Crains NY: NYC, London vie for the bottom

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090208/FREE/302089969/1052&category=FREE&nocache=1 Though the financial crisis has pummeled both cities, the British capital is seen as harder-hit by bank collapses, falling home prices, layoffs and rising unemployment. To Sunil Hirani, the first hint of London's troubles comes in the form of empty seats on his twice-a-month flights... [more]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090208/FREE/302089969/1052&category=FREE&nocache=1 Though the financial crisis has pummeled both cities, the British capital is seen as harder-hit by bank collapses, falling home prices, layoffs and rising unemployment. To Sunil Hirani, the first hint of London's troubles comes in the form of empty seats on his twice-a-month flights from New York. Upon arrival, he notes other tell-tale signs: the empty streets, the omnipresent 70%-off sales, the cabbies complaining about a 50% decline in ridership. “It feels like a ghost town,” says Mr. Hirani, chief executive of derivatives trader Creditex. “It just feels like London has been hit harder than New York.” [more] [less]