The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from June 2004

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from June 2004

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 1, 2004... Jun. 1--ECKOH MAKES ALL THE RIGHT NOISES: Voice recognition specialist Eckoh Technologies, which will next month begin delivering a speech-enabled share price service for the London Stock Exchange, reduced pre-tax loss to UKpound 1.1 million...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 1--PRICE LOOKS THE KEY NOW AT M&S STUART: Rose has always wanted the chief executive's job at Marks & Spencer but he surely cannot have foreseen it would be the threat of a bid from one of his best friends,...

Australian Firm Woodside Petroleum to Go Ahead with African Oilfield.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jun. 1--Australia's Woodside Petroleum is to go ahead with the development of the Chinguetti oil field off the coast of Mauritania with British partners BG Group and Premier Oil. The Chinguetti project is the...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
June 1, 2004... Jun. 1--EASYJET BOASTS it booked all 108 passengers on a flight to Prague through its new "self-check-in kiosks". The budget airline plans to do away with check-in desks. Fine -- but just one thing: an easyJet Boeing 737 carries 149 passengers....

European Investigators Take Peep at France's Internet Whiz-Kid.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman Jun. 1--Xavier Niel, the long-haired, jean-clad "Tom Thumb" of the French internet and one of Europe's richest thirtysomethings, must rue the day in January he uttered the words: "I don't have any problems, either...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jun. 1--With the latest Harry Potter film, the Prisoner of Azkaban just out, the City is hoping for magical things from model-railway maker Hornby when it reports full-year figures on Friday. Hornby's licensed...

Oil Prices Surge Again after Saudi Attack by Militants.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Jun. 1--World oil prices soared today following the weekend attack by Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia that left 22 people dead. Fears of further Middle East unrest drove US crude futures 62 cents higher to $40.50...

New 'Dream Team' to Fight Takeover at U.K. Retail Giant Marks & Spencer.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jun. 1--The City is bracing itself for one of the fiercest takeover battles in years after last night's dramatic sacking of Marks & Spencer chief executive Roger Holmes and the parachuting in of ex-Arcadia boss Stuart...

Hong Kong Telecommunications Giant Denies Plans to Quit British Market.
June 1, 2004... Jun. 1--Ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa denies it is having second thoughts about the UK market and is seeking to emphasise its commitment to a 3G future by dropping the Orange brand for its Hong Kong mobile services in favour...

Upmarket U.K. Fashion Retailer Aims to Grow As Sales Soar in First Quarter.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jun. 1--Sales are surging at Hobbs, the upmarket fashion retailer bought out by its management team in a UKpound 30 million deal just over a year ago. Managing director Nick Samuel said operating profits are...

Manufacturing Recovery Stirs U.K. Interest-Rate Fears.
June 1, 2004... Jun. 1--Speculation that the Bank of England will lift interest rates next week was fuelled today by news that manufacturing recovery stepped up in May. The CIPS/Reuters purchasing managers' report, regarded as a key barometer of the sector,...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Mickey CLARK Jun. 1--City speculation was hotting up in Marks & Spencer today with the price adding a further 1 pence to a two-year high of 36012 pence as a total of 15 million shares changed hands. Brokers say the sackings of...

U.K. Consumers May See Cheaper Mobile Calls After Watchdog Pounces.
June 1, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Jun. 1--Cheaper calls to mobile phones are finally on the cards from September after Britain's big four mobile phone operators lost their six-year battle with regulators. New telecoms watchdog, the Office of...

Ryanair Fires First Shots As Oil Rises Herald Price War.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jun. 1--Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary is looking to deliver a knockout blow to the group's low-cost rivals by next summer with in-flight entertainment via TV screens in the backs of seats. He is in talks with...

Tycoon Remains Keen on U.K. Retail Giant Marks & Spencer But Has Questions.
June 1, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jun. 1--The UKpound 10 billion of financing for the Marks & Spencer bid is now virtually all in place, with tycoon Philip Green understood to be prepared to put up as much as UKpound 1 billion of his UKpound 3.6 billion...

New Chief of UK Food Maker Reshapes Firm.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--The new boss of troubled ready meals group Northern Foods today declared a major shake-up at the business, which has issued three profit warnings in the past two years. Pat O'Driscoll, who became chief executive two months ago, is...

Head of British Football Team Discusses Future Plans with American Tycoon.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Thomson Jun. 2--Manchester United chief executive David Gill has held new secret talks with American sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer. Gill met Glazer in America at the weekend and the news will prompt fresh speculation about...

After the Great Gold Rush, the Sell-Off Gathers Pace.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Jun. 2--Gold was in big demand during the first three months of this year, despite a sharp increase in its price triggered by the sliding dollar. Figures today from the World Gold Council show consumer demand for...

New Marks & Spencer 'Dream Team' to Fight Takeover.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--The City is bracing itself for one of the fiercest takeover battles in years after last night's dramatic sacking of Marks & Spencer chief executive Roger Holmes and the parachuting in of ex-Arcadia boss Stuart Rose as his replacement....

Discount UK Clothing Retailer Peacock Buys Fragrance Shop Chain.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--Discount clothing retailer Peacock is moving into the perfumes market with the acquisition of the 29-store The Fragrance Shop in a deal worth just over UKpound 16 million. News of the acquisition came as Peacock unveiled a 60...

Executives at British Rail Engineering Firm Get Six-Figure Bonuses.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 2--Network Rail's senior executives are to get six-figure bonuses despite the company making a UKpound 758 million loss last year and failing to hit targets for train punctuality. Chief executive John Armitt...

UK Retailer Marks & Spencer Wins Go-Ahead for Headquarters Redevelopment.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jun. 2--Embattled Marks & Spencer has won planning permission to develop its historic Baker Street headquarters, paving the way for an ambitious UKpound 125 million scheme. The scheme, likely to be worth as much as...

Finance Chief Is Out as Anglian Water Group Bores On.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--New AWG chief executive Jonson Cox's drive to get back to basics at the former Anglian Water business will begin without a finance director. Cox, who today revealed his outlook for the business, said Elliott Mannis would be leaving...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jun. 2--NEW OIL FIND IN INDIA DOES THE TRICK FOR CAIRN ENERGY: Another day, another encouraging oil find for Cairn Energy in India. The company has just completed a successful drilling report at its appraisal well in...

Oil Reaches Another New High on Saudi Arabian Worries.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--World oil prices struck new highs today amid worries that sabotage against Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure could destabilise the world's biggest crude exporter, writes Jane Padgham. US crude futures rose as far as $42.45 a...

Rift Looms as OPEC Gets Set to Lift Output.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--OPEC is set to raise its output quota to its highest for more than three years tomorrow as oil ministers meet in Beirut for the cartel's most important decision in recent memory. Analysts believe formal production limits could be...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--EMAIL LINKS CHENEY TO IRAQ CONTRACTS: US vice President Dick Cheney was today linked to lucrative military contracts awarded to Halliburton, the company he led before the last US election. Cheney has claimed he had "no contact" with...

British Chancellor Makes Personal Plea to OPEC to Stem Oil Price Rises.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Jason Beattie Jun. 2--Gordon Brown was today making a personal appeal to OPEC nations as oil prices continued to surge to record levels. Aides said the Chancellor was "hitting the phones" in a personal appeal to persuade the...

Target-Beating Cable & Wireless Restores Dividend.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--CABLE & Wireless took a huge step towards to restoring confidence in its turnaround plan today by restarting dividend payments and beating its full-year profit targets. Shareholders will pick up a 3.15p per share annual dividend,...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 2--DANGER IN THE DERIVATIVES BOOM: One of the less widely noticed statistics to emerge recently from the Inland Revenue is that the tax raised from stamp duty on securities is running at something like half the...

UK Air Fares to Take Off After Years of Cuts.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Prynn Jun. 2--Price wars between no-frills airlines have slashed the cost of flights by up to 80 per cent in the past decade, new figures show today. However, experts predict the low prices are unsustainable -- and...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--SPOOKY by half is the career of Stuart Rose, the new man at Marks & Spencer. He joins M&S, leaves, then returns. He joins Arcadia, leaves, then returns. In the case of the latter, a boardroom coup brought him back after he'd been...

China's Harbin Brewery Soars on Hopes of New Bid From SABMiller.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jun. 2--Shares in China's Harbin Brewery jumped nearly 16 percent today in Hong Kong in anticipation of a costly bidding war between SABMiller and American giant Anheuser-Busch for the company -- the first by foreigners...

Britain's Household Debt Mountain Is Set to Top UKpound 1 Trillion.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Jun. 2--Britain's household debt mountain is set to smash through the UKpound 1 trillion mark within days following news that mortgage lending grew at a record pace in April. In official figures that will fuel...

Poll Revolt Saves Insurance Broker's UK Call Centre.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 2--Most consumers think companies such as the Prudential, Aviva, Lloyds TSB and Abbey, who move their call centres offshore, are more interested in profits than customer service. Just 2 percent of those polled...

UK's Network Rail Faces Outcry Over Bonuses, Losses and Late Trains.
June 2, 2004... Jun. 2--Network Rail's chief executive has been awarded a six-figure bonus despite the company making a huge loss of UKpound 758 million last year and failing to hit targets for train punctuality. Chief executive John Armitt will be paid a...

Senior Tories in Talks to Defect, Claims U.K. Party.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Jason Beattie Jun. 2--The United Kingdom Independence Party said today it was holding talks with senior Conservative politicians about switching allegiances as a poll placed it ahead of Labour in the capital. The survey found...

Immigrant-Chefs Blitz Is 'Crippling Chinatown,' Say U.K. Restaurant Managers.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Rob McNeil Jun. 2--An immigration crackdown which has led to hundreds of kitchen staff being fired is crippling the Chinese restaurant trade, managers claim. Turnover in Chinatown restaurants has fallen by 20 per cent in just...

U.K. Millionaire Says Pet Political Party Is 'Now in Big League'.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Waugh Jun. 2--The millionaire bankrolling the UK Independence Party today said it was "now in the big league" as he revealed more than UKpound 2 million had been spent on the Euro elections. Alan Bown, a Kent-based...

London Mayoral Candidate Clashes with Rival Over Link with Rail Firm Jarvis.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Ross Lydall Jun. 2--Steve Norris has clashed angrily with one of his mayoral rivals over his links to controversial rail firm Jarvis. In one of the first real flashpoints of the campaign, the Conservative candidate crossed...

Life Is Finally Beach for Sacked U.K. Sports, Leisure Executive.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Wayne Veysey Jun. 2--Claudio Ranieri will conceal his disappointment at being sacked by Chelsea by heading for a holiday. Ranieri says he is looking forward to watching the European Championship on television but his main...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--FORD FACES UKPOUND 66 MILLION DAMAGES AWARD: A jury in San Diego has ordered Ford to pay at least $122 million (UKpound 66.3 million) in damages to a woman left partly paralysed after her Ford Explorer rolled in an accident. It awarded...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--A fascinating insight into the mind of Bank of England Governor Mervyn King comes from a radio programme due to be aired in New York on Sunday. On the show, "Mad About Music," on WNYC (people here can log on to wnyc.org in the...

Eisner Ducks Issue of Successor at Disney.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jun. 3--Embattled Walt Disney boss Michael Eisner dodged a question about whether Mel Karmazin, who is stepping down as president of Viacom and has been mentioned as possible successor to Eisner, could "fit in" at...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 3--WHY ANOTHER RATE RISE IS TOO RISKY: The boss of one of our leading building societies told me last week he thought the housing market had turned. His is one of those societies that still has a substantial...

Oil Creeps Above $40 as OPEC Argues Over Output.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Jun. 3--World oil prices were back above $40 a barrel today as OPEC ministers gathered in Beirut to hammer out an agreement to boost production in a bid to lower the soaring price of crude. US crude futures climbed...

U.S. Clings to Oil Reserves Despite Skyrocketing Prices.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jun. 3--The US government may be unrelenting in its call for OPEC to loosen the pumps and bring oil prices under control, but it has been more than happy to pay 13-year highs to boost its own strategic reserves. ...

Canadian Property Investor Buys 6.3 Million Shares in London's Canary Wharf.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--Canadian property investor Brascan has upped its stake in Canary Wharf to 19.6 percent after buying another 6.3 million shares this week. Brascan and Canary Wharf founder Paul Reichmann, who owns 9 percent of the shares, failed to...

Former WorldCom Chief Begs for Trial Delay.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers has asked for several months delay in his trial on charges of securities fraud and conspiracy, saying he needs more time to prepare his defence. Ebbers is accused of lying to regulators over the...

Looking Back, Impact of Olympics on Sydney's Economy Fairly Modest.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jun. 3--Eleven years ago, as Sydney struggled to sell itself to the IOC as the best venue for the 2000 Olympic Games, seldom a day went by without a new promise that the Games would bring untold riches. With the city...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst Column.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Chris Blackhurst Jun. 3--For a man who can talk the hind legs off a donkey and is a billionaire to boot, Philip Green is displaying a marked reluctance to put his money where his mouth is. He wants Marks & Spencer but only if the...

Way Cleared for Anheuser-Busch to Acquire China's Harbin Brewery.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--Brewer SABMiller is reportedly preparing to withdraw its UKpound 299 million offer for China's Harbin Brewery, giving control to Anheuser-Busch, which is offering UKpound 390 million. Shares in Harbin were suspended in Hong Kong...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jun. 3--GLAXO SHARES UNDER FIRE AS $400M LAWSUIT LOOMS: GlaxoSmithKline came under early selling pressure today after it emerged that New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer had filed a lawsuit accusing the drugs...

Acquisition Attempt of Marks & Spencer Conditional on Board Approval.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jun. 3--Billionaire Philip Green today launched his UKpound 10 billion bid assault on Marks & Spencer, but said his offer was conditional on securing a recommendation from the board. He is offering cash of between...

London Newspaper Company Hints at Strong Results for First Half of 2004.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--Daily Mail and General Trust, a front-runner in the bidding for the Telegraph newspaper titles, today struck a cautiously optimistic note on the state of the advertising markets. But finance director Peter Williams refused to be...

British Services Industry Grows at Slowest Pace in Nine Months in May 2004.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Jun. 3--Britain's massive services industry continued to forge ahead in May, but at its slowest pace for nine months, according to a key barometer of the sector. The latest CIPS/Reuters purchasing managers' report...

Britain's Best-Paid Executive: CEO of Hedge Fund Specialist Man Group.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--Stanley Fink, chief executive of hedge fund specialist Man Group, was today crowned Britain's best-paid executive as a UKpound 4 million bonus catapulted his total package to UKpound 4.5 million. The man known as The Hedgemeister...

CBS Agrees with Fox in Dispute over Television Ratings Tallies by Nielsen.
June 3, 2004... Jun. 3--CBS television has joined rival network Fox in the increasingly-acrimonious battle with ratings group Nielsen Media research over a controversial new viewer tracking system which comes into use today. In a bust-up which echoes a...

British Water Utility Severn Trent Gets New CEO from Hays.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 3--Hays boss Colin Matthews unveiled the final steps in the company's transformation into an independent specialist recruiter with the full demerger of DX and announced his own new role as the chief executive...

Britain's Carphone Warehouse to Enter Broadband Market.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jun. 4--Carphone Warehouse today declared it was weighing into the cut-throat broadband market as part of its drive to provide people's mobiles, landlines and internet services. As its Talk Talk fixed-line home...

EasyJet Logs Off from Its Leading Internet Cafes.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jun. 4--EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is pulling the plug on his large internet cafes as he cuts his losses. The Greek entrepreneur launched the shops five years ago in a blaze of publicity, hoping the offer...

London Funds Pour Scorn on Tycoon's Bid for Marks & Spencer.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jun. 4--Philip Green's planned takeover of Marks & Spencer suffered another blow today as a survey of top City fund managers revealed that none of them is supporting the controversial retailer's takeover of the High...

Nestle Ponders UKpound 12 Million Bite at General Mills.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jun. 4--Food giant Nestle is mulling a takeover offer for its US rival General Mills in a bid that could be worth as much as $22 billion (UKpound 11.9 million), according to reports today. The deal would put...

Evening Standard, London, A.N. Wilson Column.
June 4, 2004... Byline: A.N. Wilson Jun. 4--MARKS AND SPENCER is one of those Great British Institutions that, like the railways or the Royal Mail, actually went down the drain years ago, but no one noticed. No one in this case except the shareholders...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 4, 2004... Jun. 4--VIACOM RULES OUT BUYING GAMES FIRM: Media giant Viacom has denied it is interested in taking over Electronic Arts, the world's largest video game publisher, saying it would be too expensive. EA is potentially worth $20 billion (UKpound...

Case for Further Rise in Interest Rates Divides London Economists.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Jun. 4--City economists are split down the middle on whether the Bank of England will lift interest rates next week or wait until July to cool the rampant consumer. Five of 10 leading Square Mile analysts quizzed...

Embattled Jeans Maker Levi's Axes More Jobs in Face of Slumping Sales.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jun. 4--Struggling jeans maker Levi Strauss is to close two sewing plants in Spain and lay off 453 workers as there is no let-up in the company's seven-year sales slump. The company has axed almost 7000 jobs since...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jun. 4--City speculators reckon billionaire Philip Green's proposed bid for Marks & Spencer is a non-runner. They would sooner see him turn his attention instead to the likes of J Sainsbury, which they insist would be...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jun. 4--Investors today had their first chance to react to BAE Systems' surprise UKpound 335 million bid for British tank builder Alvis. The deal was unveiled last night after 11th-hour negotiations. BAE's 320...

Former High-Ranking Bank Executive Accuses Merrill Lynch of Sex Discrimination.
June 4, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Jun. 4--Top brass at Merrill Lynch are on stand-by to swap their executive offices for the less salubrious surroundings of Croydon as one of the highest-profile sex discrimination cases to hit the English judicial...

Veteran Gives Up Chair at U.K. Recruitment Agency Adecco.
June 4, 2004... Jun. 4--John Bowmer, one of the most successful Brits in international business, is stepping down as boss of Adecco, the world's largest recruitment agency which has been riven by audit investigations since the start of the year. Reporting...

European Prosecutors Probe Vodafone, Mannesmann Deal.
June 4, 2004... Jun. 4--Vodafone's UKpound 110 billion takeover of German firm Mannesmann was formulated during a secret meeting in a men's toilet, and prosecutors want former Goldman Sachs banker Scott Mead to shed light on what may be ultimately a backroom...

Louis Vuitton Sues Rival for Allegedly Copying Design.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Richard Thomson Jun. 4--Breaking its usual practice, fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) is suing one of its own -- rival upmarket handbag manufacturer Dooney & Bourke -- in a US court for copying its design....

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 4--Writing something nice about the railways is one of the more dangerous themes for a columnist. But Network Rail executives were put through the knee-jerk wringer of public vilification this week because they...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider Column.
June 4, 2004... Jun. 4--What are M&S investors to make of Philip Green saying the value of George Davies's contract with the stores group could be as much as 20 pence per share, or UKpound 450 million? By any standards this amount seems incredible. If...

More U.K. Firms Say Workers Have to Stay in Job Well into Old Age, Study Says.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Prynn Jun. 4--Young workers were told today they may have to stay in a job until they are 86 before they can afford to retire. The warning came after the mass closure of final salary company pension schemes over the...

U.K. Prime Minister Backs Total Smoking Ban.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Isabel Oakeshott Jun. 4--The campaign against smoking in public headed for victory today when Tony Blair voiced support for a total ban. The Prime Minister revealed for the first time that he is actively considering giving town...

Planners Give Green Light to London Stadium Development.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Richard Edwards Jun. 4--Planners have given the go-ahead for a massive retail and leisure complex alongside the new Wembley Stadium. The UKpound 1.5 billion project will be the size of Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and...

U.K. Supermarkets Gear Up for Football, Beer Bonanza.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Prynn Jun. 4--Supermarkets are gearing up for their highest ever beer sales before the Euro 2004 football championships. Britain's biggest retailers say they have already noticed a huge surge in demand since last...

Big Boys Play for Millions in U.K. Toys Sector.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Jun. 4--As every parent knows, there is little worse than a party for a dozen screaming three- or four-year-olds. And there's little better to calm them down after the jelly than slipping a favourite video -- Pingu,...

UKpound 9 Million Cuts Hit London Transport Police.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Humfrey Hunter Jun. 4--Guarding London's trains against terrorist attacks has become a "nightmare" because of underfunding, the chief of the British Transport Police is warning. This year's BTP budget is UKpound 126.8 million,...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy Column.
June 8, 2004... Jun. 8--No doubt who is losing the phoney M&S war (although not so phoney if you happened to be in Baker Street on Friday and saw one middle-aged retail chief squaring up to another). For all his talk, Philip Green is not getting very far. Even...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 8, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 8--WELDING JOB: When the London Clearing House merged with Clearnet, its opposite number in France, a few months ago, one of the things that made the deal possible was an elaborate fudge concerning which...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy Column.
June 9, 2004... Jun. 9--STUART ROSE is, "the most talented, honourable, straight human being I have ever met," says Chris Bodker, chief executive of Image Restaurants -- owner of Kensington Place, Launceston Place, The Avenue, Circus and East @ West. Adds...