Change of tune at EMI
EMI Music's chief executive has shocked the market by quitting weeks before the group was due to draw up a growth plan critical to its future. The beleaguered music label has appointed the former ITV chief executive Charles Allen to replace him.
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 The Icelandic toy story
Even being bombed five times during the Blitz didn't stop staff keeping Hamleys' store on London's Regent Street open throughout the Second World War. They just donned tin hats.
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 The disappearing mutuals
Another mutual looks set to bite the dust with the announcement of merger talks between Coventry, the UK's third largest building society, and its smaller rival, the Stroud & Swindon. The confirmation of merger discussions comes just weeks after the Chesham was swallowed by the much larger Skipton in a deal that didn't look far off a rescue, although the two sides insisted that this wasn't the case.
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 The Pru looks East
According to insiders at Prudential, Tidjane Thiam, the chief executive of the insurer ? which said last week that it was bidding $35.5bn (£23.6bn) to buy AIG's Asian insurance business ? is a firm believer in emotion over analysis.
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 We can learn some lessons from George Bailey's morality tale
Much as the British are treated to The Sound of Music on television every Christmas, we Americans get It's a Wonderful Life. It stars the American icon and all-round good guy Jimmy Stewart playing George Bailey, a dedicated, honest banker. George's bank faces a run based on a rumour ? spread by the movie's bad guy ? that his bank is insolvent.
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 'Double act' aims to dish up speedy profits at Selfridges' new eaterie
Achef who started his own business less than two years ago will tomorrow become the first outsider in Selfridges' 100-year history to open a restaurant in its flagship Oxford Street store. Ewan Venters, Selfridges food and catering director, says: "There are many fantastic British chefs, but Mark Hix represents the very best of British chef talent. It was a quite straightforward decision. We simply did not consider offering it to anyone else."
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 
Advertising Armageddon is averted, but recovery is elusive
Don Draper, the dapper advertising executive, outlined his views in the first season of acclaimed TV show Mad Men. "Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. You know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is OK."
Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Is British industry the new financial services?
Manufacturing has long been the poor relation of the British economy, often characterised as a sector in inexorable decline, overshadowed by the booming modernity of super-sexy high finance. But in the wake of the collapse of the banks, politicians from across the spectrum are turning back to making things, in an effort to "re-balance" the British economy. And to coincide with "Manufacturing Week", business is laying out what is needed to turn the rhetoric into reality.
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Fear and loathing as the hedge funds take on the euro
Fears of a hedge fund "conspiracy" to destroy the euro gathered pace yesterday when the American authorities ordered some funds not to destroy records of their trading in the single currency. The move comes after the US Federal Reserve promised to probe claims that the use of credit derivatives by Goldman Sachs had, ironically, helped Greece enter the eurozone a decade ago. Although the latest Greek austerity plan helped to calm markets and nudged the euro higher against the dollar, traders warned that the euro's traumas were far from over. Indeed, it seems that the EU and the hedge funds are about to intensify their economic warfare, with the opening of a new front in America.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Victor Chandler: Pick up a few tips from the king of the bookies
If bookmaking is becoming a less colourful industry, Victor Chandler is doing his best to redress the balance. How many modern bosses would host an interview over a game of poker? Many of Chandler's rivals will say that they don't even bet, or show a marked reluctance to talk about it. It's almost a point of pride with them.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Electric dreams: hybrids hog the limelight at Geneva show
As if recession was but a distant memory, the Geneva Motor Show began yesterday with a flurry of glitzy launches overwhelmingly dominated by green technology. Everyone who is anyone in the world of cars is showing off their hybrids ? be they electric motors boosting a petrol engine, petrol engines extending the range of electric batteries, or any manner of gradations in between.
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Marks & Spencer sets out its sustainable stall
Customer / employer initiatives Green engagement
The high-street bellwether wants customers to engage with its Plan A through a
competition. "Your Green Idea" encourages shoppers to submit ideas
for environmental change and offers a £100,000 prize for the winner.
Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Conservative cuts? The possible candidates for the chop
Every few seconds, the shadow chancellor's pale face turned to his notes,
occasionally a forced smile emerging from his lips. George Osborne does not
possess the slick presentation skills of David Cameron, his political
master, but he did impress at last week's Mais Lecture, the annual City
institution.
Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Tailor-made to take fashion into the 21st century
As the last models strutted off the London Fashion Week catwalks, Somerset House launched into London Fashion Weekend, a shopping showcase in which the public can snap up designs that have been on display over the past seven days.
Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 House prices driven lower for the first time in almost a year
The 1 per cent fall in house prices recorded by the Nationwide in February brings to an end the 10-month-long trend that left house prices in 2009 some 5.9 per cent higher than they were at the beginning of the year. Bad news for homeowners; better for the first-time buyers who remain locked out of the market by still-high valuations and picky lenders. Things may be about to get a little easier for them.
Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 David Brennan: Selling pharma's bitter pills
David Brennan is a man with many demands on his time. Not only is he chief executive of AstraZeneca, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, but the group he leads, and the industry he is part of, faces some of its biggest challenges for a generation.
Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Toyota boss prepares for rough ride
We acknowledge our mistakes, we apologise for them and we have learnt from them. This is the full-throated "sorry" that Akio Toyoda will deliver today, when the Toyota president appears before a baying Congressional committee.
Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 So when will Britain's foreign investors return?
The list was impressive. The Prime Minister; Business Secretary Lord Mandelson; bosses from Ford, Hitachi, Bombardier, China Merchants Bank, Burberry, Lockheed Martin, Daimler and the Italian defence group Finmeccanica; and hundreds of other world business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs, including the inventor of the iPod.
Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 End of car scrappage schemes marks a tough year for manufacturers
One year after a global rescue by taxpayers, the crisis in the world's car industry is far from over. Toyota, the world's largest car-maker, is overhauling the brakes on all its cars; Daimler scrapped its dividend last week after a ?2.6bn loss; General Motors is demanding ?2.7bn in subsidies from European countries to save its Opel-Vauxhall operations; France's two key car manufacturers, Renault and Peugeot, lost nearly ?5bn in 2009 with tough times ahead as scrappage schemes disappear.
Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 Square Mile's gamekeeper prepares to turn poacher
Ask most City folk for their views on regulators and you'll most likely find yourself on the end of a raft of expletives and invective. But one regulatory body has proved the exception to the rule. The Takeover Panel enjoys an enviable reputation in the Square Mile and beyond.
Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:01 +0000 
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