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 [...]
Piccadilly Circus Circus takes the big top to the West End September 2, 2012 CENTRAL London played host to a pop-up Big Top yesterday, as for one day only the Piccadilly Circus Circus rolled into town. Baffled shoppers were treated to hula-hoopers, acrobats and jugglers all afternoon, culminating in an aerial performance across Piccadilly at sunset. The transformation from tourist trap to surrealist carnival was part of the London [...]
City Moves Who’s switching jobs September 2, 2012 Post Office The mail operator has announced that Sue Barton is to join the executive committee as strategy director. Barton’s experience includes extensive time within postal consultancy at Accenture, where she has worked with many of the leading international postal organisations providing support and advice. Laxfield Capital The debt origination and loan manager has announced [...]
Best of the Brokers September 2, 2012 BAE SYSTEMS Morgan Stanley rates the defence firm “equalweight” but has cut its target price from 330p to 320p. The uncertainty about governments’ defence spending continues to weigh on BAE’s earnings growth, and the broker sees cash returns to shareholders as the key investment case at the moment. Morgan Stanley expects the firm to maintain [...]
UK focus on ECB meeting outcome September 2, 2012 THURSDAY will be the highlight of the week for economists, with all eyes on results of the European Central Bank policy meeting. While the market waits to hear the latest plans to fix the Eurozone’s debt problem, the Bank of England will also be announcing its latest interest rate decision and asset purchase plan. However, [...]
More volume is likely as a new month begins September 2, 2012 MARKING the end of the summer doldrums, Wall Street is likely to kick off September with heavy trading volume while it hopes that the European Central Bank will hint at further stimulus measures to boost the global economy. On Friday, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank stands ready to bolster [...]
Why we need a new golden rule for businesses – a Labour perspective September 2, 2012 NO ONE should doubt the seriousness of the public sector deficit and the need to reduce it – but it cannot be treated in isolation. In meeting its promise to explain the principles by which it would steer the economy if it gets into power, the Labour party needs a new golden rule; not only [...]
The hub of the matter: Growing aviation capacity will stop firms taking flight September 2, 2012 IN THE ongoing debate on aviation capacity, we have become gridlocked in a game of political poker. Nobody is prepared to grasp the nettle, despite the obvious benefits increased capacity would generate for our economy. We need international trade to grow. The default position at the moment is against the construction of a third runway [...]
As China is getting bolder the West is losing confidence September 2, 2012 LIVING and working in China – where I teach urban design to eager architecture students – is a constant adventure. Unlike the UK, where we seem to spend our time discussing what, how or even whether to build, it is exciting to be in a country that is actually doing it. China is building 20 [...]
Was it a risky move by Barclays to appoint Antony Jenkins as its new chief executive? September 2, 2012 YES Erin Davis All in all, we’re pleased with the appointment of Antony Jenkins but note that it is not without risk. Together, Walker and Jenkins project a credible and much-needed change in Barclays’ corporate culture. In our opinion, former chief executive Bob Diamond’s often brash demeanour exacerbated negative public and political sentiment towards the [...]
