Firms are wising up on the need to reform executive pay February 16, 2017 To mere mortals, executive pay can sometimes seem out of this world. Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs No2 who is now director of the National Economic Council in the US, was awarded $284m (£227m) by the Wall St bank upon departure. In the UK, the best paid chief executive is WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell, whose [...]
BAE Systems to appoint new boss February 13, 2017 BAE Systems is reportedly set to announce a new boss for the first time in nearly 10 years. It is thought the defence manufacturer will appoint its chief operating officer, Charles Woodburn, as the new chief executive next week. Woodburn joined the company a year ago. Sky News reported that BAE Systems may make the [...]
Retail group calls on government to reduce the burden of business rates February 13, 2017 Business rates have become unsustainable and must be lowered to allow companies to invest, a leading business group has told the government. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned chancellor Philip Hammond that property taxes need reform because they now represent a "disproportionate burden" to businesses. Read more: Culture shock: How London's theatres will be squeezed [...]
Barclays mulls plans to freeze chief executive Jes Staley’s £8m a year pay as investors reach breaking point over bumper deals February 12, 2017 Barclays is considering freezing its chief executive's maximum pay at £8m for the next three years, in a bid to dodge fallout from a potential shareholder spring. According to Sky News, which first reported the story, the chair of the bank's remuneration committee has briefed leading investors on plans to keep salary and incentives for Jes Staley, who [...]
Hedge funds bank on Sky takeover bid success February 12, 2017 Two US hedge funds have banked on the Murdoch family succeeding in taking over the UK-based communications giant, Sky plc. According to reports in the Sunday Telegraph, the two funds, HBK and Pentwater, each disclosed they have amassed positions worth £310m and £300m respectively. In December last year, 21st Century Fox announced that it would be [...]
More like dandruff: These are the best tweets about London’s snow flurries February 11, 2017 Last night, the Met Office warned the City could get as much as an inch of snow during the evening rush hour. However, things weren't quite that drastic on the ground. Some Londoners questioned whether what fell from the sky could actually be classed as snow at all. Snowing in a half hearted can't be bothered to [...]
David Hockney at Tate Britain review: A Bigger Splash still makes a bigger splash than the artist’s weak newer works February 9, 2017 This major David Hockney retrospective, the first for 30 years, flits between brilliance and nonchalant mediocrity, with virtuoso paintings hanging metres away from self-cannibalising pastiches of the artist’s best work. Hockney is the nation’s favourite painter, a national treasure on a level with Alan Bennett, popular enough for The Sun to ask him to redesign [...]
A Tory MP has tabled a no confidence motion in John Bercow over his controversial Donald Trump intervention February 9, 2017 The role of House of Commons speaker John Bercow is under threat after a Conservative MP tabled a "no confidence" motion. James Duddridge has been a vocal critic of Bercow's Donald Trump intervention, in which the speaker vowed to fight any invitation for the US President to address MPs and peers in Parliament. Read More: Commons speaker John Bercow [...]
Snow in London as Met Office warns of wintry weekend weather February 9, 2017 Parts of London have seen snow this morning, and further showers are set to fall on the capital over the weekend. Twitter users reported a light dusting in various parts of east London. Light #snow in #Shoreditch, #London. #publicserviceannouncement — Rob (@robhallifax) February 9, 2017 It's snowing in Tower Hill! #snow #London pic.twitter.com/et6hlsTqoC — Lucy [...]
London Assembly members pressure Sadiq Khan to rule out more money for the Garden Bridge February 8, 2017 London Assembly members are pressing mayor Sadiq Khan to guarantee the capital won’t foot the bill for the Garden Bridge’s running costs. Assembly members backed a motion 16 – 1 calling for Khan to rule out further chunks of taxpayer money being used to maintain the controversial construction. Read More: Vauxhall MP slams Garden Bridge project [...]