By Jonathan SibunPublished: 5:00AM GMT 29 Jan 2010 Mitchells & Butlers John Lovering was yesterday appointed as chairman of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) after the pub group’s board lost a bloody battle with Joe Lewis, the activist shareholder. Simon Laffin, the former chairman, and Tony Bates and Drummond Hall, non-executive directors, were ousted as Mr [...]

Published: 2:30PM GMT 28 Jan 2010 Link to this video Watch CNBC interview investor and philanthropist George Soros Recovery or double-dip? Everyone at Davos knows that the global economy would be in a much worse state if governments hadn’t come to the rescue. Everyone also knows that the life support can’t last forever. However, Joe [...]

By Jonathan RussellPublished: 9:38PM GMT 27 Jan 2010 Nick splashed out £46,500 on Blacks’ shares in two transactions around the end of November, put the investment in this SIPP, and then promptly forgot about them. Or at least he forgot to notify anyone – until this week. Now apart from Christmas, New Year, the big [...]

ReutersPublished: 8:12AM GMT 29 Jan 2010 Easyjet Mr Kennedy, currently chief investment officer and president of EMI Music’s corporate development unit, will take up his new role this summer, replacing interim chief financial officer Mark Adams, easyJet said. “Chris brings great experience of working within a high profile international, fast changing consumer facing business, strong [...]

By Emma WallPublished: 7:38AM GMT 28 Jan 2010 Car insurance premiums increased by a record 20pc during the past year as fraudulent claims and damage done by uninsured drivers pushed up costs for law-abiding motorists. About 100,000 motor cover quotes from a wide range of insurers were taken into account by market researchers Consumer Intelligence [...]

Garry WhitePublished: 5:30AM GMT 27 Jan 2010 Playtech514.5p, up 5pQuestor says: HOLD Online gambling software group Playtech said on Tuesday that it was comfortable with full-year earnings forecasts. This was reassuring following the company’s profit warning in the middle of last year.   Related Articles QUESTOR: HSBC Infrastructure is a solid dividend play Share tips: [...]

By James Quinn, US Business EditorPublished: 7:30AM GMT 29 Jan 2010 Microsoft, best known for its suite of software products, reported a profit of $6.7bn (£4.15bn) in the three months to December, its second fiscal quarter, against $4.2bn (£2.6bn) in the same quarter a year ago. The uplift was a result of a significant uplift [...]

Published: 7:30PM GMT 28 Jan 2010 Link to this video Watch CNBC interview investor and philanthropist George Soros Bankers, their pay and our problems Central bankers are in the business of publicly stating the obvious, which is sometimes helpful and also steers them away from voicing anything controversial. Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European [...]

By Philip AldrickPublished: 5:00AM GMT 29 Jan 2010 Sir Brian Pitman is to lead a heavyweight board at Virgin Money, ahead of planned bids for Northern Rock and businesses being spun out of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. Sir Brian, 77, is joining Virgin Money as chairman, reprising a role he held [...]

By Sean FarrellPublished: 7:18PM GMT 28 Jan 2010 Tate & Lyle Analysts had expected pre-tax profit of between £220m and £235m for the year to March 31, down from £247m a year earlier. The disappointing performance was caused by less call for industrial starches, which the company produces for use in the manufacture of paper [...]