City firms commence training for this year’s Diamond Relay race at the Olympic Park stadium February 25, 2016 The first 100 corporate teams have already signed up for this year's Diamond relay race this summer. The gruelling 5x5km dash, taking place at the Olympic Park stadium, will pit accountants, analysts, bankers, insurers, lawyers and pretty much everyone else in the Square Mile against each other this July. Last year 230 corporate running teams took part in [...]
Is the European Central Bank out of control? February 25, 2016 In the German constitutional court last week, ECB board member Yves Mersch made a bold statement. He declared member states of the EU to be mutually financially liable for each other. The president of the court Andreas Voßkuhle had summoned attorneys to take part in what became a heated debate about the legality of outright monetary transactions (OMT) policy. [...]
Lloyd’s underwriters slam Admiral Insurance’s new advert for grossly misleading costume design February 25, 2016 Old sea dogs at Lloyd's of London were spluttering into their pink gins last night over Admiral Insurance's latest advert, which features a woman dressed as what appears to be an 18th century admiral. Admiral has taken a fresh stance on its long-standing naval mascot, opting for a female to helm the ship in its new ad campaign [...]
Axa share price up as Paris-headquartered insurer reveals a boost in net income for its 2015 financial year February 25, 2016 Share price in Axa rose today after the company revealed growth in its net income for its 2015 financial year. Net income for the Paris-headquartered company rose to €5.6bn (£4.4bn) for the financial year 2015, up 12 per cent on a reported basis and three per cent on a constant currency basis compared with €5bn the year [...]
Budget 2016 UK pension changes explained: What pension reforms might chancellor George Osborne have up his sleeve on 16 March? Will Waspi have any state pension joy? February 25, 2016 It's the question on everybody's lips (well, everybody at City A.M. anyway): what will pensions in the UK look like post-Budget 2016? Several suggestions have been bandied around, but which ones might you want to start banking on and which can you probably afford to ignore? Relief rates slashed for higher earners Bad news if you pay [...]
Why firms need to plan ahead to limit damage by association, as the BBC may have found out with Jeremy Clarkson February 25, 2016 The career-ending and potentially life-threatening injuries suffered by celebrities taking part in The Jump recently has raised some questions around whether the continuation of the TV series is in good taste. If the broadcaster were forced to cut short the production, lucrative advertising and sponsorship deals could be left exposed, not to mention committed production costs. [...]
RSA Group reveals boost to profits despite drop in net written premiums and being hit by Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank February 25, 2016 RSA Group has this morning announced a rise in profits for its year ended December 2015, despite a fall in net written premiums. The insurer revealed profits before tax of £323m, up from £275m in 2014, while operating profits were also strong at £523m, up 43 per cent compared with £365m in 2014. However, group net written [...]
The 21st century liquidity trap: Our only way out is for policy-makers to end their austerity policies and restart QE policies February 24, 2016 The 2008 crisis started with a solvency problem that led on to a liquidity problem, which resulted in an economic slump. Today, we start from a liquidity problem that is causing an economic problem, which may ultimately lead on to a solvency problem. Global liquidity is becoming ‘trapped’, an idea first popularised by John Maynard [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan publishes his own tax returns after Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith revealed his earlier this week February 24, 2016 Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has published his personal tax returns, after his Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith revealed his own tax records earlier this week. According to figures provided by Khan's campaign today, the MP for Tooting earned £61,401 as a member of parliament last year, and banked another £1,500 in media appearance fees. He [...]
Gold prices are heading upwards – and here’s three reasons why experts suggest they’re going to keep rising, from upcoming QE in Japan and the Eurozone to sheltering from global crisis February 24, 2016 Gold has been the best performing asset so far this year, rising 15 per cent during a tumultuous period for global markets. The precious metal is now priced at $1,226 an ounce, $151 higher than at at the start of January. It’s an impressive rise, and a decent bounce from last summer when gold hit a [...]