19 September 2008

Dotted i's and crossed t's


"Lastly, if I may be forgiven a spasm of self-consciousness, I wish to state that, even had it not so befallen that much of this book was written during a time of almost unexampled crisis, I should have been under no illusion about the importance of my subject. The mind of one who happens to have an eye for a comma is not necessarily incapable of comprehending larger issues or embracing wider interests.
                                                                                        G.V.C.
Boreham Street
January 1939"

G.V. Carey, Mind The Stop: A Brief Guide to Punctuation, p. 10.

15 September 2008

Passionately Swiss™



In Lehman’s London office, the bridgehead for the Wall Street firm’s international expansion, many were evidently determined to minimise their status as creditors to the firm.

“Some have more than £100 on their pre-pay canteen cards, [so] they’re buying hundreds of bars of chocolate, bags of roasted coffee and anything that’s non-perishable,” said one employee.

Others were more actively seeking employment. Recruiters were stationed at Canary Wharf coffee shops to collect curriculum vitae.

Some staff said they had been banned from sending e-mails, adding that BlackBerrys and mobile phones no longer worked.

“I’ve had people calling me from telephone boxes. In the old days you’d just pick up your Rolodex and you’d bugger off. Now everything in your life is with the company,” said a former employee.

- Financial Times, Shocked Lehman staff told to ‘move on’. Published: September 15 2008 21:42 Last updated: September 15 2008 21:42