Richard Fletcher



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Full name: Richard Fletcher

Area of interest: Companies

Journals/Organisation: The Daily Telegraph

Email: [mailto:richard.fletcher@telegraph.co.uk richard.fletcher@telegraph.co.uk]

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Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/richardfletcher

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Career: Sunday Times: City Editor; Daily Telegraph: Deputy City Editor, City editor

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Role: City editor

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Email: [mailto:richard.fletcher@telegraph.co.uk richard.fletcher@telegraph.co.uk]

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Articles: 2012
Selected articles
 * ONS figures show confidence is the key to UK growth - How much is confidence worth? Half a point of GDP, it seems, if the Office for National Statistics is anything to go by - 25th February
 * Andrew Bracey's departure from Ocado raises profit doubts - Few people know more about Ocado then Andrew Bracey. The former investment banker has been advising the retailer since its three founders quit Goldman Sachs and set-up Last Minute Solutions - a dotcom idea looking for a business - in the late 1990s - 24th January
 * Peacocks' wings have been clipped by many - No one emerges with much credit from the debacle that is Peacocks – the discount retailer that currently stands on the brink of collapse, putting 12,500 jobs at risk - 18th January
 * Mike Ashley's latest outburst fails to win people over - "A bunch of cry babies" – that was how Sports Direct International chief executive Mike Ashley described City investors in a typically robust outburst in 2007 - 11th January
 * Six ways to check out a retailer’s Christmas - They’ll be pored over by City analysts and scrutinised by beleaguered shareholders. The vast majority of retailers’ Christmas trading updates barely fill one side of A4 paper – yet they have the potential to wipe hundreds of millions of pounds off a retailer’s stock market value - 4th January



Articles: 2011
Selected articles
 * Investors pile in as Carpetright hits the floor - You didn't have to wait for Mary Portas to publish her 50-page review to understand just how tough it is for the UK's beleaguered retailers. The first page of Carpetright's interim results released at 7.00am spelt it out in black and white - 14th December
 * Ambitious Marc Bolland passes out of M&S bootcamp on to next round - It was never going to be easy. But 18 months into the job Marc Bolland is close to filling the shoes of his predecessor Sir Stuart Rose – despite wearing sober plain M&S socks, rather than Sir Stuart's favoured colourful silk Fogal numbers - 9th November
 * Can Merlin founder Sir Christopher Evans work his magic once again? - He is back. Professor Sir Christopher Evans, the entrepreneur credited by many with having helped create the UK bio-technology industry, is drawing up plans for his most ambitious venture to date - 26th October
 * Corporate buyers are on the prowl for bargains - Nick Buckles, chief executive of G4S, and his advisers were apparently caught off guard by Monday's 22pc slump in the security group's share price - 19th October
 * Ben Gordon's departure signals a radical rebirth for Mothercare - When Ben Gordon was parachuted into Mothercare in 2002 the maternity and babywear chain was in disarray: the shelves were empty, the brand damaged and the business was close to bankruptcy - 12th October
 * Is the tax trap closing on Amazon, eBay and Google? - How to Win Friends and Influence People is currently on sale at Amazon.co.uk. It can be yours for the bargain price of just £6.19 - 7th September
 * street landlords need to give a helping hand to struggling retailers'' - The Mothercare store in the Land Securities-owned Lewisham Shopping Centre closed in January. Five months later and the shop is still standing empty - 19th May
 * such a terrible year BP must salvage something from its Russian debacle'' - Same venue. Very different company. BP shareholders will return to London's ExCel Centre today for the troubled oil group's annual general meeting - 15th April
 * Fox on the run as HMV looks set to sound out investors for more cash'' - the chief executive of troubled HMV, has run out of excuses. There was no explanation to accompany Tuesday's profit warning, beyond a catch-all line that claimed "trading conditions have remained difficult" - 6th April
 * box maker is off the pace as non-disclosure gets poor reception'' - Tuesday's full-year results from set-top box maker Pace ran to more than 26 pages, included 1,100 paragraphs and totalled 6,992 words - 9th March
 * the brave investor will now bet against Rupert Murdoch getting his way'' - The political fight is over. Let the real battle now commence - 4th March
 * may benefit from spending cuts'' - With a 21pc increase in profits and a confident prediction that the group will meet analysts' targets this year, Christopher Hyman, chief executive of Serco Group, is refusing to stick to the sceptics' script. It wasn't supposed to be like this, of course - 4th March
 * boss may be barred over role in Farepak collapse'' - Sir Clive Thompson, a former president of the CBI, could be barred from being a company director following an investigation into the collapse of Farepak, the Christmas savings company - 16th February
 * Osborne needs to remember that if we keep bashing the banks then we endanger the recovery'' - It is hard not to be cynical about George Osborne's decision to increase the levy on bank balance sheets. After all, how often does a chancellor announce tax changes outside of the Budget? - 9th February
 * Osborne has 53bn reasons to ignore cries for revenge on the banks'' - What he leaves out of his speech on Saturday will be almost as important as what Sir John Vickers decides to put in - 22nd January
 * shareholders may be condemned if they fail to remember history'' - It is not hard to be bearish about Lloyds Banking Group. For starters there is the small matter of the Independent Banking Commission, set up by George Osborne in the first days of coalition Government - 19th January
 * investment: gone flat or a vintage idea?'' - It is the latest alternative investment: an asset class that offers investors double-digit returns and exposure to the fast-growing Chinese market - 12th January
 * a UK technology company we can be proud of'' - Those so quick to write off UK plc should sit up and take note. Today’s alliance with Microsoft has confirmed Cambridge-based Arm Holding’s position as a world beating technology company - 6th January 2011
 * profit warning: can it survive?'' - HMV and its beleaguered chief executive Simon Fox are fighting for survival following today’s warning that profits will fall at the lower end of expectations - 6th January



Selected articles: 2010

 * guessing games continue as it fails to plug the cost of its well disaster'' - BP hasn't exactly excelled at estimation during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In fact, one of its worst failures during the crisis was promising too much and delivering too little - 17th December
 * Simon Fox needs to have a good Christmas to ensure a happy new year'' - A year after arriving at HMV, Simon Fox dragged City investors and analysts to the Merry Hill shopping centre in Birmingham to show off his vision for the retailer - 11th December
 * dreams of gushing Falklands oil after Desire's flop'' - Nothing to see here folks. Move along please. That was the message from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday after a 49.5pc plunge in Desire Petroleum's share price - 7th December
 * the ABI wants to be top dog, it’ll have to put its own kennel in order'' - With the appointment of Jonathan Davis as its new terrier-in-chief, the Association of British Insurers hopes, no doubt, to reinforce its reputation as the nation's self-appointed corporate governance watchdog - 1st December
 * up is hard to do for Kesa Electricals'' - Knight Vinke was "keeping mum" on Wednesday as the activist investor added to its stake in Kesa Electricals, the owner of Comet - 25th November
 * iPad highlights the end of an era for Japan'' - Few products better illustrate Japan's demise as the electronics factory of the world than the Apple iPod and iPad - 24th November
 * Bolland prompts feeling of déjà vu at Marks and Spencer'' - The venue may have changed (as had the chief executive), but the message from Marks & Spencer's chief executive was anything but new - 10th November
 * Benckiser chief is sound bet for value at SSL'' - Some may feel Reckitt's chief executive, Bart Becht, has overpaid for the Durex and Scholl footwear maker, but Becht has already proved doubters wrong in the past - 3rd November
 * Osborne has made a start – now the hard work begins'' - So much for "reprofiling". In the run-up to yesterday's Comprehensive Spending Review we were told that the Chancellor was drawing up plans to "reprofile" the spending cuts – spreading the pain over an extra year - 21st October
 * of England's freeze on interest rate's conceals a cauldron of opinion'' - George Osborne and the CSR may be the headline act today but the warm up band – in the shape of the MPC's Minutes – will be of more than just passing interest to economists and traders - 20th October
 * gets a pasting from one analyst who really does 'get it''' - Mike Lynch, the chief executive of Autonomy, used to claim that City analysts simply didn't get it. With limited experience of software companies, he argued, the City scribblers struggled to get a grip on the complex £3.5bn business he had spent years building - 14th October
 * all the rage with investors now, but can SuperGroup stay in fashion?'' - Supergroup shares are proving to be almost as fashionable as the group’s ubiquitous Superdry T-shirts that have long been adorned by fashion-conscious 20-somethings – and (more recently) by not-so-fashionable 30-something dads - 6th October
 * pressed for time as it weighs up approach for rival stockbroker'' - It is easy to characterise Alex Snow as a City bruiser. At six feet seven inches he still looks like the Saxons second row forward he once was – despite having hung up his rugby boots a long, long time ago - 2nd October
 * has to reunite HSBC’s board as well as fix relations with shareholders'' - Oh to be a fly on the wall when the HSBC board meets in Shanghai today. No doubt at least a veneer of civility will be maintained in the boardroom – yet it is now patently clear that the bank's board is deeply split - 29th September
 * needs some action to prevent others following Wolseley offshore'' - "Britain is once again open for business", proclaimed George Osborne in his first major speech as Chancellor - 28th September
 * impressive form, punters should be cautious of backing Betfair'' - "They're under starter's orders … and they're off". It's five years since Betfair first lined up behind the tape – at least one false start later and the long awaited Flotation Hurdle has finally got under way - 22nd September
 * Tesco ready to risk expansion where others fear to trade'' - There are hundreds of international retailers in Shanghai and Beijing. But there is only one international retailer in Qinhuangdao, China’s largest coal port - 15th September
 * following in Woodford's footsteps'' - The ability of Cenkos to persuade Neil Woodford, Invesco Perpetual's star fund manager, to take significant stakes in a string of its Aim floats has long intrigued many in the City - 20th August
 * following in Woodford's footsteps'' - The ability of Cenkos to persuade Neil Woodford, Invesco Perpetual's star fund manager, to take significant stakes in a string of its Aim floats has long intrigued many in the City - 20th August
 * global tastes is the meat of Kloppers' 'compelling' potash bid'' - Compelling. That was how Marius Kloppers described his hostile bid for Potash Corporation on Wednesday - 19th August
 * least Mervyn King’s letter will contain some friendlier inflation arrows'' - Publicly, Mervyn King was playing it with a straight bat yesterday. His three-page letter to the Chancellor, explaining why inflation is still more than one percentage point above the Monetary Policy Committee's 2pc target, had something for everyone, with a discussion about the risks on the downside (lower growth) and upside (engrained inflation) - 18th August
 * mind a no deal, the numbers ensured Thiam's pardon (for now)'' - Tidjane Thiam was trying to build bridges yesterday - 13th August
 * Life chief sees 6,000 reasons for confidence about markets'' - Buy, buy, buy screamed the Standard Life's investment guru Keith Skeoch on Wednesday - 12th August
 * customers delaying their flights is another bad sign for the recovery'' - We all know that the weak pound has been good for the economy – although that doesn't make it any less painful when you realise how much those genuine French croissants cost in pounds - 11th August
 * of England's poor forecasts have rained down on the City for too long'' - It is not very hard to find a quote or forecast with which to embarrass Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor - 10th August
 * banks are right to learn the word 'no' when it comes to lending'' - Politicians have had the perfect excuse to indulge in a spot of bank-bashing over the past five days, with a high street bank reporting every day this week - 7th August
 * analysts contemplate heresy as Reckitt's Bart Becht faces test over SSL deal'' - It has been billed as a transformational deal. A "step change" for Reckitt Benckiser's global health and personal care business in the words of Bart Becht, the chief executive of the consumer and health care group - 4th August
 * Sachs' $550m fine no 'heavy price' if markets are anything to go by'' - Forget the tough talk from Robert Khuzami, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Friday's initial $7 rise in Goldman Sachs' share price speaks volumes - 17th July
 * more plot twists in the M&S soap opera, let's have a happy ending'' - It has been billed as an epic heavyweight battle. Righteous Marks & Spencer shareholders vs greedy management. After weeks of hype, shareholders and management will finally square up to each other at The Royal Festival Hall - 14th July
 * suppliers will have to share the pain as cuts bite'' - Despite a brief stint as a non-executive director of Asda in the 1990s, can Francis Maude really pull off a passable impersonation of retail billionaire Sir Philip Green? - 7th July
 * BP's oil leak is exposing the holes in the City's finest scribblers'' - Buy, buy, buy they have urged as the BP share price has plunged - 30th June
 * and Svanberg are compounding BP oil spill crisis rather than solving it'' - The public flogging is over – for now. No doubt BP's senior management will find themselves back in the stocks before too long - 19th June
 * Terry Leahy has sown the seeds for Tesco's international expansion'' - One of the first major decisions Sir Terry Leahy made as the newly appointed chief executive of Tesco was to pull the retailer out of France. The acquisition of Catteau – Tesco's first tentative overseas adventure – four years earlier was an unmitigated disaster - 9th June
 * Terry Leahy's lasting legacy to Tesco is its international ambition'' - How very, very Tesco. There was no fuss surrounding the announcement that Sir Terry Leahy was to stand down as chief executive of the supermarket chain. Just a brief stock exchange announcement that took everyone by surprise - 8th June
 * winning hearts and minds, BP's Tony Hayward is fighting to save his job'' - It is a fortnight since Tony Hayward, the beleaguered chief executive of BP, vowed to win over US "hearts and minds" amid increasing criticism of the oil giant's handling of the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico - 27th May 2010
 * winning hearts and minds, BP's Tony Hayward is fighting to save his job'' - It is a fortnight since Tony Hayward, the beleaguered chief executive of BP, vowed to win over US "hearts and minds" amid increasing criticism of the oil giant's handling of the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico - 26th May
 * of Mexico oil spill: Let's hope BP's Hayward won't regret his 'modest' prediction'' - Oh dear. The initial success of BP’s do-it-yourself siphon appears to have gone to Tony Hayward’s head - 19th May
 * Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs swings both ways'' - Goldman Sachs' trader Fabrice Tourre hasn't just given us those badly written "love letters" and a glimpse into the byzantine world of collateral debt obligations - 12th May
 * evolution is the mantra for Marc Bolland'' - Marc Bolland was at his desk by 7.30am on Tuesday. After six months of enforced gardening leave Marks & Spencer's new chief executive was obviously keen to get on with the job - 5th May
 * says the British don't make anything any more? Just look at the iPhone'' - First-quarter results from Arm on Tuesday revealed that in the first three months of the year a record 1.4bn microchips designed by the Cambridge-based company were shipped - 28th April
 * Plc reckons the worst is over and is investing to prove it'' - We will have to wait until Friday for the official decree on the health of the UK economy. But the verdict of a number of the UK's largest companies on Tuesday was unequivocal: the worst is now behind us - 22nd April
 * leading Northern Rock forgot the difference between right and wrong'' - Adam Applegarth, Northern Rock chief executive, was flying high in January 2007. The imminent relaxation of European capital requirement rules meant the former building society could finance even more of its mortgage book through the wholesale markets – rather than having to worry about attracting depositers to finance its lending - 14th April
 * election manifesto: forget soundbites, freezing benefits and tax credits would save billions'' - Gordon Brown offered up the usual mix of platitudes and soundbites on Monday as he unveiled the Labour Party manifesto in Birmingham - 13th April
 * 2010: Four simple tables will reveal the state of the UK economy'' - As he puts the finishing touches to what is likely to be his last ever Budget there is one thing that we should thank Alistair Darling for - 24th March
 * decade on and Nasdaq's dotcom darlings are still strutting their stuff'' - It is a exactly a decade since the dotcom bubble "officially" burst - 10th March
 * Norman may find managing City expectations is just as hard as reviving ITV'' - Archie Norman tried desperately to downplay the marked improvement in advertising revenues at ITV as he unveiled full-year results on Wednesday - 4th March
 * love affair with expensive credit appears as strong as ever'' - Provident Financial results make depressing reading. Not for shareholders (the group has actually fared surprisingly well in the recession), but for those of us who hoped we might have learnt some lessons from the credit binge and subsequent recession - 3rd March
 * speculators are on the money, the pound still has a long way to fall'' - Predictions that Labour could cling on to power come the general election spooked the markets - 2nd March
 * you shouldn't put your nest-egg in Anthony Bolton's China basket'' - 'Past performance is no guide to future returns', runs the disclaimer at the bottom of those adverts for ISAs. The Financial Services Authority has even produced a 61-page paper to prove that there is (at least a little) justification for the legal jargon - 24th February
 * way New Look tries to dress it up, the figures are revealing'' - At the height of the credit binge payment in kind (PIK) notes were a must have fashion accessory for any ambitious private equity-owned business - 3rd February
 * at Home may prove best in show against private equity’s mongrels'' - How much is that doggy in the window? An awful lot more than you would have guessed, it seems. That hound from the world of private equity, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, jumped out of its kennel yesterday to snaffle up Pets at Home for what looked like a rather toppy £955m. Most Crufts judges had expected the business to sell for £800m — tops - 28th January
 * growth adds to Bank's dilemma on quantitative easing'' - Well thank God that’s over – although I doubt that many will be cracking open the Cava (let alone the Champagne) on the back of yesterday’s anaemic GDP figures. While I’m loath to trample on green shoots, lets face it 0.1pc is hardly something to shout about - 27th January
 * handover would allow Daniels to salvage something of his reputation'' - It was a very different Eric Daniels who appeared before the Treasury Select Committee yesterday. The delivery may have been as jargon-laden and monotone as ever, but the formerly beleaguered chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group was on the front foot - 13th January
 * are in danger of tying us all up in supervisory knots'' - While David Cameron, promises business that a Conservative administration will cut red tape and introduce "better regulation", his shadow cabinet are busy making mischief and playing to the gallery - 6th January



Selected articles: 2009

 * provides a lesson on Accenture'' - I have to admit that Tiger Woods' close relationship with Accenture had passed me by until earlier this week – which is probably not great given that the management consultants spent a reported £12m a year sponsoring the golf star (and apparently millions more advertising the fact) - 17th December
 * pound raised by Darling's supertax will be a measure of its failure'' - It is rare that a Chancellor truly hopes that a new tax measure will fail to raise any significant revenue: but as Alistair Darling made clear last week, that is exactly what he hopes will happen with his 50pc levy on banks' bonus pools - 16th December
 * needs to move fast to secure Pennycook's services'' - It is less than a week since Marc Bolland announced that he was quitting as chief executive of Wm Morrison and joining rival retailer Marks & Spencer - 25th November
 * fair? I can think of 53.5bn reasons why RBS should be singled out'' - It is just not fair, whined Chris Kyle, chief financial officer of Royal Bank of Scotland's global banking and markets business. Banks have been unfairly singled out, he argued at a conference in Singapore yesterday, ahead of the publication of Sir David Walker's long-awaited report into corporate governance - 24th November
 * Salway must prove himself a match winner for Land Securities'' - A vote of confidence from the chairman is rarely a good thing for the beleaguered football team manager: so what should Francis Salway, the beleaguered chief executive of Land Securities make of recent statements from his chairman? - 18th November
 * questions for Shell executives'' - On rare occasions it is actually the small things that alert you to the fact that all is not right at a company - 11th November
 * on the Cadbury chairman as takeover battle starts for real'' - The phoney war is over. The gloves are off. After weeks of shadow boxing the battle for control of Dairy Milk-owner Cadbury turns serious this morning with the posting of a trading update from the chocolate and gum maker - 21st October
 * clearly has to look outside for a chief executive with the X factor'' - It was unofficially billed as the corporate equivalent of Britain's Got Talent – complete, of course, with a live webcast - 14th October
 * Pacman notes that are eating away at private equity's investments'' - Fancy borrowing £175m at 17pc a year? Don't worry, if you can't afford the interest, we can roll the payments up - 7th October
 * is looking bleak for private equity'' - 'The party is over. The model is broken. Private equity is dead.' Not the ramblings of some rabid trade unionist or overpaid City scribbler but the judgment of one of the industry's consummate deal makers over dinner last week - 27th September
 * Bond's commitment to Asda gives M&S a succession headache'' - The bookies are going to have to have to have a rethink. At 3-1 Andy Bond currently ranks as the front runner in the race to be the next chief executive of Marks & Spencer - 15th September
 * bulls are in a china shop as this fragile rally threatens to crash'' - The bulls took control again on Friday, propelling the FTSE 100 to a new 10-month high as we followed the US markets upwards. OK, volumes remain thin, but this rally is nevertheless developing some real momentum - 22nd August
 * Tinto's Tom Albanese will need all his stickability'' - Only the brave would have bet on Tom Albanese surviving as chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto following the collapse of its controversial deal with Chinalco, the Chinese state-owned metals group earlier this year - 21st August (see Mining: summary)
 * celebrated history must be remembered with a hefty premium'' - Godfrey Bradman and the then plain Stuart Lipton marked the completion of the Broadgate development on December 5 1991 with a firework display that rained confetti on the Queen and their assembled guests - 19th August
 * bashing bankers - we must all accept blame for the recession'' - Listen to those (not so) bright young things at Compass and you would be forgiven for thinking that it was bankers bonuses that sparked the global recession - 18th August
 * banks need their prophecies of recovery to be self-fulfilling'' - It has been a week of mixed messages from bankers, companies and economists about the state of UK plc – and the prospects, or not, of a swift recovery in fortunes - 8th August
 * boys behind the FTSE's rally now face a test of their nerve'' - The FTSE's retreat on Tuesday may have denied us a record-breaking 12th successive day of gains – but it failed to end this mini bull market run - 1st August
 * lending at 500pc APR is like defending the legalisation of heroin'' - Despite delivering a 3.5pc rise in profits, Tuesday's results from Provident Financial failed to impress either the market or children's charity Barnardo's. It is not often that a company manages to alienate traders and charity bosses on the same day - 29th July
 * is not playing political football, he's trying not to foul up like Brown'' - Angela Knight, chief cheerleader for our beleaguered banks, has joined those lining up to criticise George Osborne's financial white paper - 25th July
 * have got it right with their plan to abolish the FSA but new dangers lurk'' - George Osborne pulled few punches as he publicly confirmed plans to abolish the Financial Services Authority - 21st July
 * Stuart Rose's public spat is just the latest episode in the M&S soap opera'' - What is it about the Marks & Spencer boardroom that makes it such a dysfunctional place? The retailer's board is (yet again) split and as usual it's all being played out in public - 25th June
 * cautious about signs of recovery'' - Laurie McIlwee, Tesco's finance director, was desperately trying to stick to the international script on Tuesday - 17th June
 * M&S must scout for fresh talent'' - A few months after he arrived at Marks & Spencer, Stuart Rose told me he saw himself as the team coach, the "Arsene Wenger of Marks & Spencer" - 20th May
 * a wonderful thing for Sainsbury's'' - Justin King the "Tigger-like" chief executive of J Sainsbury was his usual upbeat self on Wednesday as he posted an 11pc rise in full-year profits - 14th May
 * must tackle issue behind cash call'' - It is less than a year since Helphire asked shareholders to hand over £45m. Yesterday the troubled insurer returned cap in hand, this time asking for another £50m - 10th April
 * dare not feel smug about Ireland'' - Some countries are sliding at breakneck speed into the abyss, others are dropping rather less quickly - 8th April
 * our banks to support failing businesses is not a good idea'' - The public whining by private equity group Change Capital Partners sticks in the throat – even if it has secured the future of troubled retailer Robert Dyas and with it 1,250 jobs - 7th April
 * deal shows sports retailing is not cricket'' - In June 2000 Dave Whelan, the founder of JJB, landed his helicopter in the grounds of the Cheshire mansion owned by rival retailer David Hughes - 26th March
 * fail with one gilt auction is unfortunate, two would be a disaster'' - Back in January, I warned that we should all be concerned about a damning report by MPs into the running of the Debt Management Office (DMO) - 26th March
 * lives on, but let's learn our lessons'' - The navel-gazing has begun. As the financial crisis deepens, even supposedly serious commentators are contemplating whether this global crisis could mark the end of capitalism - 21st March
 * for the Pru as boss bails out at top'' - Tidjane Thiam knows a thing or two about coups. It was a military coup in 1999 that brought to an abrupt end his stint as an Ivory Coast government minister - 20th March
 * Tinto boss Albanese is not doing enough compromising over Chinalco'' - Rio Tinto’s beleaguered chief executive Tom Albanese insists he is in listening mode. Amid mounting opposition to Rio’s $19.5bn (£13.8bn) deal with Chinalco, the company and its chief executive are sticking religiously to the line that they are “canvassing shareholder opinion” - 16th March
 * party comes to an end'' - At the height of the credit boom Babcock & Brown embarked on a global buying spree - 13th March
 * 100 shows Britain's not quite the service economy we all believe'' - With the quarterly reshuffle, the make-up of the FTSE 100 has again shifted (if only just a tad) - 12th March
 * The government must manage Lloyds in the interest of all shareholders - For beleaguered shareholders in Lloyds Banking Group the events of recent days have been a harsh lesson in what life is going to be like as a minority investor in the newly formed bank - 10th March
 * Even amid my Cheltenham optimism I fear for the FTSE - Alan Greenspan could have been talking about the Cheltenham faithful when he uttered that immortal phrase about "irrational exuberance" - 9th March



News & updates:

 * Daily Telegraph appoints Richard Fletcher as City editor - Richard Fletcher to take over editing of Telegraph's print business section, as Damien Reece gains new online role] - The Guardian, 17th September 2009



References:
