Fifa arrests: High-ranking officials arrested on suspicion of accepting millions of dollars in bribes December 3, 2015 Senior Fifa officials have been detained in morning raids on a Zurich hotel, accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes. Read more: Sponsors call on Fifa to accept independent oversight US officials targeted current and former high-ranking Fifa directors at the luxury Baur au Lac hotel as part of the Department of Justice's investigation into corruption [...]
Scientists find genes that pave way for better health in old age December 2, 2015 For decades, the science world has been trying to unravel the genetic secrets of ageing. Now, researchers in Switzerland have taken a major step forward. They have discovered that just 30 genes, present in a wide range of species, play a key role in the ageing process, and they believe these could be manipulated in [...]
Zurich boss Martin Senn steps down after 10 years with the company December 1, 2015 Zurich announced today that its chief executive Martin Senn is stepping down, leaving the company at the end of the year. Tom de Swaan, who has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2006 and chairman since 2013, has been appointed interim chief executive. A permanent successor for Senn, who has spent [...]
Apple buys Star Wars motion capture startup Faceshift November 25, 2015 Apple has acquired a company which specialises in motion capture and facial recognition technology and which worked on the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens film, further fueling speculation that it's making a move into virtual reality. Apple confirmed the previously rumoured purchase to TechCrunch, saying: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss [...]
Small business confidence hits second-lowest level since 2012 November 23, 2015 Confidence levels at UK small and medium-sized businesses are waning, according to new survey figures published today. The confidence index from accountants BDO dropped to a score of 61.8 this month from 64.3 six months ago. With the exception of January this year, the confidence of small and medium-sized quoted companies is at its lowest [...]
City Moves for 23 November 2015 | Who’s switching jobs November 22, 2015 TISA The financial services membership organisation has appointed Kenn Taylor to its retirement policy and technical team. He has 30 years’ industry experience, most recently leading consulting teams with Troika, Navigant and Grant Thornton. THERIUM CAPITAL The third party litigation funder has appointed Timothy Mayer and Nicholas Moore as principals in its investment team. They [...]
Alarm bells sound for global growth: What does it mean for investors? November 19, 2015 The state of the world economy is spooking analysts. In October, the IMF downgraded its global growth forecast for 2015 to 3.1 per cent, from the 3.3 per cent it predicted in July. Last week, the OECD added to the gloom, trimming its 2015 forecast for world output growth to 2.9 per cent on the [...]
City Moves for 18 November 2015 | Who’s switching jobs November 17, 2015 CAPITAL GROUP The investment management company has appointed Chris Miles as director, financial intermediaries. He joins from Fidelity Worldwide Investment, where he was associate director, wealth manager sales, responsible for the sales and relationship management of discretionary accounts. PwC The professional services firm has appointed Leo Ring and Hannah Carter to its pensions and investment [...]
Italian bank UniCredit to cut 18,200 jobs November 11, 2015 Italian bank UniCredit is planning to cut 18,200 jobs by 2018 in an acceleration of cost cutting measures. The bank today unveiled a strategic plan to become more efficient and profitable, planning to slash thousands of jobs as well as focus on "the new digital agenda, underpinned by €1.2bn in investments over 2016-18", in order to accelerate [...]
Zurich announces plans for 440 UK job cuts November 9, 2015 Zurich Insurance will cut 440 jobs in the UK as part of plans to simplify its operating structure, it announced today. The company said the UK insurance market had become steadily more challenging, with low investment returns and increasing loss trends creating the headwinds which have accelerated in recent months. Feedback from brokers and customers said a more straightforward business [...]