CITY GRANDEES DEBATE FUTURE OF UK BANKING July 25, 2011 MAGIC circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Fleet Street offices played host last night to a City crowd debating one of the most pertinent questions currently facing the UK’s politicians, regulators and bankers – whether the country’s biggest banks should be forcibly broken up, or whether other kinds of reforms are the best way forward. [...]
UBS to learn fate of £340m headquarters April 17, 2011 UBS will find out tomorrow whether it has been granted planning permission for its new £340m headquarters, though lobbyists who want the Broadgate site to be granted listed status could get any approval overturned. The City of London planning committee has already recommended the 700,000 square foot campus for approval, but English Heritage could supersede [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 11, 2012 Capacity challenge The real issue facing the UK is how to increase capacity in our public transport system. Few transport professionals would support the newly approved High Speed Rail 2 project (HS2) compared to Rod Eddington’s highly regarded policy proposals from December 2006, which would make a genuine difference to public transport. These are all [...]
Banks drop but FTSE treads water ahead of Fed decision June 22, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index closed marginally lower yesterday, as weakness in banks offset gains in defensive stocks with investors jostling positions ahead of a US interest rate decision. London’s blue chip index bobbed around but closed down 2.32 points at 5,772.99, as cautious investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s assessment of the economy and any plans [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 22, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● British Land announces its results today. Recent good news includes the fact it has pre-let around a third of its Cheesegrater skyscraper to Aon. ● On Tuesday, Marks & Spencer will deliver its results. In 1941, the Westminster based retailer raised £5,000 to pay for a Spitfire fighter called “The Marksman”. Shareholders [...]
Buoyant integrated oil stocks power FTSE past 6,000 mark July 4, 2011 INTEGRATED oil and property stocks helped Britain’s top shares end higher yesterday, when gains were limited by weaker banks after Standard & Poor’s warned a potential Greek debt deal would amount to a default. The FTSE 100 index rose for a seventh straight day, adding 27.78 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 6,017.54, closing above [...]
FTSE hit by China growth fears and eurozone crisis May 23, 2011 Commodity stocks took a hammering in early trading today as miners and energy related groups suffered from uncertainty in the global economy. The eurozone debt crisis continued to cast a shadow after Italy’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s from stable to negative. Chinese manufacturing data from HSBC showing a ten-month low also [...]
When skiing becomes more like snow-flying January 22, 2012 The American satirist PJ O’Rourke had little time for snow sports. As he put it: “Skiing consists of wearing $3,000 worth of clothes and equipment and driving 200 miles in the snow in order to stand around at a bar and drink.” That might not have been so bad for O’Rourke – he is famous [...]
Weak banks help drive FTSE to three-month closing low June 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares ended lower yesterday, weighed down by banks on worries over the UK government’s drive for tougher regulation and Europe’s debt crisis, while commodity stocks also pressured the index. The FTSE 100 closed down 60.58 points, or 1.0 per cent, at 5,742.55, its lowest finish since March 18. Banks fell ahead of chancellor [...]
British Land: Clarification August 5, 2010 In yesterday’s paper we ran a story headlined “British Land aims for long term growth”, in which we reported that chief executive Chris Grigg had confirmed the firm was in talks with Prudential Partners about the Cheesegrater development. This was incorrect; Grigg had actually said “potential partners” in a conference call with analysts. Apologies for [...]