PM confirms public sector pensions cut June 23, 2010 THE PRIME Minister yesterday confirmed the pensions of existing public sector workers will be cut, as he defended the coalition Budget in a tetchy question and answer session with voters. Cameron said the bill for public sector pensions was too high and that schemes would become less favourable for existing members of staff as well [...]
Bosses taking a tougher line on late workers June 13, 2010 EMPLOYERS are taking a tougher line with staff because of the recession, with one in six prepared to sack somebody for being late just two or three times, a new survey has revealed. Twelve per cent of business leaders in the UK said they would show the door to a worker who was late four [...]
POLO IN THE PARK GETS CITY’S VOTE FOR BEST CORPORATE DAY OUT June 6, 2010 IT WAS off to Hurlingham Park in sunny south-west London at the weekend for an action-packed few days at the second annual Polo in the Park tournament. With the event extended this year from two days to three due to popular demand – and Friday earmarked as the official corporate hospitality day for the City [...]
Reinsurers transfer $2.4bn in risk June 1, 2010 Reinsurers transferred $2.35bn (£1.6bn) in catastrophe risk to capital markets before the US hurricane season that began yesterday, higher than the $1.4bn last year, as the catastrophe bond sector starts to resume normal issuance after the global financial crisis. The cat bond sector, in which insurers transfer risks linked to natural disasters to investors, is [...]
LIAM BYRNE BOMBS WITH TICKING MESSAGE TO TREASURY SUCCESSOR May 17, 2010 HOW poor old Liam Byrne must now be regretting his decision to leave his successor David Laws a sardonic little note of welcome in the office of the chief secretary to the Treasury. “Dear chief secretary,” the note read, “I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards and good luck! Liam.” Within minutes of Laws [...]
BOULTON, CAMPBELL IN BUST UP OF THE YEAR May 10, 2010 IF ANY readers were holed up behind a desk yesterday evening without access to a television, it’s time to indulge yourselves with a quick internet search, pronto. Yesterday’s Sky News coverage of Gordon Brown’s resignation as Prime Minister contained one of the best live TV snippets in years, as the channel’s political editor Adam Boulton [...]
Choosing the most suitable card is not a zero-sum game May 6, 2010 WHEN Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank announced earlier this week their offer of 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for the first 16 months, it threw the cat among the pigeons. The two banks, both UK subsidiaries of National Australia Bank, leapt straight to the top of the best-buy comparison tables with the deal, [...]
Cut-price Sky Sports moves a step closer April 29, 2010 SKY’S stranglehold over subscription TV took a hit yesterday as a court refused to postpone a ruling forcing it to slash the price it can charge rivals for Premier League football. The ruling guarantees top flight games will be available across four platforms by the start of next season. Sky, led by chief executive Jeremy [...]
Iron-clad entertainment April 29, 2010 Film IRON MAN II Cert: 12A Compared to the brooding darkness of the Batman films or the commercial cynicism of the Transformers franchise, 2008’s Iron Man was a breezy joy of a blockbuster, and so is its sequel. It may lose the thread of its plot from time to time, and the final showdown is [...]
PANTHER BOSS ON A TRIP INTO NOSTALGIA April 26, 2010 ANDREW Perloff, the eccentric chairman of property firm Panther Securities, has something of a cult following among City investors due to his penchant for using company results statements as an excuse to reminisce at length about life’s little quirks. But yesterday’s final results announcement was a corker even by Perloff’s own standards, ranging from fervent [...]