Didier Deschamps shrugs off criticism as France secure favourable last-16 draw with point June 19, 2016 France boss Didier Deschamps rebuffed criticism of a lacklustre showing after Les Bleus snared the point they needed to secure their passage to the last 16 as group winners with a goalless draw against a resilient Switzerland in Lille. Recalled midfielder Paul Pogba twice struck the woodwork in the first half and substitute Dimitri Payet did likewise [...]
The City’s secret Brexiteers are more numerous than you think June 17, 2016 Being a City Brexiteer might be assumed to be a lonely life. After all, aren’t we told repeatedly that “the City backs Remain” as though this were, like Newton’s laws, an immutable fact of physics? In fact, life isn’t lonely. Daily, people from the City sidle up to me much like Cold War dissidents. Carefully [...]
London now has one millionaire for every 29 inhabitants as Monaco tops millionaire chart June 14, 2016 London now has one millionaire for every 29 inhabitants, or 3.4 per cent of the population, new research has revealed. The UK capital has climbed from sixth to fifth place in a ranking of the world's top cities per capita for people with net assets worth $1m (£0.7m) or more, excluding the value of their main house. London rival New York [...]
Zurich aims to keep it simple by bringing life and non-life units together June 10, 2016 Zurich revealed its next step in simplifying its business model today, including bringing its life and non-life units together under the same leadership team. The insurance company has previously been working to bring the two divisions of its business closer together in markets such as Switzerland, Germany and Italy. In a statement, the company said that it hoped [...]
Lufthansa’s chief executive has this to say about M&A June 4, 2016 A protectionist attitude is putting the brakes on cross-boarder M&A activity in the airline industry, Lufthansa's chief executive has warned. Speaking at an event in Zurich today, Carsten Spohr added that he only saw regulators shifting towards more protectionism, not less. "To be honest I see protectionism around the world rising rather than more liberalisation," Reuters [...]
Fifa crisis: Sepp Blatter and other former officials “enriched themselves” with £55m in bonuses, new details from corruption investigation reveal June 3, 2016 Former Fifa officials including Sepp Blatter "enriched themselves" through pay rises and bonuses worth £55m over five years, corruption investigators have revealed. Fifa's disgraced former president Blatter, former secretary general Jerome Valcke and former finance director Markus Kattner are alleged to have made a "coordinated effort" to arrange the lucrative compensation by the lawyers conducting the organisation's internal corruption probe. Read more: [...]
Fifa headquarters raided by Swiss authorities as investigation into Sepp Blatter continues June 3, 2016 Fifa has received a now-familiar visit from Swiss investigators who raided the organisation's headquarters as part of its crackdown on corruption in world football. Authorities seized documents and electronic data from the football governing body's offices in Zurich as part of an ongoing probe into former president Sepp Blatter and his secretary general Jerome Valcke. Read more: Gianni Infantino's victory [...]
World’s deepest and longest rail tunnel to open in Switzerland June 1, 2016 A marvel to rival Hannibal's feat, the Gotthard base tunnel has been officially opened in Switzerland today as the world's longest and deepest rail tunnel. Conquered the Alps, the tunnel will provide high speed rail services under the Swiss Alps between northern and southern Europe, in the hope of revolutionising freight transport. At current freight relies mostly on [...]
Former Zurich chief executive Martin Senn commits suicide May 30, 2016 Former Zurich Insurance chief executive Martin Senn has committed suicide, five months after he left the Swiss insurer. In a statement, Zurich said that Senn took his own life on Friday. “With the passing of Martin, we lose not only a highly valued former CEO and colleague but also a close friend. Our thoughts are [...]
Stephen Hester’s got another role May 25, 2016 Former Royal Bank of Scotland boss and current boss of RSA Insurance Group Stephen Hester has got another role to add to his list of duties. Hester will become a non-executive director at energy giant Centrica from 1 June, joining the group's nominations and audit committees when he does so. Rick Haythornthwaite, chairman of Centrica said: “I am [...]