Canary Wharf Group, the property company that transformed London's skyline and provided homes for most of the Wall Street banks in the City, finally had something to celebrate days before Christmas.
Its courtship of JP Morgan has been an on-again, off-again affair. But finally a deal was struck and JP Morgan said it would pay almost £500 million (Dh2.84 billion) to take on the 1 million square foot former Lehman Brother's tower on Canary Wharf's estate, which it will use as its European investment bank headquarters from 2012.
At the same time it will keep building, at least to street level, the Riverside South site that is also on Canary Wharf's estate, where it had planned two towers.
The deal was hailed as a sign that London was again hot - the best location a global bank could wish to have. If only it were that simple. Bankers have been threatening to leave London in droves, saying they are being pushed out by high personal taxes, a supertax on banks and treatment of bonuses.
JP Morgan's decision to make a huge property investment seemed to expose the empty threat banks were holding over the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, and the Treasury.
But in reality it was a negotiation hewn out of granite.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, and the government launched a charm offensive last year on Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan.
As the Canary Wharf Group chief executive, George Iacobescu, said: "This is not a Canary Wharf deal. It is a UK and London plc deal. It is a win-win for everybody."
But it is still not clear what, if anything, JP Morgan will do with a second half-built building. The US bank's endorsement of London is far from ringing.
Another banker, Michael Geoghegan, the departing chief executive of HSBC, recently described how his bank reconsiders every three years whether London is the place for the bank to be based.
Mr Geoghegan said shareholders were beginning to take more of an interest in this question and are asking about the cost to HSBC of being located in London.
Disaffection with London goes a lot further than the banks. A survey of 500 senior executives in London by the international law company Eversheds shows confidence in the City's position on the world stage is wavering. Nearly half of those questioned believe London is merely "average" compared with other international financial centres.
The survey for Eversheds blames the City's fall from favour on the EU. Almost half (46 per cent) of businesses say EU policy is damaging London's reputation as a place to do business, with that rising to 57 per cent among senior executives concerned about the threat to London's global ranking. The survey also finds London is being hampered by red tape and unfavourable tax arrangements. Almost half of those surveyed (49 per cent) believe simpler and proportionate regulation would make London a more attractive place to do business, with 46 per cent also thinking a more competitive tax regime would benefit the capital.
The tally of negatives is mounting up: immigration quotas do not help multinational corporations move staff around the world; the transport system fails badly too often; and the cost of living, particularly accommodation, is high.
Markets and possibly recovery are likely to be held back this year by euro-zone problems, to which UK banks are still dangerously exposed. Yet at the end of the day, if jobs are here people will come.
The biggest gift the government can give the capital is to ensure it remains competitive on taxation. Increasingly, it has globally competitive corporate tax rates but not personal taxes. Everything else - banker bashing, rows about snow ploughs - is a sideshow.
business@thenational.ae
The years Ramadan fell in May
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
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