Swiss franc crisis: Swiss go nuts for central London property as “safe haven effect” takes hold January 16, 2015 A fund which invests in central London property has reported an upsurge in the number of Swiss clients making enquiries. The London Central Portfolio (LCP), a residential fund and asset manager, said there had been a jump in the number of enquiries from Swiss-based investors looking to move their money into London real estate in [...]
New Quindell deputy chairman Jim Sutcliffe to step down from the Financial Reporting Council January 16, 2015 New Quindell deputy chairman Jim Sutcliffe will step down from his role as chairman of the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) codes and standards committee "with immediate effect", the organisation said today. Sutcliffe was appointed as Quindell's new deputy chairman earlier this week, causing its shares to rise more than 26 per cent. But the troubled [...]
European Commission: Yup, Amazon’s Luxembourg tax deal probably gave it an unfair advantage January 16, 2015 European regulators admitted that a deal struck between Amazon and Luxembourgish authorities to minimise its tax bill probably did constitute state aid. In a 23-page letter dated 7 October but only published today, the European Commission pointed out that it "has doubts…. as to [the deal's] compatibility with the internal market" It added that it [...]
BP saves £2.6m after it turns out Gulf of Mexico spill was smaller than thought January 16, 2015 It's not often the UK's oil producers get good news these days, so BP must be doubly pleased with the reprieve it's been issued by a US court, which ruled yesterday that the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was quite a lot smaller than originally thought. A judge ruled that 3.2 million barrels of [...]
Google stops selling Glass – but it’s “not dead” January 15, 2015 Google has decided to give up its Google Glass programme, and will stop producing the Glass "in its present form", it has been reported. The company has apparently decided to end its experimental Glass programme, but "is still committed to launching [it] as a consumer product", according to the BBC. After months of testing, Google [...]
Cheap oil won’t help recovery, warns IMF chief Christine Lagarde January 15, 2015 Cheap oil is unlikely to speed up recovery, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde has warned, adding that global recovery is currently too "lopsided". In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Lagarde suggested that although growth in the US and a lower oil price has given economies a helping hand, [...]
Finsbury Park was “entirely unsuitable” as King’s Cross replacement, admits transport boss. No kidding January 15, 2015 A transport boss has gone on the record to admit that Network Rail's decision to use Finsbury Park station as a replacement for King's Cross while the latter was out of action over Christmas, thus causing abject misery for thousands of travellers, was "entirely unsuitable". Robin Gisby, Network Rail's managing director of network operations, appeared [...]
Artists programme bot to buy drugs on Silk Road, everyone wonders what to do about it January 15, 2015 Forget trees quietly falling in forests – here's a far more modern problem. If a bot with a penchant for partying buys ecstasy pills and gets them delivered to an art gallery but no one has actively told it to do it, can anyone be prosecuted? That's the problem facing authorities, after a pair of [...]
Mining meltdown: Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American share prices plummet amid copper selloff January 14, 2015 Miners led the FTSE 100's biggest fallers in morning trading after a sudden collapse in copper prices knocked oil off the top of the commodities watch list. The metal plunged by more than six per cent after the World Bank slashed its global growth forecast for 2015. Antofagasta was the biggest faller, with shares dropping [...]
Stonewall top 100 employers: Finance firms among the UK’s best LGBT employers January 14, 2015 Lloyds Banking Group has been named the most inclusive employer in the banking and finance sector, and the third most inclusive employer in the UK, by gay rights organisation Stonewall. Seven companies in the sector were named in the Workplace Equality Index, including RBS (at number 27) and American Express (at 51). Insurer Aviva (number 15) [...]
