UBS October 26, 2010 WHEN Oswald Grübel took the helm at UBS in February 2009, he quickly made a rod for his own back by setting gruelling targets. The bank would be booking at least SwFr15bn (£9.7bn) in annual profits sometime between 2012 to 2014, he said. After yesterday’s disastrous results, such a target seems laughably bullish. There were [...]
Brit insurance has accepted £888m offer October 26, 2010 BRIT Insurance yesterday accepted a formal offer from private equity firms Apollo Management and CVC Capital Partners, which values Brit at up to £888m. The offer from Apollo and CVC, which have formed a new company called Achilles to make the offer, values the Lloyds of London insurer at £10.75 per share but includes a [...]
AIG chief exec reveals he has cancer to staff October 26, 2010 ROBERT Benmosche the chief executive of US insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has revealed he has cancer and is currently undergoing “aggressive chemotherapy” to fight the disease. The 66-year-old said in a letter to employees on Monday that he began treatment last week and felt fine, although the long-term prognosis would be clearer over [...]
ROUX BUSY EXPANDING WHITEHALL WAISTLINES October 26, 2010 IT’S been a busy few months for master chef Michel Roux Jr, splitting his time between fostering his burgeoning TV career and appointing a new chef for his latest venture, Roux at Parliament Square. In addition to his ongoing judge’s spot on Masterchef, Roux has also been busy filming a series set to hit our [...]
Broad based recovery as GDP growth stuns critics October 26, 2010 THE UK economy has confounded forecasts by growing 0.8 per cent during the third quarter of this year. Consensus was for an expansion of 0.4 per cent, on the basis of slowdowns in consumer spending, house prices and declining sentiment in PMI surveys. Unexpectedly strong figures for the construction sector were one reason for the [...]
Osborne: News vindicates cuts October 26, 2010 GEORGE Osborne yesterday hailed a “double dose of good news” as proof his austerity cuts will underpin confidence in the British company. The chancellor’s comments came after the latest GDP figures showed the British economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, much faster than economists predicted. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s revised its [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WILL GDP GROWTH HOLD UP DURING THE REST OF 2010? October 26, 2010 ROSS WALKER | RBS These things are never linear – it’s not unusual to get erratic data at a turning point. We are going to see a rebalancing of the economy, which is an awfully good thing but also involves a bit of pain. GRAEME LEACH | INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS The GDP numbers are better [...]
S&P cites spending cuts in upgrade for UK outlook October 26, 2010 STANDARD & Poor’s (S&P) yesterday affirmed the UK’s government’s AAA credit rating and upgraded its outlook from negative to stable. The ratings agency cited George Osborne’s spending review as the main reason for the upgrade, in particular the coalition’s “high degree of cohesion in putting the UK’s finance onto a more sustainable footing”. It predicts [...]
ArcelorMittalwarns of low steel demand October 26, 2010 STEEL giant ArcelorMittal said muted demand for steel will continue to the end of the year, following a weak third quarter for the firm. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, also warned yesterday that government austerity measures and energy conservation plans continue to hit global steel production. “Clearly this is the big news of this call, [...]
PM condemns firemen Bonfire Night strike plan October 26, 2010 LONDON’S 5,600 firefighters have been heavily criticised for their plans to walk out on strike on Bonfire Night next Friday. Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members are set to stage a 47 hour strike from 5 to 7 November unless the London Fire Brigade (LFB) withdraws what the union has described as a “sacking letter” sent [...]