US and Europe need to agree on hedge funds April 18, 2010 BY CONVENTION, the moment a General Election is announced, central government and the civil service enter what is known as purdah. No decisions can be made with regards to policies that a new government might want to revisit after an election and publicly funded bodies must avoid making public proclamations that may be considered prejudicial [...]
Volunteering is good for business April 14, 2010 The City of London Corporation will today urge businesses to remain active in local London communities despite the potential cost in the middle of the longest and deepest recession since the war. According to Nick Anstee, the Lord Mayor of London, corporate volunteering can boost a firm’s reputation while helping to create a highly-skilled, well [...]
Ronson tops out the City’s Heron Tower April 12, 2010 HERON Tower, the tallest building in the City of London, was yesterday “topped out” at a ceremony held by the developer Heron International and construction firm Skanska. The 46-storey development, near Liverpool Street Station, is to be completed in February next year and will add 40,836 square metres of commercial office space to the London [...]
Politics should be a marathon, not a sprint April 11, 2010 NOW that Gordon Brown has fired the starting gun on what is likely to be one of the most keenly contested general elections in recent memory, politicians across the country are gearing up for a marathon campaign. As I train for my 16th London Marathon later this month, I am well aware of how difficult [...]
EU membership is still a necessity for the UK April 5, 2010 AS inhabitants of an island state with a strong sense of identity, some people in the UK are wary of the European Union. Vetoed by De Gaulle throughout the 1960s and separated by 26 miles of English Channel, they see themselves as outsiders peering in. So, when President Sarkozy said that the appointment of a [...]
CITY: LONDON IS LOSING ITS EDGE March 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S status as a leading global financial centre is under threat as the vast majority of the country’s financial services sector believe that the UK has lost the competitiveness that had turned the City into an international financial hub. According to the latest quarterly survey of the financial services sector by the Confederation for British [...]
Be wary of London becoming uncompetitive March 28, 2010 As a representative of the UK financial and professional services industries, overseas visits are a key part of my job, not only to encourage foreign firms to invest in UK plc but also to help our global partners create environments in which UK-based firms are willing and able to invest and prosper. Last week I [...]
City workers slam class war Budget March 24, 2010 THE City was left unconvinced by yesterday’s Budget, slamming Darling for failing to provide a clear outline on how the government was planning to reduce its huge deficit. Banks were being sent a contradictory message, critics said, pointing out that Darling has asked nationalised banks such as Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland to [...]
LAWYERS MAKE A KILLING IN COURT SPAT March 18, 2010 YESTERDAY saw sighs of contentment all round at inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon, as judge Justice Jack ruled in its favour after almost a year of wrangling with rival BGC about a staff poaching operation. Though of course, after seven months of advisory work and a trial lasting the best part of four months, it’s the [...]
Brussels rule jeopardises South African gains March 14, 2010 WE BRITS suffer from a sort of “oscillating Channel syndrome” when it comes to our place in the community of northern (and now wider) Europe. In our isolationist moods we see those 34 sea kilometres to Calais as a handy barrier. But as pragmatic traders we have known for millennia that the Continent’s shallow sea [...]