Boris Johnson unveils £913m plan to protect London cyclists with Crossrail for bikes September 3, 2014 London Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday unveiled plans for two urban cycleways across London dubbed “Crossrail for the bike.”. They will offer cyclists protection from other road traffic and are the centrepiece of a £913m project to convince more Londoners into using two wheels to get around. The north-south route will run from Elephant & Castle in [...]
Spirit pubs selling more pints September 3, 2014 SPIRIT Pub Company’s like-for-like sales were ahead of the market in the fourth quarter as value-for-money deals attracted more customers to its franchises, boosting full-year expectations. Shares in the company, which was split from Punch Taverns in 2011, closed up 1.3 per cent. Like-for-like sales rose 2.1 per cent at managed pubs in the 12 [...]
Eurozone service sector’s slowdown puts pressure on ECB to undertake quantitative easing September 3, 2014 The Eurozone’s services firms flagged a further slowdown in the troubled currency bloc’s growth yesterday, with surveys indicating that the region is growing at the slowest pace this year so far, putting pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB). The Eurozone’s composite purchasing managers’ index, collated by Markit, dropped to just 52.5 – the lowest [...]
Dismal Eurozone data adds to reasons not to hike interest rates September 3, 2014 Our panel of experts voted to hold interest rates again this week, with dismal data from the Eurozone adding to weak UK wage inflation as the major reasons mentioned not to tighten policy. The clear slowdown in the currency union has had little effect on hard economic data in the UK so far, but several [...]
German bank boss’ support for central Eurozone bond sparks ire September 3, 2014 The chairman and chief executive of one of Germany’s largest banks was in hot water in his home country yesterday, after penning an article in support of centralised bond issuances for the Eurozone. Commerzbank boss Martin Blessing came under scrutiny after expressing the opinion in an article for German business newspaper Handelsblatt. Blessing said that the [...]
ONS revision shows UK financial crisis was not as bad as thought September 3, 2014 THE RECESSION which hit the UK in the aftermath of the financial crisis was less severe than initially thought, and the country returned to its previous peak size at a much earlier date. Revisions released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday showed that GDP dropped six per cent from the first quarter [...]
It’s the Lib Dem Disco! A chance to shake a leg with Nick Clegg September 3, 2014 From the party that promised a free tree for every new born child (sort of) comes perhaps the best political fundraising idea The Capitalist has ever heard. Prepare yourself folks… it’s the Lib Dem disco! That’s right, for £10 a ticket or a bargainous £15 per pair, you too can go on an eight-hour [...]
Walkie-Talkie loses out on Carbuncle Cup ugly building award… for this year September 3, 2014 Ladies and gentlemen, this year’s coveted Carbuncle Cup – the award for the UK’s ugliest building – goes to (drumroll please)… not one of the most nominated buildings, the Walkie Talkie, aka 20 Fenchurch St. Unfortunately, or fortunately – depending on your perspective – the Walkie Talkie could not appear on Building Design Magazine’s list [...]
Lazard poaches Greenhill director September 3, 2014 INVESTMENT bank Lazard yesterday confirmed former Greenhill managing director Richard Hoyle has joined the group. Hoyle, who spent 14 years at Greenhill having joined from Credit Suisse in 2002, has joined Lazard as a managing director at the group’s financial advisory unit. “Richard is a highly regarded advisor, and we expect he will be a [...]
Killik loses Kavanagh after exec departs to set up own venture September 3, 2014 CITY stockbroker and wealth manager Killik announced a major departure yesterday with partner Paul Kavanagh set to leave at the end of this year with two colleagues to set up his own company. Kavanagh, chief investment officer at Killik and chairman of Killik & Co’s capital division, will leave the company on 31 December 2014, [...]