Thank you for reading us in ever greater numbers in 2012 December 20, 2012 The common complaint about City A.M. in its infancy was that it was hard to pick up outside the City, Canary Wharf and Mayfair. Readers generally loved the paper but wanted to read it on their way into work rather than when they arrived at their destination. So, over the past couple of years we [...]
Festive intruders in Heron Tower’s fish tank December 20, 2012 Visitors at the City’s Heron Tower cannot miss the giant fish tank residing in the lobby. The aquarium is the largest privately owned one of its kind in Britain, and home to 67 different species of fish. It was also home to two festive guests on Wednesday, when divers donning Santa suits entered to give [...]
Female drivers feel the pinch as insurance premiums rise today December 20, 2012 YOUNG women drivers are set to see substantial rises in the amount they pay for car insurance from today, after a new EU ruling came into force. Last year the European Court of Justice ruled that it was discriminatory to charge people different amounts for insurance products based on their gender. “The new rules are [...]
Gloomy start to Christmas as shoppers look out for bargains December 20, 2012 RETAIL sales are barely kept pace with inflation last month, according to official figures out yesterday, with squeezed consumers waiting for discounts rather than splashing out for Christmas. The quantity of goods bought in November rose 0.9 per cent on the year, while the amount spent increased 1.5 per cent, showing a small rise, the [...]
Three messages to warm your spirits during the hectic Christmas period December 20, 2012 AHECTIC round of after-work parties and shopping, interspersed with a few brief moments wondering where the year went. Then a frenzy of unwrapping, a battle in the kitchen with a recalcitrant turkey, the family lunch, a silly game, a surreptitious snooze in the middle of Pirates of the Caribbean. Christmas has its routines, but every [...]
Don’t be a misery: Festive decadence has a fine heritage December 20, 2012 EVERY December, eco-miserabilists and anti-consumerist curmudgeons attack people for indulging in Christmas-time debauchery. Fancying themselves as experts on Christian festivals, these killjoys inform the moronic masses that boozing, overeating and splashing out on pressies is not what Christmas is supposed to be about. Christmas, they declare, is meant to be a time of reflection and [...]
CITYA.M. Guide to givers 2012 December 20, 2012 Welcome to City A.M’s second annual Guide to Givers, bringing to the limelight business individuals and organisations that have donated not just their resources, but also their time and effort towards improvements for those less fortunate than themselves. As belts are being tightened, public charitable spending is understandably at a significant low point, putting emphasis [...]
Ten top City of London givers December 20, 2012 MICHAEL SPENCER BROKING The Icap Charity Day celebrated its 20th anniversary this December, raising £11m for charities in the process. The annual pre-Christmas event is a celebrity-studded occasion on which all revenues and commissions from the world’s leading interdealer broker are donated. Chief executive Michael Spencer has played a major role in the success of [...]
Cash And Go can pay for the Christmas turkey December 20, 2012 TOMORROW’S highlight at Ascot is the Ladbroke Hurdle at 3.10pm, one of the richest handicaps in Europe. Alan King trains the likely favourite, Balder Success, who I’m sure is going to prove much better than his current mark of 147. However, this is going to be a brutal contest in the ground and 11st 4lb [...]
Riverside is the better option in the long run December 20, 2012 NICKY Henderson has an enviable recent record at Kempton’s William Hill Winter Festival, despite only winning the highlight, the William Hill King George VI Chase, once two years ago with Long Run. Robert Waley-Cohen’s seven-year-old is the favourite for this year’s renewal, but to me he seems a horse that is regressing and I don’t [...]