People and business: Deutsche shows who'll be the boss

THE JOINT press conference given by Rolf Breuer, Deutsche Bank's chairman, and his counterpart Frank Newman of Bankers Trust to outline their $9bn link-up yesterday illustrated perfectly their relationship. Mr Breuer hogged the podium for a good 25 minutes, leaving Mr Newman just five minutes at the end.

Fair enough. As Mr Breuer pointed out: "This is an acquisition."

Its good to see that the integration of the German and American banks is going to be pushed ahead with typical Teutonic efficiency. As Deutsche's press release put it, they are "planning to complete the deal by May 1998" - some nine months before it was signed.

JANET SIDAWAY has thoroughly enjoyed being one of the City's top-rated engineering analysts for the last 15 years, but now she is quitting her current employers, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, in favour of King's College, London, to do a two-year postgraduate diploma in theology and religious studies.

"I don't really like publicity," Ms Sidaway, says, adding that her colleagues' response to her new-found career has involved "a lot of teasing".

So why the switch? "It's something I've always wanted to do, and now seemed the right time," she says. She is already used to big changes, having followed a first class degree in English from York University with seven years as an engineer with TI Group, back in the 1970s.

In a Who's Who of Analysts dated 1992 she listed her interests as "Wagner, Romanesque art, gardening." Clearly the engineering sector will be a duller place without her.

SMALL BUSINESSES running into financial difficulties can now ring a state-of-the-art helpline from Pannell Kerr Forster, the accountants, called "A Friend in Need".

Hang on a minute. The "Friend" line is being run by PKF's insolvency practitioners. Who wants to ring up an undertaker if you're in trouble?

John Alexander, senior insolvency partner at PKF, and currently receiver of the Fashion Cafe in London, says there shouldn't be a "perception problem" with the line. "People know we're not the ogres we're portrayed as - we're not ghouls out to get what we can."

In fact the helpline is mostly rung by businesses which are having trouble collecting debts from other firms - and want to know the best way to get their money back. Something Mr Alexander and his chaps are experts at.

"Insolvency is a nasty word perhaps, but people want to know what the procedures are," he concludes.

DAVID POTTER, chief executive of Guinness Mahon, is looking forward to Saturday. His colleagues from Investec, the South African financial services group which bought Guinness Mahon earlier this year, are flying in en masse to watch the rugby Test match at Twickenham between England and South Africa. The bank has even rebranded the match as the "Investec International". Mr Potter is betting on 23-17 to England, although he admits that his visitors led by Bernard Kantor, Investec Group's managing director, "will no doubt give you a different score." It will be an historic occasion whatever happens, since the world champion Springboks are seeking to break the All Blacks' world record of 17 consecutive Test victories. The lucky chap who wins the Man of the Match award will receive a Krugerrand supplied by Investec - a gold coin first minted in South Africa on 3 July 1967 which has since become a standard for gold, and is currently worth around pounds 179.