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2011 business review: heroes and villains

No Christmas would be complete without its pantomime heroes and villains. Unfortunately for all involved, 2011 was more Aladdin and the 40 Thieves than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - the villains significantly outnumbering the heroes.

No Christmas would be complete without its pantomime heroes and villains. Unfortunately for all involved, 2011 was more Aladdin and the 40 Thieves than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - the villains significantly outnumbering the heroes.
As the Greek economy took the begging bowl to its creditors Merv took in the first day’s play at Lords
So, starting with the more difficult category to populate, Telegraph Finance’s heroes of 2011 are: Credit: Rex
Michael Woodford, former chief exec of Olympus, being interviewed Jonathan Russell of the Telegraph.
Michael Woodford. The boss of Japanese electronics giant Olympus blew the whistle on a $1.5bn accounting fraud just two weeks after stepping up to the chief executive role. Credit: Geoff Pugh
Greek PM George Papandreou lights a candle inside a church during a visit to the southeastern island of Kastelorizo
George Papandreou. The Greek Prime Minister lost his job over the Greek debt crisis but not before he had struck a blow for democracy. Faced with mounting pressure to accept what many saw as draconian austerity measures he said, "OK, but only if it goes to a referendum". Credit: Reuters
Stock Trader Clutching His Head in Front of a Screen Showing a Stock Market Crash
The bond markets. Politicians prevaricated, economists evaded and business leaders blundered. The bond markets told it as it was. Credit: Alamy
France's Finance Minister Lagarde arrives to attend the 17th Children's Parliament at the National Assembly in Paris
Christine Lagarde. France’s former finance minister moved from working in the diminutive shadow of Nicolas Sarkozy to the far darker shadow of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. She took over at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the EU debt crisis was worsening and the IMF was still reeling from the Strauss-Kahn rape allegations. Credit: Reuters
James Murdoch Announces The Closure Of The News Of The World Newspaper
Now for the bad news, Telegraph Finance’s villains of 2011 are: Credit: Getty Images
Bo Lerenius. The affable Swede may seem an odd choice to put in the rogues’ gallery, but his performance in 2011 puts him in rare company. As chairman of Mouchel he oversaw the support services group’s shares fall from 154p to a low of 8p as the company struggled with its accounts. As a non-exec with security group G4S, he cheerfully waved through the £5.2bn takeover of Danish cleaning rival SIS, only to see shareholders turn it down. Credit: Tom Stockill
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) walks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel along the seaside on October 18, 2010 in Deauville, nothwestern France
Merkozy. It’s hard to say when the Beast of Brussels first emerged, but by the December EU summit photographs grafting together the faces of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were commonplace on the internet. It’s hard to imagine a more unlikely pairing, or quite what pushed them into such close alliance. The eurozone debt crisis? The Greek problem? Or just David Cameron? Credit: AFP
Former New Jersey Gov and Sen Jon Corzine is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington
Jon Corzine. If he hadn’t volunteered for villainy it would have been forced upon him. The founder of investment bank MF Global negotiated a career at Goldman Sachs, the US Senate and as a Governor of New Jersey before disaster struck. Credit: AP
The private equity giant was American, enormously wealthy and was behind some of the property deals that saddled Southern Cross with impossible rental bills
Blackstone. While it was blindingly obvious months before it came about that the care home provider Southern Cross wouldn’t last out the year, what wasn’t so obvious was who was to blame. Chief executive Jamie Buchan hadn’t been at the company long enough. The old management were long gone. And for once the mud didn’t stick to the regulators. Step forward Blackstone. The private equity giant was American, enormously wealthy and was behind some of the property deals that saddled Southern Cross with impossible rental bills.