Sunday, 25 January 2009


RBS to purge directors in big shake-up

the Royal Bank of Scotland

The clear-out comes as RBS is preparing to place £50 billion to £100 billion of loans into the government’s new bank-insurance scheme

Madoff’s UK investors set to sue

Financier Bernard Madoff leaves U.S. District Court in Manhattan after a bail hearing in New York.

UK investors are planning legal action against banks over advice received before the Bernard Madoff investment scandal

The government to probe bank auditors

The government was under pressure last night to investigate the role of auditors in the collapse of British banks

Cineworld focuses on 3D screen deal

The chain is set to sign an agreement with NEC to double the number of digital screens it runs to 148

Corus to axe 3,500 jobs as crash hits steelmakers

The cuts are likely to overshadow this week’s announcement by Lord Mandelson of aid for the car industry

THIS WEEK'S WINNERS AND LOSERS

UK BUSINESS NEWS

SURFERS RIDE THE BIGGEST SEVERN BORE

Severn Barrage plans revealed

Ed Miliband will unveil five proposals tomorrow for the tidal scheme that could become the country’s biggest source of renewable energy

Rates must head down to zero, says MPC member

David Blanchflower believes UK interest rates should "obviously" head down to America’s near-zero level

Firms chase more capital

Premises provider Workspace is among a slew of companies preparing to tap the markets for additional capital in the coming weeks

Ross set for return to Big Yellow board

David Ross is expected to return to the board of the self-storage company after resigning for mortgaging his shares in several companies

Dartmouth College Professor of Economics, David Blanchflower

TIMES RECOMMENDS

The Bank's professor who got his sums right

Danny Blanchflower saw the recession coming a year ago

WORLD BUSINESS NEWS

A Ladbrokes betting shop

Ladbrokes bets on a stake Down Under

Ladbrokes plans to break into the lucrative Australian market by bidding for a monopoly licence to run betting in the state of Victoria

O’Reilly plots website sale

Sir Anthony O’Reilly’s Independent publishing empire is preparing a series of disposals as concern mounts over its debt burden

Shell profits mark end of oil price boom

Shell will leave no doubt that the golden age of the oil industry has ended when it reveals possibly the largest profit ever in Europe

JJB to sell off Ronnie's air force

he sportswear chain has already agreed to sell one of its Agusta 109 helicopters to a Middle Eastern buyer for £4m

TIMES ARCHIVE, 1980 

ANALYSIS

John Waples

Barclays crisis an issue of credibility

The blunt truth is that Barclays has a credibility issue; the City does not believe it has owned up to the scale of its problems

david smith

Britain is not Iceland. Is EU the next Japan?

If there was a currency I would be worried about at the moment, however, it would be the euro

John Thain is neither hero nor villain

John Thain was brought in to makeover Merrill. He appears to have taken the task too literally. But it was his predecessors who wrecked the house

PROPERTY

MONEY  

Bank charges claims delayed again

The waiver that allows banks to freeze compensation claims has been extended for another six months

One law for taxman, another for taxpayers

Revenue will pay zero interest on overpaid tax, but charge 3.5 per cent on any tax due

Q&A - Britannia and Co-op merger

We explain what the new "super-mutual" means for its members

BUYING AT AUCTION

Auction hammer

10 bargain properties at auction

Our pick of houses going under the hammer

Paris Hilton leaving Chipotle Mexican Grill

TIMES RECOMMENDS

Fastest burrito in West comes to UK

Chipotle has boomed with a new twist on Mexican food

BUSINESS TRAVEL  

Tina Jesson of homestagers.co.uk

Profile: House dresser Tina Jesson

How the property slump has affected the business travel of a company which makes empty houses more appealing for potential buyers

Why do business hotel restaurants and bars have to be so grim?

Hoteliers should design their food and drink outlets to make them part of the fabric of the local community

British Airways to offer in-flight text and data on new all-business services

Passengers on services from London City to New York JFK will be able to use mobiles, Blackberries and data-enabled laptops

BUSINESS GADGETS

Apple MacBook 13.3

Apple MacBook

The latest review: Apple has pimped its entry level model with an aluminium case

BANKS IN CRISIS

LAW 

Simon Davies, who takes over as managing partner of Linklaters, the

Linklaters to axe partners in radical shake-up

The 'magic circle' giant becomes the latest major law firm casualty of the downturn as it looks to cut up to 70 partners