Barack Obama’s State of the Union address: “The shadow of crisis has passed” January 21, 2015 It was a triumphant moment for Barack Obama last night, when he stood up to tell his country "the shadow of crisis has passed". His closely-watched State of the Union address followed months of strong growth in the US economy – in stark contrast to its neighbours across the Atlantic. In a speech firmly designed [...]
Cinven strikes a £460m deal for Premium Credit January 13, 2015 Private equity firm Cinven yesterday clinched a £462m takeover of lender Premium Credit, adding another outfit to its growing list of financial services portfolio companies in Europe. Premium Credit, which lends to consumers and small and medium sized businesses, is led by former McKinsey stalwart Andrew Doman and employs about 300 people at its [...]
City Moves for 09 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 8, 2015 Savills Matt McCue has been appointed out of town retail director at the real estate services provider. He has over 17 years’ experience in the industry, and joins from CBRE. He will continue to work with both landlord and retail clients at Savills. BNY Mellon The investment company’s wealth management business has appointed Yolande Escher [...]
The 100 City people you need to follow on Twitter this year, day four: Economists January 8, 2015 The financial crisis may have been a tough time for most of the City, but one group did pretty well out of it. There’s no doubt about it: economics has got sexy, as the popularity of everything from Thomas Piketty’s missive on inequality to “economics made easy” books such as The Undercover Economist, shows. Whether [...]
Christmas quiz: Test your knowledge December 22, 2014 Deloitte’s chief economist, poses some of the trickiest questions of the year. How many can you get right? Answers are at the bottom. 1 The Louvre is the world’s most popular art gallery, with 9.3m visits in 2013. How many visits did people make to Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida in the same year? a) [...]
City Moves for 22 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 21, 2014 LEBC Simon Turner has been appointed director of business planning at the IFA, pensions and employee benefits consultancy. He was previously regional head of financial planning for the northern region at Grant Thornton. Turner has 25 years’ experience in financial services. Jones Day The law firm has announced the appointment of 42 partners, with three [...]
Russia, Tesco and Alex Salmond feature in the seven biggest losers of 2014 December 17, 2014 It’s Christmas. The time of year when we’re all supposed to be a little more caring, charitable and considerate of those not feeling so swell. But for every champagne toast to success, there is regret at the bottom of a bottle. So summon some of that Christmas spirit for this sorry lot, the seven [...]
City Moves for 10 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 9, 2014 Lambert Smith Hampton The commercial property consultancy has appointed Kenneth Hogg as a director in its London valuation team. He has 24 years’ experience in commercial property, and joins from Davis Coffer Lyons. TSB Craig Bundell has been appointed head of credit cards at the bank. He joins from Mastercard, where he held the position [...]
Uber driver rape allegations: Can taxi app overcome its latest scandal in New Delhi? December 8, 2014 The controversial ridehire app faces public outcry after one of its drivers is accused of rape in New Delhi. Uber's success, its $40bn (£25.6bn) valuation and its rapid adoption as a verb is marred with questionable business practices and a rapid global expansion that has now brought into question whether Uber is “safest rides on [...]
The other FCA concern: Why its new rules for bankers would hurt the UK economy December 8, 2014 IT’LL be a busy week for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Yesterday, the regulator announced a new strategic approach for the organisation, with key personnel changes and a “sharper focus” on the challenges ahead. A review by Clifford Chance partner Simon Davis into the FCA’s handling of an insurance probe earlier this year is also [...]