Tuesday review

I thought I would do a little newspaper review on a Tuesday as there were plenty of brilliant stories knocking about in the British business sections today.

First of, I would just like to congratulate my old mate Graham "Ruddy" Ruddick - a former colleague from my time at The Daily Telegraph and one of the nicest chaps in financial journalism - for landing a story about healthcare group Four Seasons of the front page of the main book, yes the main book, of The Guardian. Here is a link to Graham's piece:

Revealed: Saudi Arabian diplomat takes legal action over £25 million for 'missing skyscraper'

A high-level Saudi Arabian diplomat has taken Credit Suisse and the mystery Irish property developer Tom Ryan to London's commercial courts after allegedly providing around £25 million to build a 74-storey residential skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London's financial district.

Dr Mohammed Abdulraman Abdulaziz Albesher, currently the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, is trying to recover £25 million from Ryan and his bankers at Credit Suisse after the developer's property scheme for the Hertsmere House site in Canary Wharf failed to get off the ground, according to the Particulars of Claim seen by Betaville.

Shire's next deal could be "transformational" - part 5

Nils Pratley over at The Guardian today states Shire's attempt to buy US rival Baxalta is the "dullest $30 billion bid battle in history". Here is a link to Nils's excellent column:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2015/sep/03/european-central-bank-gloom-suggests-qe2-horizon

Land Registry privatisation plans go up in smoke

My "exclusive" story on the cancellation of the Land Registry privatisation is about to be confirmed, according to newspaper reports.

Readers might remember that the Mail on Sunday's business section splashed on my Land Registry tale just over a couple of weeks ago. Here is a link to the piece: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2673336/Vince-Cable-scraps-1-2-billion-Land-Registry-sell-off.html

What do a missing skyscraper and a $60 billion financing package have in common?

Little old Betaville really has been making waves and causing trouble this week, with two of my recent jackanories ending up in reputable national newspapers this morning.

Indeed, The Guardian today published a front page (of the main book) piece on the 'missing skyscraper' series I have been running for the last month. Huge hat tip to Simon Bowers, the reporter over at The Guardian who ran the story.