Can we make a link between the chopping of 1,500 jobs, mostly in London and New York, by the Swiss banking giant UBS, and the news that the City of London Corporation has come up with a £300 million contribution to the financing of Crossrail, the long-awaited Heathrow-to-Docklands transport link? Well, connecting unrelated news events on any given day and extracting lessons from them is what columnists are supposed to be for. So let me have a go.
The jobs lost at UBS Investment Bank, which include that of its chairman and chief executive Huw Jenkins, are the tip of the iceberg of City redundancies to come this autumn. Not only are there huge suspected sub-prime-related losses yet to be announced by other banks, but the deal flow that has kept corporate financiers in private jets and ski-chalets these past several years is rapidly drying up. The acquisition of ABN Amro by Royal Bank of Scotland with Fortis and Santander, which everyone expects to go ahead this week, may be the last big takeover to reach completion for a while; the private equity industry has gone awfully quiet.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in