City comment: A major consequence of the financial crisis has been the change in the approach of the Financial Services Authority from light touch to a new and much more intrusive form of regulation... more
Phoenix Group, the Zombie insurer that runs 6 million endowment and pension schemes on behalf of customers that bought from now defunct insurers, says it is paying down debt smartly and hoping lenders will relax rules on the paying of dividends to shareholders... more
Jonathan Moss reckons there is £250 billion sitting in UK with-profits funds that are closed to new business — and he would love to get his hands on it... more
The Parliament Square squatters vow to step up the scale of their protest today despite losing a High Court eviction battle with Mayor Boris Johnson... more
Only a mother could love a lesser water boatman or a water flea or, lord help us, a hoglouse. That's pond life to you and me. And now that I've come across these invertebrates in the flesh, so to speak, I understand just how insulting that expression is... more
It was only three months ago, but it seems like a lost world. In August, the Bank of England Governor was admitting to feeling a slight autumnal chill as he introduced the quarterly Inflation Report, but there was no doubt what topped the monetary policy committee's agenda, as Mervyn King shocked us by admitting that inflation was set to hit 5% and stay there for several months... more
An eco-friendly steak and a game of 10-pin bowling before pudding could be the future of eating out in London as Square Meal magazine predicts trends for the coming year.... more
Jack White joins his old Detroit mucker Brendan Benson on stage at the Brixton Academy, tuneful Parisians Phoenix play the Astoria and the New York Dolls will be whipping up a storm.... more
Sound check: German industrial metal band Rammstein literally play with fire in their live performances - and now they are about to unleash their singeing spectacle on London. Watch out for your eyebrows
Morning:
6°c
