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The G20 wants to stop climate change – but who on earth will pay for it?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

As if they hadn't got quite enough on their plates already, the finance ministers of the G20, meeting in St Andrews, have also set themselves the task of saving the planet. Strange, but true. Even the clever people at HM Treasury may be feeling the strain.

The Big Question: Is quantitative easing creating more problems than it is solving?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The lucky man of mining

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Pekka Pera knows he is a fortunate man. The chief executive of FTSE 250-listed Talvivaara Mining says that he "thanks his lucky stars" for the course of events that has propelled the company he founded and in which he still has a 23.3 per cent stake into the mining big league. And that is even before its one site in Finland goes into full production.

Life in the City: Closing down the fast lane

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It's controversial. It's on its way across the Atlantic. And the British Treasury minister Lord Myners doesn't like it. "It" is high-frequency trading, a catch-all term for the kinds of computer-generated trading that has driven a huge spike in the numbers of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange and other trading platforms in the US. Lord Myners says that companies risk becoming the "playthings" of speculators.

James Moore: Questions and answers on the bank shake-up

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:00:52 GMT

Q. So exactly how much more of our money are these banks taking?

How the bank sell-offs affect customers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:16:41 GMT

Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland today announced plans to sell a number of businesses to appease European Commission concerns about competition.

Retail's chance to shine again

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Tinsel and baubles have been on display for weeks, but the festive shopping season in London truly begins today when Jim Carrey, the Hollywood actor, turns on the Christmas lights ahead of the world premiere of A Christmas Carol.

Dolly Parton, Cliff and the new online travel site

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Having scooped a personal fortune of more than £130m when he floated Moneysupermarket.com in 2007, Simon Nixon has little to prove, save perhaps for honing his handicap on the golf course.

Darling & Kroes: Our banks’ future in their hands

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Alistair Darling discovered last week the cost of reducing his investment in Britain’s troubled banks. It means the Chancellor must increase his investment first.

So, the US is on the mend, they say – but what about the invisible cut-backs?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Here's a riddle: If a scientist or engineer is laid off, does it affect gross domestic product? America's third-quarter GDP figures, released last week, showed the economy growing at 3.5 per cent annually, breaking a string of four consecutive negative quarters.

The most powerful woman in Europe?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

She's the woman who is giving Britain's bankers sleepless nights. For the last couple of years Neelie Kroes has quietly waived many of her own rules to allow the EU's various member states to pump billions of Euros (and pounds) into their banking systems.

Simon Calver: The next big thing in movies

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

North Acton is an unlikely outpost for Hollywood. Yet in a West London business park, in headquarters filled with film memorabilia, Lovefilm is plotting its rise. A life-sized model of Indiana Jones cracks his whip next to the reception desk, while Kung Fu Panda aims a kick at visitors. The walls are plastered with stills and quotes from iconic movies from The Godfather to Jaws. The office is a vibrant reflection of an online DVD rental company that has leapt from 100,000 subscribers to more than a million in four years – one that hopes to more than double its customer base by 2014 and is set to launch an online service direct to television screens.

Cinema booms as Britons seek escape from reality

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Cineworld yesterday provided further evidence that the recession has only deepened the British public's love of the big screen. The listed operator of 77 cinemas in the UK and Republic of Ireland said that its box-office revenues – the number of admissions multiplied by prices – soared by 10.9 per cent over the 43 weeks to 22 October. This was despite it being up against a strong third quarter last year, when hordes of women were singing along to Abba songs in the blockbuster musical Mamma Mia!

Risky Business: Paul Wilmott on the financial sector and the economic crisis

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:07:16 GMT

Dr Paul Wilmott is interviewed by Stuart Simpson.

Germany tries again

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Is this a new beginning for Germany? She has already emerged from recession, well ahead of Britain, and in their recent elections Germans voted for a decisive break with the past, backing in record numbers the Free Democrats, the nearest thing that country has seen to a true Thatcherite movement – liberal-minded, business friendly and, above all, tax cutting. The FDP Leader, Guido Westerwelle, has been rewarded with the foreign ministry, and his party is well represented in cabinet: his colleague Rainer Brüderle has gone to the economy ministry. The balance of power in Germany politics has shifted.

Merger action shimmies into a size-zero outfit

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

When the league tables of mergers and acquisitions were published at the start of this month, they showed UK bid activity down 48 per cent compared with the first nine months of 2008. Then Xstrata called off its £40bn offer for mining rival Anglo America and the figures had to be recalculated. If you thought this was a thin year for takeovers, it just got skinny enough to get a job as one of Ralph Lauren's latest digitally enhanced supermodels.

Banks told if they won't cut bonuses, then ministers will

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

To the man on the street, plying his trade outside the bubble of the Square Mile, the numbers are staggering. Goldman Sachs, the investment bank bailed out by the US taxpayer last year, is set to pay its staff as much as $23bn (£14bn) in salaries and bonuses this year.

Not more regulation, more Responsibility

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

If there is to be real change in this country following the banking crisis, then it's imperative that the UK's big shareholders build a much closer relationship with the companies in which they invest. As one of the country's biggest investors, we at Hermes believe that this is fundamental to restoring the public's trust in the financial system and improving risk management within the banking sector. Shareholders had become remote and unaccountable – we need to become involved and socially responsible.

How Westfield won us over

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

When the Australian property giant, the Westfield Group, opened its shining, £1.7bn retail cathedral in Shepherd's Bush, West London, on 30 October 2008, its timing could not have been worse. Westfield London, spanning 43 acres and offering more than 280 shops, opened its doors in the teeth of the worst recession since the Second World War and just before a series of retailers, including Woolworths, started falling over like a pack of cards late last year.

The angry old lady of Threadneedle Street

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Like prime ministers, archbishops of Canterbury and popes, governors of the Bank of England can be split into two types: strong and weak.

Tom Alexander: Orange boss heads for pole

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

As Jenson Button was securing the Formula One world championship last weekend, it was hard for Tom Alexander not to feel a pang. Orange's chief executive is a racer at heart, who always saw a job in industry as a stop-gap. "I really identify with Jenson," he says. Both are Somerset lads with a thirst for speed, and both were crowned European karting champion.

Market Report: Land Secs climbs on hopes of recovery

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Hopes of a recovery in the London office market helped Land Securities stand out in an otherwise lacklustre market last night.

From 'hood to boardroom: Would you take career advice from George Bush and 50 Cent?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Get Motivated!" is plastered in large yellow letters at the top of a garishly-designed website. Below this powerful call to arms are various toothy mug shots of motivational speakers. They are all due to appear at a forthcoming seminar for businessmen in Fort Worth, Texas. A sports star here, a bestselling author there, and...hang on – didn't that guy used to be President?

Watchdogs tell hedge funds: we are on to your game

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

When the FBI arrested Raj Rajaratnam last week, a chill went down the spines of more than a few of his rival hedge fund managers. There but for the grace of the gods ...

Battered JJB back under the cosh

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

One of JJB Sports's biggest shareholders sold more than half of its shares in the troubled sporting equipment retailer yesterday before the result of its £100m fund-raising emerges next Thursday. Crystal Amber Fund said it had made a profit of 45.3 per cent on the share sale at 32.6p, and would take up its entitlement from the share placing.