FOOTBALL-CRAZY PWC GETS STUCK IN ON ENGLAND’S WORLD CUP BID
GOOD news for the multitude of football fans in the City: the team behind England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup have secured themselves a powerful ally.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountancy giant, today announces it is the first sponsor to officially back the bid, responsible for working on crucial aspects of the proposal such as the direct benefit to the economy that would be provided by the world’s footie fanatics descending upon us, flags ‘n’ all. (Current estimates stand at around a £3.2bn impact on GDP, for those who are interested.)
The firm also has big ideas for persuading other businesses to come on board – which are yet to be finalised, but it’s probably fair to say there will be some famous football names popping up in the Square Mile over the next year or so (hooray).
Though if PwC’s own football hooligan Ian Powell has anything to do with it, The Capitalist has a feeling that his beloved West Brom will feature rather heavily…
HARD CORE
In the light of last week’s juicy goings-on at Aviva, how intriguing to spot a list of the insurer’s “core values” adorning one of the pages on its website.
The values in question are things like Teamwork and Integrity, as is usual with the corporate spiel flowing from these large companies.
The Capitalist is happy to agree with Aviva chairman Lord Sharman, who last week vouched for his chief executive Andrew Moss’ adherence to the aforementioned principles after he admitted having an affair with Deirdre Moffat, a junior member of staff who, in turn, was married to another colleague.
“Andrew has been very open with me and I am clear that there has been no breach of company rules,” Sharman said. “I am completely satisfied that this has in no way impacted his role as chief executive and he retains my full confidence.”
As for the other core values, we’re quite sure Moss has “Performance” well and truly nailed.
MIDDLE MEN
Sky boss Rupert Murdoch might not be best friends with regulator Ofcom at the moment, having labelled its proposals to increase competition in the sector “a threat to the climate for investment in this country”, but it seems the feeling is in no way mutual.
The Capitalist yesterday wrote a story about former BSkyB staff queuing up to advise its current rivals, with ex-Sky spinner Tim Allan – now working for Virgin Media, BT Vision and Top Up TV – having appointed the broadcaster’s erstwhile chief Tony Ball as an adviser. But Ofcom got in touch to insist its head of comms Julian Eccles, also formerly at Sky and mentioned in the article, was entirely impartial.
“Mr Eccles is advising no one other than Ofcom and continues to be studiously neutral on all matters,” says the regulator. Happy to clear up any misunderstanding.
STARS IN THE CITY
You may think it’s a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but with only eight weeks to go, festive preparations are hotting up nicely.
Next Tuesday, to simultaneously mark the turning on of the Oxford Circus Christmas lights, the City of London Corporation is hosting a free concert at St Paul’s Cathedral – and if you happen to be passing by, you might just catch sight of one of your icons.
Younger readers will probably be more excited about a performance by pop star Little Boots, while classical fans will be charmed by the St Paul’s cathedral choir. Budding showmen and women will be dazzled by the cast of the West End musical Hairspray, and wrinkly rockers can look forward to seeing Eighties legends Spandau Ballet.
LETTER MAN
So, business secretary Lord Mandelson has decided to get tough on illegal filesharers on the internet, and will in the future be sending stern warnings to repeat offenders to alert them to the danger of their situation.
Interesting, though, that the medium he has chosen to distribute said warnings is via old-fashioned letter.
Good to know that after all his involvement with the Royal Mail strikes, he’s still hopeful that an end to the endless problems with the postal service is in sight.
WIZARD IDEA
Yesterday’s request for suggestions as to which costumes the top City figures should be wearing at Hallowe’en met with an avalanche of ideas, but the fancy dress prize must go to the reader who came up with an outfit for FSA chairman Lord Turner.
“Turner needs to hide himself away with a full disguise after breaching the idea of having a Tobin tax on financial institutions,” he says. “Perhaps dressing up as Dumbledore from Harry Potter would be appropriate?”