Desperate Osborne risks fuelling another housing bubble January 22, 2013 It is starting to look as if George Osborne is going to blow another housing bubble, albeit this time of a more modest variety. His Funding for Lending Scheme is starting to have an effect; but instead of making it easier and cheaper for small firms to borrow money, the subsidy’s supposed intention, the scheme [...]
London’s burgeoning skyline will complement expansion underground January 2, 2013 LONDON is emerging from recession as a beacon of hope for future British growth. It has the right mix of talents – in technology, creative industries, and finance – to establish a new benchmark for the few world cities that will dominate the next half-century. But it can also learn from past achievements to build [...]
City sleepover in Broadgate November 12, 2012 CITY workers swapped their sheets for the street last week to help raise £250,000 for homeless charity Centrepoint. The Capitalist chatted to Gordon Taylor, managing director of markets at RBS, and Jon Millward, partner at Drivers Jonas Deloitte, before they bedded down for the night. When asked what provisions he had brought along, Taylor said: [...]
The City’s high standing remains undiminished in spite of recent troubles November 4, 2012 WHEN I took over as lord mayor 361 days ago, I half-jokingly said that my background as an oarsman would help me steer a course through the choppy waters facing the City. As it happens, the past 12 months have proved a real test of City fortitude. The financial services industry has had to navigate [...]
Supreme Court ruling on equal pay paves way for more claims October 24, 2012 A LANDMARK legal ruling on equal pay claims handed down by the Supreme Court yesterday could open the door for female workers in the City to make compensation claims against former employers. The Court, the most senior in the land, yesterday ruled scores of women previously employed by Birmingham City Council could seek compensation through [...]
Bashing City bankers has unintended consequences for middle England December 12, 2012 I HOPE, dear CityA.M. reader, that you occasionally manage to unchain yourself from your desk, rip yourself away from the trading floor, and escape from the shadows of the towers of Canary Wharf and the Square Mile. Because – and I hope this won’t come as a total shock to you – there is a [...]
UK’s biggest 10 hedgies sit on £6.6bn fortune November 25, 2012 THE combined personal fortunes of the UK’s top 10 hedge fund executives weighed in at £6.6bn last year, a study out yesterday revealed, with Brevan Howard co-founder Alan Howard the richest hedge fund executive in the country with £1.4bn of assets. Data from Hedge Forensics, published in the inaugural Sunday Times Hedge Fund Rich List [...]
Cameron heaps praise on City’s contribution to the UK economy November 12, 2012 DAVID Cameron cheered the central role the City plays in the UK economy, in a wide-ranging speech to the Lord Mayor’s banquet last night. The Prime Minister highlighted the huge contribution the City makes through taxes, trade and employment – though he lamented “utterly terrible mistakes” made and promised to crack down on law-breaking, boost [...]
Further efficiencies are critical to making London’s railways thrive January 8, 2013 COMMUTERS finally have some welcome news. Just a week after inflation-busting fare increases came into effect, rail industry leaders have announced Britain’s biggest investment in infrastructure since the Victorian era. Look around any train or station serving London in the morning peak and the case for improvements is overwhelming. Many are packed or overcrowded. Londoners [...]
A tale of two cities December 17, 2012 BRITISH Land and Oxford Properties have bagged their second tenant at the Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City, underlining the booming demand in London’s insurance district in stark contrast to parts of the City that have traditionally depended on the banking sector. Amlin is to take 111,000 square feet at the Leadenhall Building for an undisclosed [...]