When bureaucracy goes wrong: The Environment Agency and onion futures February 12, 2014 THERE is something about onions that brings out the worst in bureaucrats. Orlando Figes’s A People’s Tragedy chronicles the early years of the Russian revolution. Under war communism, the Bolsheviks attempted to exert state control over the entire economy. A long list of vegetables was drawn up, specifying the prices at which they could be [...]
City Moves for 12 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 11, 2014 Cushman & Wakefield The real estate services firm has announced the appointment of David Mills as a partner and head of portfolio valuation. He was most recently at BNP Paribas Real Estate, where he was a director in its portfolio valuation practice. Standard Chartered The bank has hired Michael Benz as group head of private banking. He [...]
Towers Watson promotes Brit to run its investment business February 10, 2014 PROFESSIONAL services firm Towers Watson yesterday named a London-based director as its global head of investment, giving him oversight of $2 trillion of assets. Chris Ford, who has been with Towers Watson for 23 years, most recently as its European investment head, will oversee the firm’s vast investment business, which employs about 800 associates around [...]
Victoria set for £4bn investment as Armani and Jimmy Choo relocate February 10, 2014 Victoria is set for a £4bn investment over the next decade as developers cash in on companies following in Armani and Jimmy Choo's footsteps and relocating their headquarters to the area. London’s busy transport hub has undergone a major shift over the last ten years as government departments who were traditionally the biggest office-users in [...]
More gold for Johnson-Thompson February 9, 2014 ATHLETICS: Heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson won her second gold medal of the British Indoor Championships in Sheffield yesterday. Having clinched gold in the high jump on Saturday with a new British record clearance of 1.96m, the 21-year-old followed up with a personal best leap of 6.75m to win the long jump. Olympic bronze medal winner Robbie [...]
Ashton and Youngs miss out again February 4, 2014 RUGBY UNION: Exiled duo Chris Ashton and Ben Youngs have been left out in the cold again for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown with Scotland. Head coach Stuart Lancaster is to stick with the same 23-man squad narrowly beaten by France last weekend. Fly-half George Ford is one of 10 released to play for their clubs this [...]
Not convinced? February 3, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… FORD KUGA 2.0TDCi ZETEC PRICE: £22,395 0-62MPH: 10.6 secs TOP SPEED: 118mph CO2 G/KM: 139g/km MPG COMBINED: 53.3mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Three Stars PERFORMANCE Four Stars PRACTICALITY Four Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Two Stars KIA SPORTAGE 1.7 CDRI ‘3’ PRICE: £23,095 0-62MPH: 11.9 secs TOP SPEED: 107mph CO2 G/KM: 143g/km MPG COMBINED: 54.3mpg THE VERDICT: [...]
England to give youth a chance as Ashton and Youngs are axed January 28, 2014 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster felt the form of his young players was too good to ignore after axing experienced pair Chris Ashton and Ben Youngs last night from his 26-man squad to travel to France for Saturday’s Six Nations opener. Uncapped backs Luther Burrell, George Ford, Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson are included ahead [...]
Lancaster to pick new faces January 27, 2014 ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster is set to hand debuts to several uncapped players for Saturday’s RBS Six Nations opener in France. Uncapped quintet Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell, Luther Burrell, Ed Slater and George Ford are available to Lancaster, who would have no hesitation in naming them in his starting line-up on Thursday. He said: “It’s [...]
Against the Grain: Google and the output gap: Why it’s time to ditch this outdated concept January 24, 2014 THE CONCEPT of the “output gap” is central to mainstream macroeconomics. It is not merely of academic interest, however. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has a specific requirement to estimate this gap, which it defines formally as “the difference between the current level of activity in the economy and the potential level it could [...]