Funeral costs: Why is it so expensive to die? January 28, 2015 How much does it cost to die? Around £3,590 apparently, which is the cost of an [XX], [XX] or an [XX]. What's more, the cost of dying is rising by around three per cent a year, putting it way ahead of th erate of infaltion which fell to a record low of 0.5 per cent in [...]
Eyesore or beauty? The 14 postwar office blocks listed by English Heritage January 28, 2015 Whether you're a fan or take an altogether more "Prince Charles" attitude to post-war architecture, office buildings provide some of the finest examples of it. And turns out English Heritage thinks it's worth preserving: the organisation has listed 14 of the UK's best-loved (or most-hated) post-war offices. According to English Heritage, the buildings – which [...]
Google rents more office space at 6 Pancras Square in King’s Cross after campus delay January 12, 2015 Google has signed a deal to let more space in a building at King’s Cross after deciding to redraw plans for new £650m headquarters at the central London site. The search engine giant has agreed to lease all of 6 Pancras Square, after originally signing up for just under half of the space in [...]
After a volatile week for global markets, is there still time for a Santa Rally? December 17, 2014 Adrian Lowcock, head of investing at Axa Wealth, says Yes. The so-called Santa Rally relates primarily to the last two weeks of the calendar year – the weeks of Christmas and New Year. In this two-week period, the FTSE 100 has put in its best performance of the year every year since 1986. A major [...]
Christmas jumper day turned out to be something of a cracker December 14, 2014 We asked… you delivered. Friday was probably the only day of the year when the brighter, the sillier, the most garish, the more glittery jumper imaginable was allowed in even the most staid of City offices. It was, of course, Christmas Jumper Day and it was all in a good cause, too – Save [...]
Aviva in danger of losing major Asian contract as rivals close in December 7, 2014 INSURER Aviva is facing a sale of one of its biggest contracts in Asia, according to market sources. If the company does not want to lose its bancassurance deal with Singapore’s DBS, which is due to end in 2015 after 14 years, it may be forced by a competitive auction process to pay in excess [...]
City Moves for 02 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 1, 2014 Baker Tilly Jim Muir has been appointed head of financial services at the accountancy and business advisory firm. He previously worked at KPMG, and has held board level positions at a range of financial services businesses. Standard Chartered Gwynne Master has been appointed head of financial institutions for Europe in the bank’s corporate and institutional [...]
Aviva share price falls as Friends Life shares rise: Surprised market reacts to deal bombshell November 24, 2014 The market was divided yesterday following the announcement of a planned merger between insurer Aviva and its competitor Friends Life. Aviva saw its shares fall by more than five per cent during the day, while shares in Friends Life climbed by six per cent. Most analysts agreed that the announcement was surprising, with [...]
City Moves for 20 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 19, 2014 Deloitte The business advisory firm has appointed Bill Page as senior adviser for African projects, based in London. He joins after five years at Deloitte Tanzania, where he was partner responsible for tax practices there and in Uganda. Page also spent nearly 11 years in the former Soviet Union. Moore Stephens The accounting and advisory [...]
What are the tallest buildings in London? How the Pinnacle will measure up against neighbouring towers November 7, 2014 This week it emerged work on the Pinnacle may finally begin again after four years. With its eye-catching “Helter Skelter” design rising 63 storeys – about 945ft – the Pinnacle was going to be the tallest tower in the Square Mile (although it will never quite match up to the Shard’s 1,014ft). But work [...]