At the ready… five limbering up for fitness December 9, 2013 City A.M. and London’s newest cutting edge fitness club LAX St Botolph’s have selected five City workers to join them on a five star fitness journey to hit their health goals over the next four months LAX St Botolph’s is the city’s largest dedicated fitness club, where the latest fitness techniques and thinking are combined [...]
The Brit who managed to tough it out in unfamiliar territory December 9, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks strength, endurance and electric wires with Will Dean, co-founder of Tough Mudder and Englishman in New York THE growing obsession with wellbeing has now reached a point where 12-mile obstacle courses, designed by British Special Forces and incorporating icy cold water and electric wires, are among the most popular fitness events in [...]
Ex Barclays chief Bob Diamond returns December 9, 2013 Former Barclays chief executive plans his City comeback BOB DIAMOND is launching a new investment vehicle in London to fund a venture into African banking, his first big move since leaving Barclays in last year’s Libor scandal. City commentators welcomed the investment banker’s return, 18 months after he bore the brunt of the blame for [...]
Mayor’s office sold in £1.7bn Kuwaiti deal December 9, 2013 KUWAITI firm St Martins Group has paid around £1.7bn to buy the More London complex next to Tower Bridge, which includes Boris Johnson’s headquarters City Hall. The sale, one of the largest ever UK commercial property deals, is due to be formally completed next month. The 10-year old development on the south bank of the [...]
Christmas cheer kicks off with card spending boost December 9, 2013 A SEASONAL boost in consumer spending began last month, with new figures from millions of credit and debit cards showing a three per cent increase from October. Online sales were particularly popular in November, according to Barclaycard, swelling to just over a fifth of all spending. Black Friday’s frenzied shopping has now arrived from the [...]
Falling pay? That’s because you are secretly bailing out pensions December 9, 2013 REAL wages are still falling, on average, and nobody seems to know what to do about it. Even though the economy is growing, millions are seeing their incomes depressed by low nominal pay rises and highish inflation. Part of the problem is cyclical; but there is also a devastating structural explanation. There is a growing [...]
Boris’s airport could get axe in Davies report December 9, 2013 THE MAYOR’s plans for a hub airport in the Thames Estuary could get the axe in a report out later this month, Boris Johnson’s own aviation adviser has warned. Daniel Moylan told industry experts that the plan for an airport based on the Isle of Grain in north Kent or on an artificial island is [...]
World leaders gather to mourn Nelson Mandela December 9, 2013 WORLD leaders including David Cameron, Barack Obama and Angela Merkel will join stars such as Bono, Oprah Winfrey and the Spice Girls for a four-hour memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg tomorrow. Although the programme has so far not been revealed, President Obama is likely to deliver a speech and various pop stars are [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 09 December 2013 December 9, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES HSBC eyes listing of £20bn UK bank HSBC has sounded out investors about a flotation of its UK arm, in a move that would realise value from its high street banking business and address regulatory pressures. The bank has in recent weeks asked investors whether they would support the sale of a sizeable [...]
MPs protest as their pay rises by 11 per cent December 9, 2013 CABINET MINISTERS and MPs have rejected plans to increase the amount they are paid by 11 per cent. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) is set to bring forward proposals to increase salaries from £66,396 to £74,000, in a move that it says will shed light on what members of parliament are paid. A spokesman [...]
