Munich Re ups dividend after solid year in 2009 February 2, 2010 MUNICH RE posted forecast-beating full-year results yesterday boosted by a fortuitous combination of unusually low disaster claims and the momentum from a post-crisis revival on financial markets. The world’s biggest reinsurer, in which US investor Warren Buffett has amassed a stake of more than five per cent, reported preliminary 2009 net profit of €2.56bn (£2.24bn), [...]
Retail funds smash £25bn yearly record February 2, 2010 RETAIL fund sales smashed through the £25bn-in-a-year barrier for the first time last year, the Investment Management Association (IMA) revealed yesterday. The record figure was spurred by investors looking for alternatives to holding cash. The best selling funds for the year were corporate bonds. They topped the table for eight months of the year, with [...]
Credit Suisse: February 2, 2010 AS might be expected for the largest retail float since Debenhams in 2006, a raft of investment banks have been brought in to guide New Look. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Cazenove are joint sponsors and bookrunners. Lazard is in on the bookrunning action, while Barclays, Lloyds TSB and RBS Hoare Govett are co-lead [...]
Hampson looks to raise £60m February 2, 2010 Aerospace and automotive manufacturing group Hampson Industries yesterday announced a proposal to raise £59.5m via a share placing and open offer to reduce net debt and revamp the group’s financial structure. Over 119m new ordinary shares will be on the table at a share price of 50p which represents a 22.8 per cent discount to [...]
Toyota braced for sales hit from accelerator-related car recalls February 2, 2010 Toyota’s unprecedented recall of millions of vehicles with accelerator problems is taking a toll on sales and may force the world’s largest automaker to cut 2010 sales forecasts. In the first public comment from an executive at Toyota’s head office, the company’s executive in charge of quality said yesterday he was expecting a sales hit [...]
Ireland delegates rescue tasks February 2, 2010 Ireland’s finance minister Brian Lenihan yesterday announced plans to delegate additional functions to the agency that oversees Ireland’s debt issuance and its new “bad bank” scheme. The main functions which will be delegated from the finance ministry include discussions on the banks’ capital needs, on restructuring and management of the government’s shareholding in the credit [...]
What do industry insiders make of the record breaking net retail fund sales announced yesterday? February 2, 2010 John Yule | Fund Manager, F&C It’s great to see an influx of money into all sectors. A lot of this has been driven by IFAs, which is very good news for the industry. The growth in absolute return funds has interested me – it’s encouraging to see a new asset class performing well. It [...]
News Corp sees profits surge as ad market recovery boosts paper sales February 2, 2010 MEDIA conglomerate News Corp posted better-than-expected quarterly results yesterday thanks to a recovery in local advertising sales and the blockbuster 3-D movie “Avatar,” sending its shares up 3.5 per cent. News Corp, which also raised its dividend by 25 per cent, said fiscal second-quarter net income was $254m (£158.9m), or 10 cents a share. That [...]
Job market recovery will gather pace during year February 2, 2010 RECRUITMENT consultancies have signalled further growth in the number of staff appointments in January, as the UK job market continued its return to health. According to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG report on jobs, published yesterday, the growth of permanent placements eased from December’s peak but remained strong. Temporary or contract staff [...]
Upbeat Imps Tobacco beats the recession February 2, 2010 Imperial Tobacco, the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, said yesterday it had made a good start to its new financial year with trading in line with its forecasts despite weak economies. Imperial, with cigarette brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises, was reporting on its first-quarter trading from October to December 2009 within its current [...]