Skinflint's City Diary
Sir Denys Lowson, the unit trust manipulator and former Lord Mayor of London, is no doubt sitting quietly at home, deciding whether to retire to Canada or Scotland, keeping his head down, waiting for the Director of Public Prosecutions to whom the question of the sale of the National Group of Unit Trusts to the Triumph Investment Group has been referred to say that no further action is anticipated.
John Roberts of the Investors Chronicle won the job of City Editor of the Daily Express on the strength of his investigations and the uncovering of the scale of Sir Denys's profits. Roberts gained widespread praise for his diligence in prying into this situation. However, it is now no reflection on John Roberts to reveal that his information did not come about by chance or by super-sleuthing but through information, not otherwise available from records in the public domain, that is reputed to have come from a resolute member of Sir Denys Lowson's own team who was concerned for the minority shareholders in the publicly-quoted trusts who were getting only the 62 pence a share for the management company shares that Sir Denys considered their due, instead of the £.8-odd a share that he got for himself a few months later. John Roberts should now be using his platform in the Daily Express (which by the way he has immeasurably improved from the sunny bullish line that was apparently a standing order in the City pages) to suggest. strongly that Sir Denys makes restoration of his gains..
Christopher Chataway
A week or so ago I congratulated the Orion Bank on being able to snap up Christopher Chataway who is due to resign as member for Chichester at the next general election. The friend who pressed for Chataway's appointment as joint managing director, in spite of his utter ignorance of the Eurodollar market and the world of banking, was David Montagu, late of Samuel Montagu. Now Chataway has been lucky enough to get yet another top job for which he has no previous experience or training whatsoever. Montagu has arranged for him to join the board of Fisons, the fertiliser and pharmaceuticals firm. It is beyoncrbelief that businessmen in the mess that they are in due to the political imbecility and depredations of Westminster should invite junior politicians to join them and hand out big salaries to the very people responsible for their sorry plight.
Sir Christopher Soames
Sir Christopher Soames, one of this country's Commissioners to the Common Market, was invited quite improperly by Chataway, as the departing member, to take over his old seat. In due time a more orthodox invitation reached Soames but neither Mr Edward Heath (rather expectedly) nor the 1922 Committee (less expectedly) welcomed his return and he was prevailed upon to stay at Brussels because it was explained to him that Britain needed him there during the renegotiations — which Soames somewhat poignantly accepted as his duty.
The definition part of each clue wee orientated towards the French (rather than, where appropriate, the English) meaning of the French word forming, the relevant light (see Chambers's sow Cassell's New French Dictionaries). Winner: E. J. C. West, Rose Bank, Weston-under-Penyard, Ross-on-Wye
Daedalus 1648
Across: 1 Morning glory 9 Seventeen 1° Obeys 11 Aurora 12 Cheshire 13 Gramme 15 Viscount 18 Marksman 19 Screed 21 Grisette 23 Isobar 26 Igloo 27 Explosion 28 Chestnut tree. Down: 1 Mustang 2 River 3 Ignoramus 4 Grew 5 Linchpin 6 Roots 7 Respect 8 Pedicure 14 Airfield 16 Cocksfoot 17 Martlets 18 Megrims 20 Durance 22 Enoch 24 Brier 25 Spin. cliVe n nt Greate r: S oE OkWhaomods, sur2r4eyMead Cr
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