WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 6, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphBRITISH GAS AIMS TO BECOME TOP INSURANCE PROVIDERBritish Gas is gearing up to become one of the UK’s top 10 insurance companies and the provider of choice to its 4.5m customers. The Centrica-owned utility has been granted approval by the FSA to underwrite its own household and warranty products and is in [...]
Buy-to-let is back as rents stabilise and low prices attract landlords December 3, 2009 BUY-TO-LET is starting to look like an attractive proposition once again, as lower house prices and a stabilising rental market result in more enticing yields. Data from LSL Property Services – the company that owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies – shows that annual returns on landlords’ investments have turned positive for the [...]
Norton Rose is ready to expand in Asia on the back of its latest deal November 29, 2009 There is light at the end of the economic night – of that Peter Martyr is fairly certain. But the CEO of NortonRose, the City law firm, wants to make sure we are not facing a false dawn before he gets too excited. As he puts it: “The financial crisis has moved so quickly that [...]
Think inside the Square: why the City is a top spot to buy a home November 26, 2009 IF YOU’RE looking for the ultimate Tube-busting pied a terre, the Square Mile can’t be bettered for history, beauty and – of course – convenience. Other financial centres are not exactly places you’d want to live: tightly packed with skyscrapers and fumes, they have a sterile, uninhabitable feel (just think of mid-town New York or [...]
Both black and white beers will bring out the best in oysters November 26, 2009 London's connection with oysters goes back as far as the city itself. The eating of oysters in London began in Roman times, when the British product was shipped as far as Rome. They continued to be popular in medieval times, when the church imposed lots of “fish days”, during which seafood had to be eaten [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THE CAPITAL’S OYSTERISATION AFFECT YOU? November 24, 2009 TOM SUTTON RK HARRISON “Sadly this so-called ‘Oysterisation’ Boris has announced will make no difference to my daily commute, but I do think it is a good policy for London in general. It will make moving around the capital a much easier experience, I would imagine.” NICK WEST CHAUCER “This is a brilliant idea, and [...]
LSE slaps ERT for recklessness November 23, 2009 HYDER CONSULTING has boosted its international business to nearly three-quarters of total revenues, a move that has insulated it from the worst of the recession in the UK, the company said. Hyder, which specialises in design for infrastructure and engineering projects, yesterday said it would meet annual profit targets as it reported first-half results in [...]
Rail firms will roll out Oyster November 23, 2009 COMMUTERS will be able to touch in and out using their Oyster card across Greater London on the City’s overland rail by early next year, London Mayor Boris Johnson said yesterday. The £40m investment is set to revolutionise London travel, and allow passengers to use the Oyster card across the tube, bus, river boat Thames [...]
Gatwick owners eye astronaut November 22, 2009 The new owners of Gatwick have gone galactic in their search for a new board for the London airport. It is expected that James van Hoften, a former astronaut who now runs the airports arm of American engineering giant Bechtel, will be hired. Global Infrastructure Partners, the GE-Credit Suisse joint venture that snapped up Gatwick [...]
Crossrail’s chairman says the 16bn project is set to push ahead in 2010 November 17, 2009 The last time I saw Terry Morgan was a year ago at 2am, underneath Leicester Square. Then he was the Tube Lines chief executive and was standing on the underground tracks between Leicester Square and Covent Garden stations, telling a couple of engineers exactly what he thought of their work. This meeting could not be [...]