Politicians fiddle while Rome burns October 20, 2011 SO Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy agree – there is a problem in the Eurozone, apparently, and something needs to be done about it. But as to what that should be, forget it. With this weekend’s get-together bound to fail, the EU’s so-called leaders may call yet another summit on Wednesday. The situation would be [...]
Politicians fiddle while Rome burns October 20, 2011 SO Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy agree – there is a problem in the Eurozone, apparently, and something needs to be done about it. But as to what that should be, forget it. With this weekend’s get-together bound to fail, the EU’s so-called leaders may call yet another summit on Wednesday. The situation would be [...]
BUSINESS HONOURS FOR INDIAN TYCOONS October 20, 2011 THERE was a reason Boris Johnson couldn’t attend the launch of Sonia Purnell’s Just Boris biography on Tuesday night. The London mayor was otherwise engaged presenting KP Singh, the chairman of India’s largest real estate developer DLF, with the entrepreneur of the year award at the Asian Awards. Singh, the Forbes billionaire who has made [...]
The City needs to stay the world’s top choice October 16, 2011 BEING the Lord Mayor of the City of London is an all-consuming role; in the past 11 and a half months, I have visited 40 cities in 22 different countries across the globe, delivering around 900 speeches promoting not just the Square Mile, but the whole of the UK-wide financial and professional services industry. I [...]
CONFERENCE WHISPERS October 3, 2011 Boris for Tory leader? If his conference schedule is anything to go by, the Mayor certainly fancies his chances. Before his speech this morning, he met workers at a factory in Manchester, ostensibly because the plant makes axles for London buses. But it is almost unheard of for a Mayor of London to visit to [...]
NEXT LORD MAYOR SETS OUT A CITY MANIFESTO October 3, 2011 ALL CHANGE in the Lord Mayor’s office, as alderman David Wootton was yesterday elected the 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London at the Guildhall. The Lord Mayor Elect, as Wootton will be known until he takes office on 11 November, used his election day to declare that the theme of his year in [...]
Regulation threatens the City’s dominance October 2, 2011 CELEBRATIONS were understandably muted across the Square Mile last week when London once again topped the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). Muted, because the seriousness of the global economic situation means that all other issues are overshadowed. And muted, because clearly London’s competitiveness and primacy are under increasing threat. According to the GFCI, London [...]
PRINCESS LAUNCHES OUR APPEAL FOR AFRICA September 29, 2011 CITY LEADERS met royalty at The Savoy on Tuesday night, at a dinner to mark a new partnership between City A.M. and an African microfinance charity that aims to improve the lives of thousands. Guest of honour was HRH The Princess Royal, a patron of the Opportunity International (OI) charity, who told guests including Vallares [...]
PRINCESS LAUNCHES OUR APPEAL FOR AFRICA September 28, 2011 CITY LEADERS met royalty at The Savoy on Tuesday night, at a dinner to mark a new partnership between City A.M. and an African microfinance charity that aims to improve the lives of thousands. Guest of honour was HRH The Princess Royal, a patron of the Opportunity International (OI) charity, who told guests including Vallares [...]
ROGUE TRADING TALENT PULL IN THE CROWDS AS CITY ENTERTAINMENT September 26, 2011 SOMETHING to look forward to for UBS alleged fraudster Kweku Adoboli, once he has emerged from the trauma of the courts: following in the footsteps of the original rogue trader Nick Leeson by entertaining drunken clients at corporate events. Leeson has been quietly raking it in on the after-dinner speaking circuit for years, says celebrity [...]