lend: they just can’t find the businesses November 9, 2010 SENIOR politicians have repeatedly called on the banking sector to increase their lending to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). According to new ACCA/CBI research, however, they’ve got it the wrong way around: the banks are willing to lend but there are increasingly fewer and less credit-worthy businesses to lend to. WHERE ARE THE SMES? Discouraged [...]
Never trust UK economic statistics September 28, 2010 IT is becoming impossible to decipher what is happening to the economy, for one simple reason: the data is of terrible quality. Take yesterday’s revised second quarter GDP figures, unchanged at 1.2 per cent growth. But their composition has been completely revamped from when the first edition of the figures were released a few weeks [...]
Never trust UK economic statistics September 28, 2010 IT is becoming impossible to decipher what is happening to the economy, for one simple reason: the data is of terrible quality. Take yesterday’s revised second quarter GDP figures, unchanged at 1.2 per cent growth. But their composition has been completely revamped from when the first edition of the figures were released a few weeks [...]
Facebook couldn’t have been British October 18, 2010 IT is simply untrue that Britain doesn’t produce any wealth and job creating entrepreneurs any more. Take some of the stories in today’s City A.M.; they demonstrate that Britain retains a vibrant start-up and growth culture. Hugh Willis, 50, and Mark Poole, 49, who founded BlueBay in 2001, are today each £82m richer after they [...]