The places in town not to be seen May 13, 2009 ARE you happy in your job? Of course you are. You are hardworking and – most importantly – loyal. But imagine if somebody did come along and try to headhunt you. You would be stupid not to agree to a meeting, just to have a chat and see how the land lies. A little bit [...]
Loss for Land Securities as sales mooted May 13, 2009 LAND Securities, Britain’s largest property company, reported a record £4.77bn loss yesterday, signalling the extent to which the UK property market has imploded. The firm saw the value of its investment portfolio plummet by 34.2 per cent to £7.93bn, amid what the company described as “unprecedented” market conditions. Chief executive Francis Salway said: “This has [...]
PETRA BEATS DIAMOND INDUSTRY BLUES May 13, 2009 A MAGNIFICENT blue diamond from Aim-listed Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan mine broke records at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva on Tuesday evening when it was sold for $9.5m (£6.3m), bucking the industry’s recent woes. The 7.03 carat diamond fetched the highest price per carat for any gemstone ever sold at auction, as well as a record [...]
Latin America boosts profits at Telefonica May 13, 2009 TELEFONICA yesterday revealed the benefits of its a long-time investment in still-booming Latin America. The emerging region helped drive forecast-beating first quarter profit at Europe’s largest telecoms company, offsetting weakness in its home market of Spain. Telefonica beat market expectations with a 9.8 per cent rise in net profit, as growth in Latin America– and [...]
Latin America boosts profits at Telefonica May 13, 2009 TELEFONICA yesterday revealed the benefits of its a long-time investment in still-booming Latin America. The emerging region helped drive forecast-beating first quarter profit at Europe’s largest telecoms company, offsetting weakness in its home market of Spain. Telefonica beat market expectations with a 9.8 per cent rise in net profit, as growth in Latin America– and [...]
The places in town not to be seen May 13, 2009 The Mercer34 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8AYDiscreet Seats: The counter at the bar-end of the room: only backs are visible and it would be almost impossible to hear what someone was ordering, let alone which bottle of vintage Bordeaux.Food and drink: Very solid new British cuisine, with everything sourced as locally as possible and an award-winning, [...]
FirstGroup hit by rail slump May 13, 2009 Transport giant FirstGroup said yesterday annual profits at its rail division fell 21 per cent due to the impact of the recession on its London franchises The group said the UK’s economic woes meant rail revenues growth slowed to 9.5 per cent in the year. Across the whole group, which has bus operations in the [...]
FirstGroup hit by rail slump May 13, 2009 Transport giant FirstGroup said yesterday annual profits at its rail division fell 21 per cent due to the impact of the recession on its London franchises The group said the UK’s economic woes meant rail revenues growth slowed to 9.5 per cent in the year. Across the whole group, which has bus operations in the [...]
Monica Ali’s Brick Lane follow-up never really reaches boiling point May 13, 2009 ALTHOUGH she published a book called Alentejo Clue in 2006, this is being seen as the follow-up to Ali’s much-trumpeted Brick Lane. Once again it tackles the prickly topic of immigrants in London, but this time the action centres round the unlikeable chef Gabriel Lightfoot who works at the Imperial Hotel (note the heavy whiff [...]
Monica Ali’s Brick Lane follow-up never really reaches boiling point May 13, 2009 ALTHOUGH she published a book called Alentejo Clue in 2006, this is being seen as the follow-up to Ali’s much-trumpeted Brick Lane. Once again it tackles the prickly topic of immigrants in London, but this time the action centres round the unlikeable chef Gabriel Lightfoot who works at the Imperial Hotel (note the heavy whiff [...]