Go-ahead for Wharf tower October 8, 2009 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday used his new planning powers to overturn a local council decision and approve a Docklands skyscraper. The Columbus Tower, developed by Commercial Estates, will stretch 63 storeys – making it bigger than Canary Wharf’s iconic Canada One tower, and even the Heron Tower and the Pinnacle, buildings currently under construction. [...]
US jobless claims fall to nine month low as retail sales rise October 8, 2009 THE number of US workers filing new jobless claims hit a nine-month low last week, and retailers posted their first monthly sales gain in over a year, easing fears recovery from recession would be unsustainable. The Labour Department yesterday said first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped 33,000 to a seasonally adjusted 521,000 last week, the [...]
CITY VIEWS: WAS BORIS RIGHT TO INTERVENE OVER THE COLUMBUS TOWER? October 8, 2009 JIM HAYES EASTERN LAKE INVESTMENT COMPANY“It is important that he overturns decisions that are not logic-based. The building will be an iconic expression of progression, and will help us compete with other cities that produce megastructures. It will give everybody something to aspire to.” CORINNE PITMAN DEUTSCHE BANK“The council should be able to make the [...]
Citigroup trio under threat October 8, 2009 THE future of three of US bank Citigroup’s biggest names has been thrown into doubt following an external review of the company. A report by consultancy firm Egon Zehnder, commissioned by regulators earlier in the year, found that Citi’s management team, led by chief executive Vikram Pandit, was generally up to scratch. But the report [...]
Senior Deutsche executives to escape espionage probe October 8, 2009 SENIOR executives at Deutsche Bank are to escape investigation by German authorities into a spying scandal that saw the bank hire detectives to dig up information on a troublesome shareholder. The bank is facing a probe into privacy violations by Frankfurt prosecutors and financial regulator BaFin, and has already fired two executives over their alleged [...]
Investment bankers enjoy the return of stability to job market October 8, 2009 THE investment banking job market stabilised during the third quarter as confidence returned, according to a survey by recruitment specialist Robert Walters. While recruitment levels did not reach the peaks seen in 2007, the firm said hiring levels had settled down during the quarter, adding that many candidates for jobs were once again receiving counter-offers. [...]
British Land executives to set up firm October 8, 2009 PROPERTY group British Land is set for a boardroom shake-up after it emerged that its star director Andrew Jones was quitting the group, taking two committee members with him to set up a rival firm. Jones, 40, had already confirmed he was considering leaving but his decision to bring on board colleagues Valentine Beresford and [...]
Seymour Pierce in 154,000 FSA fine October 8, 2009 CITY stockbroker Seymour Pierce has been fined £154,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to spot an internal fraud. An employee at the firm stole £150,000 in 36 transactions over three years and his secret plot went “completely undetected”, the FSAsaid yesterday. The employee, labelled as “Mr A” in the FSA’s filings, was [...]
SEC chief Schapiro warns of dark pools clampdown October 8, 2009 THE INCREASING use of dark pools, or venues where stock trades are hidden from public view, is a growing concern for regulators, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said yesterday. Mary Schapiro told a conference in Basel there are legitimate reasons for traders to maintain anonymity, but dark pools may lower [...]
BRITISH LAND LOSES TALENT October 8, 2009 ANDREW JONES:Outgoing British Land director MARK STIRLING:Also going VALENTINE BERESFORD:Also going
