Williamsburg, once a Mecca for hipsters, is now a luxury hub Travel Williamsburg is the hipster capital of the world, the Brooklyn neighbourhood where a thousand moustaches were born. Yet the New York City district has largely thrown off its bohemian past to become a hub for gourmet restaurants and chic hotels. Williamsburg’s economy collapsed in the 1970s with the deindustrialisation of New York. The area’s [...]
Now’s the time to visit Miami, from art deco architecture to exciting new neighbourhoods VISITING MIAMI Why now is the time to visit Miami for a taste of history as well as present day luxury
No firms charged with ‘failure to prevent’ tax evasion in 6 years – here’s why FINANCIAL CRIME The UK taxman has not charged any British firm with the ‘failure to prevent tax evasion’ offence since it was introduced six years ago, HMRC has confirmed. Under the offence, introduced in 2017, a British company can be criminally prosecuted if it was found to have not put adequate checks and systems to prevent its [...]
Who has been hit hardest by £21bn of pandemic fraud, and will the taxpayer EVER get it back? March 30, 2023 The UK Government has lost £21bn worth of taxpayers money due to fraud since the start of the pandemic, that is “very unlikely” to be unrecovered, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO said that many public bodies are unaware of the amount of fraud they face, as it revealed that levels of [...]
End of the road: Why More Than will no longer sell car insurance as insurer RSA quits market March 29, 2023 RSA has set out its plans to exit the car insurance business in the face of “extremely competitive” market conditions. In a statement, RSA said it had struck an agreement to “introduce” car insurance customers held through its More Than business to UK rival Swinton, with a view to boosting its business, home and [...]
From cow herder to corporate chief – meet the man who leads Axa’s City division March 29, 2023 Axa’s UK chief executive Claudio Gienal is willing to admit he’s a tough boss. Speaking to City A.M., the Swiss exec, who took up his position as the head of Axa’s UK & Ireland business in 2017, is very clear that he doesn’t like “excuses”. He’s also clear that the people around him have to [...]
Lloyd’s of London’s war underwriters prepare to pay out over ships stuck in Ukrainian waters March 28, 2023 Lloyd’s of London’s war underwriters have begun setting aside cash reserves as they prepare to pay out on a flurry of claims from the owners of ships stuck in Ukraine’s territorial waters. The insurance market is readying itself for a new wave of claims from shipowners that have now become viable following the anniversary of [...]
HSBC, SocGen and BNP Paribas raided in France as part of ‘cum cum’ tax probe March 28, 2023 French authorities today raided the Paris offices of five major banks – including HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Société Générale – in relation to an ongoing fraud and money laundering investigation. In a statement, France’s national fraud prosecutor said the raids relate to a preliminary investigation into so-called ‘cum cum’ schemes, which was opened in December [...]
Unions slam government’s ‘appalling decision’ to award freeport contract to firm behind P&O Ferries sackings March 27, 2023 Trade unions have hit out at the UK government over its decision to let the company that owns P&O Ferries run the new Thames Freeport development – after the Dubai-owned shipping company “chose” to break the law by firing nearly 800 staff last year. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak slammed the government’s “appalling decision” to [...]
After fining Deloitte £25m, China vows to discipline the Big Four March 27, 2023 China has vowed to toughen its stance towards the Big Four accounting firms after hitting Deloitte with a £25m fine for auditing failures. After meeting with Deloitte’s global chair Sharon Thorne, China’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) outlined plans yesterday to “strengthen” its supervision of the country’s audit sector by “strictly” enforcing “financial discipline.” China’s vice [...]