RBS APPEASES TAXPAYING PUBLIC BY BRINGING OUT ARTISTIC GEMS
AFTER being lambasted in recent months by angry taxpayers-cum-stakeholders baying for blood, it appears that the Royal Bank of Scotland is finally about to give something back.
The bank – which is thought to own the largest collection of corporate art in Britain, with over 2,200 pieces – is in talks with museums and collectors about exhibiting its works, which are worth millions in total.
“Over recent months we have been actively engaged in discussions with external organisations to widen public access to the bank’s art collection,” a spokeswoman tells me. “We are now looking at community-level art projects for the wider works and discussing other options with public sector partners. We remain open minded on the best and most appropriate way to make the collection more accessible.”
About time too, some might say, given the 70 per cent stake the government took in the bank to save it from financial ruin in the crisis.
Among the works we can look forward to ogling will be pieces by Sir William McTaggart, LS Lowry, Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney, as well as those documenting the bank’s colourful history – including a 1766 portrait by Johann Zoffany of Andrew Drummond, founder of Drummonds Bank, which is now part of RBS.
GEEK CHIC
Into my inbox zooms a trailer for CNBC’s Executive Vision programme tonight, in which Google vice president Marissa Mayer will enjoy her five minutes of fame extolling the virtues of being a lady in the male-dominated world of technology.
“People say: ‘What is it like to be a woman there?’” Mayer muses. “Well, I don’t think about that, because I am a geek, and everyone else is a geek, and it’s great to be a geek at Google!”
It’s just one big, happy, nerdy family over there at Google HQ.
TRIBAL VICTORY
After months and months of protesting – including staking themselves outside offices and bombarding news outlets with the latest update on their plight – charity Survival International has finally won a bit of a coup in its fight against mining giant Vedanta Resources.
In a nutshell, Survival’s argument is that Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mine on a mountain in Orissa, India represents a lack of respect for the Dongria Kondh tribe who live there and hold the mountain sacred.
Vedanta, led by billionaire Anil Agarwal, denies this, claiming it has gone through the proper channels in India and has consulted with the tribe on the project.
But yesterday, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) threw its weight behind Survival after a nine-month investigation, upholding the complaint and ruling Vedanta did not respect the tribe’s rights. Will it be enough to force some backpedalling from the corporate giant, I wonder?
FRIGHT NIGHT
Last year it was scary masks of Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson adorning the faces of little American cherubs doing the rounds on Halloween; this year, they’ll be dressed up as someone more terrifying.
That’s right: US fancy dress firms are jumping on the bandwagon left, right and centre to produce Halloween masks resembling Bernie Madoff, the $65bn Ponzi schemer everyone loves to hate.
Whether or not his many out-of-pocket victims will be willing to fork out for sweeties for the little tykes, however, is another question entirely.
CITY SCORCHER
Always one to support a good cause, The Capitalist is invariably happy to hear of City folk doing something a little bit daring and different with their charity hats on.
In that spirit, over 100 participants will be quivering with nerves on Wednesday next week as they walk barefoot across red-hot coals at the Rainbow Trust charity’s annual City Firewalk at the Gibson Hall.
The organisers guarantee you won’t even emerge with a blister, let alone scorched stumps – and there’s also an afterparty with flame throwers, dinner and a live band. Entry costs £35 and the charity is asking participants to raise a measly £200 in sponsorship, which should be a breeze even in this climate. Call 01372 220 022 for details.
NIP TUCK
Finally, a note on the economic barometer du jour in the Square Mile: plastic surgery.
Apparently, surgery at the Harley Medical Group’s City clinic – which has seen static demand over the past six months – jumped 24 per cent in September alone due to the increase in appetite for tummy tucks, Botox, and even “moob” reductions, which cost a hefty £4,075. Things are certainly starting to look up.