Insurers find that central banks are all too predictable September 26, 2012 HUNDREDS of homes being evacuated due to flooding in Scotland and northern England wasn’t the ideal backdrop for Lloyd’s of London to announce its upbeat interim results, boosted by a “favourable claims climate”. Then again, even as the number of flood alerts rises, it needn’t sink the Lloyd’s insurance market’s optimism, partly because of its [...]
Endorphins high after Shard drop September 3, 2012 FEEL-GOOD fear hormones were flying round the City yesterday after a team of daredevil volunteers – including the Duke of York Prince Andrew – abseiled down the outside of Europe’s tallest building, the Shard. Joining the Prince at the top of the 1,016ft tower in the early hours of yesterday morning were a host of [...]
House prices to remain below peak until 2024 July 11, 2012 UK house prices may not return to their peak until well into the 2020s, claimed a report from PwC yesterday. House prices reached a peak in 2007 that they may not reach until 2017 in cash terms, and 2024 relative to consumer prices, the report said. Average prices are expected to plateau for the next [...]
Revealed: the City’s best (and worst) offices October 3, 2012 IN the wake of the British Council for Offices (yes, there is such a thing) awards this week – which saw law firm K&L Gates crowned Best Office of 2012 – The Capitalist has decided to investigate the workplaces that are letting the side down by launching our own inaugural City Slums award. Having heard [...]
Revealed: the City’s best (and worst) offices October 3, 2012 IN the wake of the British Council for Offices (yes, there is such a thing) awards this week – which saw law firm K&L Gates crowned Best Office of 2012 – The Capitalist has decided to investigate the workplaces that are letting the side down by launching our own inaugural City Slums award. Having heard [...]
Buckles hangs on as Olympics cost G4S £50m August 28, 2012 G4S confirmed yesterday it lost £50m from its bungled Olympic contract, as chief executive Nick Buckles fought to save the security company’s reputation and his own. Buckles admitted he was “extremely disappointed” with the way the problems were managed, and stressed that G4S’s plans for the Paralympics were in place. He said the firm could [...]
No going back now for brave Shard abseilers September 2, 2012 THEY’VE been training, raising sponsorship funds, and getting increasingly more nervous for months, and today the day the intrepid Shard abseilers have been waiting for (or dreading) has finally arrived. From first light this morning – weather permitting – a diverse selection of adventurers, City daredevils, politician’s wives and even a member of the Royal family will [...]
Retailers shut up shop on the lengthy slump July 30, 2012 INSOLVENCIES fell across the UK in the second quarter, a PwC report shows today, with even the hard-pressed construction sector seeing an improvement compared with the same period of last year. But retailers are still under pressure, defying the positive overall trend as shoppers stayed away from the high street. The three-month period saw 3,927 [...]
Death knell for final salary in pension rejig November 22, 2012 A NEW workplace pension model was proposed yesterday in an effort to limit the financial risk for both employers and employees. Under the controversial proposals, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has suggested an employer can end a final salary pension scheme when an employee leaves the firm, thereby cutting the firms’ risk exposure. [...]
Top grades at A-Level decline August 16, 2012 THE NUMBER of students achieving the top grade at A-Level has fallen for the first time in 21 years, new figures showed yesterday, as more than 300,000 candidates picked up their results. Business groups heralded the drop in A*s and As from 27 to 26.6 per cent, saying it helps employers separate high-flyers from the [...]