• Bankers win £42m bonus claim – phew!

    We can all breathe a deep sigh of relief. More than 100 Commerzbank bankers have won their claim to £42m in unpaid bonuses in the High Court, London. The bonuses were written into contracts the bankers signed with Dresdner Kleinwort, which was subsequently taken over by Commerzbank, in August 2008. Many of the claimants are expected to pocket six-figure sums, and at least five will come away with pay packets in excess of £1m.

  • The Scream, a painting by Edvard Munch

    It’s a scream

    Edvard Munch's picture ‘The Scream’ fetched a record $119,922,500 when it was sold at auction on Wednesday. The image, which depicts a man with a misshapen head hollering under a sky streaked with russet reds and oranges, came under the hammer at Sotheby’s in New York.

  • How not to fire someone. Aviva’s blunder goes viral

    According to its website, Aviva Investors prides itself in offering excellent global asset management services. But when it comes to staff management, the investment branch of the world’s sixth largest insurer takes a slightly different approach.

  • Superman cheque flies sky high at auction

    To some, it might sound comical: an old $130 cheque has just been sold at an online auction for an extraordinary $160,000. But to others it just sounds like a great investment. After all, this isn’t any old cheque.

  • Lap dancing stripped by financial crisis

    The financial crisis has stripped the lap dancing industry of its standards, research has found. According to a study conducted by the University of Leeds, the decline in business since 2008 has led to club owners squeezing more money out of their dancers amid efforts to cover business overheads.

  • Another lost Hope in the financial markets

    In one of many promotional tactics, Alex Hope’s PR agency lauded the zeal of the self-taught trader in an press release citing a phenomenal rise from humble beginnings earning £21,000 a year working in catering to “regularly trading millions” and raking in a six figure salary. “Alex is a name to watch out for in the City”, they said. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) would agree.

  • Don’t bank on risky women

    The German central bank is quite fond of blaming feckless Greeks and lazy Italians for the Eurozone crisis. This week, however, the Bundesbank set its sights on another foe.

  • Export insanity: Scottish tea ‘leaves’ for China

    There are some business ventures only the most foolhardy entrepreneur is likely to think investible. Few venture capitalists would snap up equity in a business that shipped coal to Newcastle or flogged ice to Eskimos, for example.

  • Staffing cuts in US city see cheques worth $334,000 go undeposited

    A civil servant at the Department of Inspection and Standards in the indebted city of Providence, Rhode Island has unearthed a cache of un-cashed cheques.  They range in value from $5 to $114,000
  • Gordon Gekko: the road to Damascus

    In 36 AD, Saul, a Pharisee and ardent prosecutor of the followers of a man named Jesus, was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus. The purpose of his visit was to persecute more of these troublesome Christians. As he approached the city, he was enveloped by a bright a light in which Jesus spoke to him and convinced him that persecution wasn’t the way forward. The term ‘Damascene moment’ was coined to describe Saul’s conversion to the new faith.