Sunday Times
Hedge fund heroines outdo men in City Mina Gerowin and Leda Braga are two of a small group of women holding their own in this male-dominated area of investing. But it’s an uphill struggle with many women finding it hard to flourish in this testosterone-fuelled arena. Speaking at an event held to celebrate women in hedge funds, one said: “Very few women have a charcter that sits well with the trading floor. I have to have a skin like a rhino.”
Oxford boffins in $1bn bonanza Geeks made good. Two scientists who set up internet security firm Sophos in a front room are set to become be worth £180m after the company’s flotation next year. John Hruska and Peter Lammer have stepped back from the day-to-day running of the company, but remain non-executive directors. The float is seen as a sign investors are rediscovering and interest in technology companies.
Failed directors may go to boot camp, say Tories A plan for sending disqualified directors to rehabilitation classes to learn about company law and corporate governance is being looked at by the Conservative party. The plan is advocated by the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. The initiative would be educational, but also have a stigma attached for directors who are lax. Currently, only about a quarter of directors are disqualified from holding the post after their company goes under.
The Observer
Dell hath no fury: Women in middle management are mentoring senior Dell execs in an attempt to demonstrate some of the challenges women face when having to juggle children and a career. This is part of Dell’s drive to get more women into technology, where they are under-represented, and may reveal what are the real reasons why so few women make it to senior executive positions or the board — in technology or elsewhere. Dell’s idea is admirable, but it’d be interesting to hear how it’s presented to the middle-management man.
Publish and be damned, says German chancellor Angela Merkel, weighing in against Google ahead of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (which opens on Tuesday). Merkel wants more global copyright protection
and is against Google’s plan to scan virtually every book so it is available online. Merkel’s rancour
isn’t isolated — other book and newspaper publishers are against Google’s plan, despite founder Sergey
Brin’s assurance that it would be scanning out-of-print books and wouldn’t cut into existing sales.
Fairtrade foul at Asda, which is among the supermarkets driving a “race to the bottom” for banana prices. It has slashed prices for Britain’s most popular fruit by so much that Windward Island growers are fearful it will ruin them, while undermining the credibility of the Fairtrade symbol. The Fairtrade Foundation guarantees growers a minimum price, meaning other supermarkets such as Sainsbury and Waitrose either cut their prices and take a hit, or hold the line and risk losing shoppers.
Who’s got the M&S Factor? Analysts and investors can be the judges this week at an M&S event that will include presentations from the three Most Likely to Succeed Sir Stuart — Kate Bostock, Ian Dyson and John Dixon. Their boss said it would be a like an “M&S has got talent” contest. According to The Observer’s reporter, the City wants an outsider for the role, while Sir Stuart, who moves into a purely non-exec role next year, would rather an internal candidate took the top job.
A “lost generation”. As unemployment pushes the one million barrier, TUC boss Brendan Barber is among those concerned about the prospects of 16 to 24-year-olds, which have been badly hit by hiring freezes. Youth unemployment makes up more than one-third of the UK’s 2.47 million total, fuelling calls for the government to raise the age for school leavers to 18.
Sunday Telegraph
BAA grounds plans for third runway: Ferrovial-owned airports operator BAA is to hold off on submitting its planning application for a third runway until after next year’s General Election. There’s speculation that it is holding off because the Tories, widely tipped to get in next year, were against it — but BAA claims the delay has nothing to do with political bias.
All that glisters: Goldman Sachs looks set to post profits of $3.5bn this week, moving employees closer to a year-end bonus jackpot that will see managers take home over $700,000 in bonuses. Such rude health is sure to cause ructions in Whitehall. After all, Lord Myners, the Treasury minister, has already made UK lenders agree to temper extravagant rewards or defer them until it’s clear they are justified by results. US investment institutions have yet to agree to the same terms, it turns out.
Seeing red tape: Don’t let Brussels strangle a £141bn industry, says the newspaper as it
launches its Ditch the Directive campaign in opposition to the EU’s proposed new rules for alternative investment managers. Eighty percent of Europe’s hedge fund and private equity operators are based in Britain, so the prospect of Brussels trying to regulate them has London Mayor Boris Johnson up in arms: “never forget, all you would-be banker-bashers, that the leper colony in the City of London produces nine percent of the UK’s GDP…”
Hire power: Direct sales business Avon’s response to the recession? It started a recruitment drive, swelling the ranks of its door-to-door agent workforce by 200,000. “It’s easy in these kinds of times to hunker down, cut everything and wait for sunnier days,” says chief executive Andrea Jung. She decided instead to “go on the offensive”. Turnover rose 10 percent to $10bn last year.
Meet the Returnment Generation A group of over-60s are swapping retirement for ‘returnment’ in order to support family and boost pension funds decimated in the past 18 months. But while they may have the responsibilities of younger people, employers often discriminate against grey hairs. One ‘olderpreneur’s’ advice: “When you’re in your 60s or 70s, for goodness sake do something you enjoy. You’re just too old to have to put up with something.”
Tannoying: blaring messages on public transport are taking their toll on passenger patience as customers. Campaigners for A Quiet Life are asking retailers and train companies to cut the volume — in both senses — of messages and ease up on the patronising advice. The Noise Abatement Society has chimed in, claiming that around one-quarter of their calls are from consumers calling to complain about ‘nuisance’ announcements.
