The dastardly Mr Deedes
Mark Carney’s decision to remain as Bank of england governor until 2020 comes ‘despite various personal pressures’, according to Chancellor Philip Hammond. no doubt that is true. But remaining in such a high-profile job a short while longer should also be beneficial to his future career prospects. some say Carney covets Christine lagarde’s job at the international Monetary Fund. soignée Mme lagarde departs in 2021.
Guppy-eyed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg names his political hero as the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, reasoning to the New Yorker: ‘ Basically, through a really harsh approach, he established two-hundred years of world peace.’ As the magazine notes: ‘ He also eliminated political
opponents, banished his daughter for promiscuity, and was suspected of arranging the execution of his grandson.’ A mooted Zuckerberg presidential run promises to be interesting, no?
debenhams’ eloquent chairman sir ian Cheshire told the BBC yesterday he wanted the struggling department store to become the ‘selfridges of the High street’. Convivial to a fault, sports direct tycoon Mike Ashley recently made a similar pledge to make House of Fraser the ‘Harrods of the High street’. Aping profit-at-any-cost Ashley is no way to reassure a jittery workforce. Re Ashley, Sports Direct’s always noteworthy AGM takes places today in Soho rather than at its headquarters in Shirebrook, affectionately known among
employees as ‘the gulag’. Ashley’s not attending, possibly to avoid inevitable questions about the firm’s largesse towards his family members. Ashley appointed future son-in-law Michael Murray, 28, as his £5m ‘head of elevation’ much like Caligula appointed his horse consul.
Apropos yesterday’s 9/11 commemorations, One World Trade Centre is reported to be struggling to fill its 3m sq ft of office space. Barely 20pc of the gargantuan tower – at 1,793ft it’s been America’s highest building since its 2014 completion – is occupied. some blame a soft office rental market, some the unfinished feel to Ground Zero since its reconstruction. Others say companies simply find the site plain spooky following events on that fateful day.