City Spy: Raging about Hester pay

Off we go: "I don't actually know much about Mr Hester's credentials. The real problem is that in the vast majority of companies people believe that a title entitles them to a bonus. So it's a bonus by title not by ability. Obviously I don't know how good the chief executives of every FTSE 100 company are. But very few of them are entrepreneurial in any way. Many are just bureaucrats. Some are simply a safe pair of hands and some are downright bad. There's been far to much excess in executive pay and bonuses. The only way to sort it out is to give them only long-term options. That way you get rid of short-termism and if the managers aren't any good they get no reward."

*Odd that Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond, arguably London's most important banker (and previously the best-paid), hasn't yet merited an entry in Who's Who.

City boys work up a sweat

The image of City types sweating away isn't necessarily one to gladden the soul but at least it was in a good cause this week. Consultant Deloitte's 'City 250 Challenge' pitted pinstripes against Olympians James Cracknell and Rebecca Romero as well as Paralympic flag bearer Danny Crates in a sprint race on static bikes at Broadgate. The contest was in aid of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain challenge, which aims to raise £1 million for the British Paralympic Association.

*The Labour Party has tried to get round the tricky issue of whether or not to support the Government's proposed £26,000 benefits cap by setting up a regulator to decide the matter. Tory MP John Redwood wonders what it would be called.

"I presume that the regulator would be called Ofcap, or conceivably Doffcap. I think it might well be a case of Doffcap to the landlords, as we seem to be discussing how much money we will route to the landlords through the housing benefit mechanism."

*Dump all preconceptions of the blue-rinsed bingo lover. Latest figures from Rank Group show 65% of Mecca Bingo customers are now under 35. But still 75% are women.

FT man's Bullingdon shocker

Good to see Financial Times comment guru Jonathan Ford recalling his youthful indiscretions as he backs the decision to strip ex-Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin of his knighthood.

He writes: "If it is fine for the state to hand out gongs as gold stars (Mr Goodwin's was for 'services to banking') then surely there's no reasons why the same gold star shouldn't be peeled off when the 'services' in question turn out to be destructive." Ford adds, with a hint of pride: "And, as my wife reminds me from time to time, I was stripped of my Oxford scholarship for unredeemed idleness." He doesn't elaborate but he was president of the Bullingdon Club when contemporaries were a certain David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Still, at least Ford isn't entirely embarrassed about it - unlike his old Tory mates...

*Remember Alessio Rastania, the so-called City trader who appeared as a panel expert for BBC News and told viewers "I go to bed every night and I dream of another recession"? He later admitted he wasn't accredited by the Financial Services Authority and was an "attention seeker" who added: "Trading is like a hobby. It is not a business. I am a talker." Well, now he's only gone and hired himself a PR. Not just any PR, but the agency run by former News of the World editor Phil Hall.

"Alessio has become a worldwide phenomenon, renowned for having the gumption to strip away the jargon and bluster of the financial world, sum up our woes and tell it how it is," blahs the PR.

Apparently, he's ready to speak once more. Hot topics will include "forecasts, charts and probabilities, and their relationship to where the market is heading" and how "there are 2 kinds of information - FOR THE MASSESS (sic) AND FOR THE CLASSES." The blurb goes on: "There's (sic) many strong news angles and hooks that Alessio can contribute to: the exorbitant bonuses that bankers are receiving, fears about another recession,
how to best spend and invest your money, what it's like to experience overnight fame, the power of social media, etc..." Ugh.

*Greater Anglia has this week taken over the local rail franchise in East and West Anglia. However, the train firm's website page says cheerfully: "Learn more about the people that make Greater Anglier tick..."