Investec may sell Rensburg fund division July 7, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec yesterday said it had brought in advisers to explore the possibility of hiving off the fund management division of Rensburg Sheppards, which it bought out fully at the end of March. Investec said it had received “a number of expressions of interest” from potential buyers for Rensburg Fund Management (RFM), which [...]
Natural catastrophe costs in 2010 reach record $70bn high July 7, 2010 THE total costs associated with natural catastrophes in the first half of 2010 were $70bn (£46bn), more than the average over the past 10 years and more than for the whole of 2009, according to Munich Re. The world’s biggest reinsurer by revenue said yesterday that losses jumped due to three major earthquakes — in [...]
Henderson hands international property unit to Aviva Investors July 7, 2010 FUND management group Henderson has transferred its international property fund over to Aviva Investors following a strategic review of the fund’s prospects. The international property fund, which faltered under previous owner New Star as redemptions ballooned in the credit crisis, was only re-opened to daily dealing in February after a closed period of over a [...]
FORMULA ONE CHIEF UNLEASHES TAX FURY July 7, 2010 WITH all the hubbub about capital gains tax rates in the run-up to the recent Budget, investors are no stranger to vituperative attacks on their profits, but it does come as a surprise when the abuse comes from someone who’s supposed to be on their own side. The latest high-profile character to get vocal about [...]
3i rediscovers its appetite for big deals July 7, 2010 PRIVATE equity giant 3i yesterday said its portfolio of investments had turned the corner and that the outlook for new deals was looking more positive. The largest listed private equity firm said it invested £105m in the three months to the end of June, up from £76m in the same period of 2009, when the [...]
3i July 7, 2010 BARONESS Hogg, 3i’s chairman, is ending her eight-and-a-half year stint on a high note. It’s been a rocky ride: staggering growth in the early part of her tenure was tempered by a plummeting share price in the face of the financial crisis. Since he joined in January 2009, chief executive Michael Queen has been quietly [...]
McAlpine wins Heron job July 7, 2010 DEVELOPERS Heron International yesterday appointed Sir Robert McAlpine as the main contractor on the Heron, its residential development in the City of London. McAlpine has beaten rival construction firms to the deal to build the 36-storey tower next to the Barbican. Work is set to begin next week and conclude in 2013. Heron’s commercial director [...]
JP Morgan in WaMu probe July 7, 2010 HOLDERS of $1bn (£659m) of securities issued by a Washington Mutual entity have sued to void an eve-of-bankruptcy exchange of their investment, a complaint filled with claims of fraud and secret agreements says. The dispute centres around an exchange of securities that were swapped into preferred stock just as regulators seized Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu) [...]
Booz, AT Kearney merger talks crumble July 7, 2010 MANAGEMENT consultancy firms Booz & Company and AT Kearney have called time on discussions over a merger, a move that would have created the world’s third-largest powerhouse in global consulting. Booz and AT Kearney said in a statement that their “future aspirations will be best realised as separate partnerships”, after it emerged last month that [...]
State Street is bullish on profit target July 7, 2010 ASSET management and custody firm State Street said yesterday that quarterly operating earnings would easily top Wall Street forecasts, sending its shares up nearly 10 per cent and boosting the broader market. State Street, the third-largest US custody bank, said second-quarter operating earnings would be 93 cents a share, handily beating analysts’ average forecast of [...]