A BONUS CAN BE A RIGHT August 11, 2009 SPEAKER’S CORNERROBERT JAMES WASHINGTONASSOCIATE, HOGAN & HARTSON PEOPLE who have lost their jobs as a result of the current recession might not like it, but as the reports of banking profits last week suggested, bonuses are back. Or in any case, they will be soon. This bonus season, though, PR might dictate that some firms [...]
Big Brother in the Square Mile raises legal issues August 11, 2009 THERE is nothing so British as fear of Big Brother. And perhaps, not without reason – the UK has 20 per cent of the world’s CCTV cameras. But the latest fear is being spied on at work. City firms have begun to import state-of-the-art tactics to keep a close eye on employees, and it is [...]
CITY EYE August 11, 2009 The City sprawls out in the sunshine below the balcony at the top of Tower Bridge
COLOURFUL WORLD OF CHRISTINA DOMECQ August 11, 2009 EVERYONE wants a piece of colourful entrepreneur Christina Domecq. Since her SpinVox voicemail-to-text conversion company appeared in 2003, Domecq has run the full gauntlet of whimsical public opinion – first championed by venture capitalists, then hounded by critics, and now slated by past and current employees. Don’t get me wrong, Domecq still has plenty of [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE CITY GIVE SIR FRED GOODWIN ANOTHER CHANCE? August 10, 2009 JASPER JEVONS JCT“He could not be trusted in a position of high authority again, where big decisions would rest on his shoulders. But he could take an advisory role, but nothing with his head on the block, because if it was to go wrong he would be a crushed man.” MARK BARRETT BLACKROCK“I don’t think [...]
SCRAPPAGE SCHEME HITS HALF WAY MARK August 10, 2009 THE number of vehicles ordered under the government’s cash-for-bangers scrappage scheme hit 154,927 by 2 August, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said yesterday. Up to 300,000 cars can be bought under the scheme, meaning it is over half-way through its course.
Tories link with Google on NHS August 10, 2009 THE TORIES said yesterday they will make huge savings in the NHS by scrapping government plans for a central database of patient records, and replacing them with a more flexible system hosted by Google or Microsoft. Every patient will be able to update their records with information like blood pressure and cholesterol levels via personal [...]
London worst for job losses August 10, 2009 LONDON saw the steepest rate of job cuts in July according to Markit’s UK regional purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) published yesterday. The survey showed employment levels were falling at their fastest pace for five months, registering 39.9 on the PMI employment index compared to the UK average of 43.6. Tim Moore, economist at Markit, said: [...]
China backtracks on new Rio claims August 10, 2009 CHINESE officials yesterday distanced themselves from an earlier report claiming miner Rio Tinto had been engaged in “commercial espionage” against China’s steel mills for six years. A website with links to China’s State Secrets Bureau had said at the weekend that Rio had been spying Chinese businesses as well as inflating iron ore prices which [...]
Heathrow T2 to get a refit August 10, 2009 AIRPORT owner BAA yesterday unveiled plans for a £1bn refurbishment of Heathrow’s Terminal 2, which will allow capacity at the depot to grow by 11.5m to around 30m passengers each year by 2019. The environmentally friendly refurbishment (pictured), part of a £4.8bn investment at the airport in west London, will house airlines belonging to the [...]
