My modest proposal to make petty regulation unenforceable October 14, 2015 The people of the United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union are all beset by armies of bureaucrats enforcing stupid, pointless rules. By “stupid, pointless rules,” I don’t mean regulations that prevent smokestacks from belching noxious smoke or ensure that coal mine tunnels are safe, but thousands of regulations that are petty in themselves [...]
The war on the driver is a war on freedom – and autonomous cars are part of the problem October 14, 2015 Freedom-hating municipal politicians have it in for the motorist: London has its congestion charge, Dublin is closing off ever more of its urban core, and Paris is now experimenting with sporadically banning all private transport. Young people, faced with turbo-charged costs, onerous restrictions and absurd taxation – not to mention rising housing costs – [...]
City Moves for 14 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 13, 2015 EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD ASSET MANAGEMENT Agnès Belaisch has been appointed head of the sovereign debt team at the asset management firm. Based in the UK, she was previously in charge of economic and market analysis at the European Stability Mechanism, and has held roles at the IMF. ANV HOLDINGS The insurance group has appointed Janet [...]
Pension freedoms: Six months on, savers still held up by four-week wait to access lump sums October 13, 2015 Retirees hoping to make use of the new pensions freedoms are being held up for weeks by admin hurdles, research has found. Since April this year, anyone over the age of 55 has been able to take some – or even all – of their pension as a lump sum. The new rules wiped [...]
Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Greg Medcraft could be the new FCA boss after Martin Wheatley ousted October 13, 2015 The head of the Australian financial regulator is being touted as a possible successor to ousted Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss Martin Wheatley. Greg Medcraft, who is chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has been contacted by recruiters about the position according to the FT. The FT reported that the process is still at an early stage and [...]
UK Green Investment Bank says it has raised £818m for offshore wind farms October 13, 2015 The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has so far raised £818m for its offshore wind fund, the government-owned bank announced today. The bank said that it had executed a second close on new commitments of £355m for the offshore wind fund, bringing the total amount raised to £818m after a £463m initial close earlier this [...]
City Moves for 13 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 12, 2015 CITY NOBLE The pensions and investment advisory firm has appointed Mike Webb as associate in its advisory business. He was previously head of distribution and marketing for the Axa corporate investment platform, and senior business development manager in Standard Life’s corporate pensions division. CBRE The commercial real estate services and investment firm has appointed Milan [...]
Perfect storm for non-executive directors: Why the era of “jobs for the boys” is long gone October 12, 2015 The role of non-executive directors (NEDs) was long considered something of an easy ride. Before the crisis, it was commonplace for City professionals, often in the twilight of their careers, to sit on a number of Plc boards simultaneously, fulfilling their duties simply by attending a small number of board meetings and providing appropriately-timed nuggets [...]
Georgia Healthcare plans to raise £65m in London IPO October 12, 2015 Tblisi-based medical insurer Georgia Healthcare has announced plans to raise $100m (£65m) by listing its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The healthcare service and medical insurance provider – Georgia's largest – is a subsidiary of the Bank of Georgia, which has been listed on London's blue-chip index since 2006. Read more: London pharma flotations are rising [...]
Tesco facing US court case as four firms sue over 2014 accounting scandal October 11, 2015 Tesco is being sued by a group of US funds over the 2014 accounting scandal which caused the supermarket's share price to collapse. In September last year, the company revealed that its profits had been overstated by £263m and the aftermath saw shares drop to a ten-year low. The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, [...]