City Moves for 1 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 1, 2016 EEF Dame Judith Hackitt, who is stepping down as chair of the Health and Safety Executive at the end of March, has been appointed as chair designate of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation. She will take up the post on 4 April, replacing Martin Temple, who will step down after more than 17 years as director [...]
Bottling airport decision is bad for UK business and casts doubt over new infrastructure commission December 11, 2015 What exactly was the point of the Airport Commission? That was the question being asked last night by, among others, IoD boss Simon Walker. Having launched in 2012, the commission reported earlier this year after an extensive and exhaustive investigation into Britain’s airport capacity. The exercise cost £20m and was designed, in part, to remove [...]
Croydon poised for 63 per cent surge in office rents by 2017 as the borough undergoes a revival December 1, 2015 Croydon office rents are set to surge by 63 per cent in the next two years, new research shows, as the south London borough undergoes a revival and new schemes come onto the market. According to Savills, rents will rise from £24.50 per sq ft to £40 per sq ft (£430 per sq m), putting Croydon [...]
Bournemouth sign Benik Afobe for club record £9m as Cherries gamble on former Arsenal trainee to save them from relegation January 10, 2016 Bournemouth have broken their transfer record for the second time since the end of last season to land England Under-21 striker Benik Afobe from Wolves for around £9m. The Cherries, who currently lie 16th in the Premier League, have signed the 22-year-old to fill the gap left by first-choice centre-forward Callum Wilson, who suffered a [...]
Moaning millennials? Generation Y just want a job they can enjoy February 17, 2016 Moaning millennials? Old geezers down the pub used to tell the younger generation: “You’ve never had it so good”. Nowadays I’d expect most millennials would spit their pint out laughing, assuming they can afford to pay £5 for a pint. So a report today, which suggested generation Y (those born after 1980) are the "whiniest workers", [...]
Saudi-Russian pledge to freeze oil production may be smoke and mirrors February 16, 2016 Stop press!! Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to freeze oil output!! At first glance, the remarks at today's meeting in Doha were hugely significant, coming both from the notoriously stubborn leader of the Opec cartel and one of the largest non-Opec producers in the world. Opec members Qatar and Venezeula, who were also at [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne’s speech in full March 16, 2016 George Osborne has just revealed the Budget for 2016. There was good news for businesses with corporation tax being sliced and business rates being reformed – but bad news for smokers and students who hate maths. Mr Deputy Speaker, Today I report on an economy set to grow faster than any other major advanced economy in [...]
Learning how to ski doesn’t have to be a downhill struggle. Why not grab lessons on the slopes of Verbier? April 8, 2016 The Bec Des Rosses, Verbier, holds mythical status in the world of skiing: 3,223m of snow and rock, angled at over 60 degrees; it’s one of the toughest mountains on Earth and hosts the final, deciding race of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) every March. “The FWT and easy access to off-piste skiing means that [...]
It’s Hillary v Rubio: The race for the White House has finally become clear February 8, 2016 Iowa, as ever, was full of surprises. On the surface, the most amazing thing about the state’s 2016 caucus was how easily conservative senator Ted Cruz beat his fellow Republicans, and what a nail-biter Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders engaged in. But beyond these surface atmospherics, Iowa did its traditional job: it winnowed out [...]
Fracking companies Ineos and Cuadrilla win new UK licences as a further 2.8m acres of shale gas exploration in north west England, North Yorkshire and East Midlands approved December 17, 2015 Ineos has hailed a shale gas revolution in Britain, after the government's Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) granted 93 licences for fracking across a further 2.8m acres of land. “We are delighted with today’s announcement. The UK government has demonstrated it is determined to move forward with this exciting new industry," said Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe. "This is the start of [...]