DOLLAR RISE WILL DENT ALL ASSETS December 18, 2011 NOTWITHSTANDING the recent agreement to amend the EU treaty, the world’s financial markets are not reassured. A solution to the Eurozone debt crisis is still wanting, and many believe that the world’s emerging economies could provide it. As a collective driving force they might be able to stop the debt contagion, but the question is [...]
Market gains on strong factory data December 15, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday as signs of strength in the economy and higher-than-expected profit at FedEx outweighed warnings about Europe. The US equity market continued its familiar back-and-forth rotation between optimism about the US economy and fears Europe’s debt crisis could spark a global recession. Lately the fear trade has been winning, but FedEx boosted [...]
Old Mutual leads modest FTSE rally December 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S blue-chip index staged a modest rebound in thin volumes yesterday, with battered insurers and oil stocks boosted by some short-covering ahead of today’s futures and options expiries. Life insurers regained most of the ground lost the previous day, rising 2.9 per cent, with Old Mutual jumping 11.4 per cent on hopes the planned $3.2bn [...]
Wall Street slumps on oil and euro fear December 14, 2011 US stocks fell for a third day and hit their lowest level in two weeks yesterday as widespread risk aversion sank commodity prices, drove the euro to its lowest in a year and pushed Italian bond yields to a record high. Investors are disappointed the European Central Bank is not buying more bonds of troubled [...]
New listing rules and jitters over Europe pull FTSE down December 14, 2011 WEAKNESS in risk-sensitive commodity issues and banks dragged Britain’s FTSE 100 index lower yesterday, with concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis ratcheted up as Italy’s borrowing costs expanded to a record high. Italy had to pay 6.47 per cent on five-year bonds in an auction yesterday, up from a previous euro era record high of [...]
Comply with Solvency II and boost profits too December 14, 2011 WITH Solvency II set to come into force at the end of 2012, insurers need to make themselves compliant with a new wave of regulatory requirements, aimed at revising capital requirements and risk management, supplanting the existing Solvency rules. But rather than simply being an exercise in regulatory compliance, applying the directive should be seen [...]
THE INTEGRAL ROLE OF IT NETWORKS IN INSURANCE SUCCESS December 14, 2011 WHAT ROLE DOES IT AND THE NETWORK REALLY PLAY IN THE INSURANCE SECTOR? Insurance companies are facing increasing pressures not only from regulation, but from more demanding customers. Aging technology systems just will not fit the bill and insurance executives need to stay focused on using IT and the network to improve core operations including [...]
Embrace new technology to get ahead of the competition December 14, 2011 AS WELL as regulatory compliance, insurance companies are being forced to adapt to new and ever shifting consumer demands. Technology is allowing insurers to innovate with products such as pay-as-you-drive insurance models, but also allows them to change the way that they interact with customers. CHANGING BUSINESS MODELS As in banking, it is no longer [...]
Slump goes on as all eyes on the Fed December 13, 2011 Stocks fell for a second consecutive day yesterday after the Federal Reserve gave no hints of new stimulus measures to offset the effects of the worsening European debt crisis. Though the Fed did leave the door open to further easing next year, as it has done after recent meetings, it gave no indication it was [...]
Investors stay wary despite energy fuelling rise on FTSE December 13, 2011 THE FTSE 100 rebounded in low volume yesterday, with energy stocks rallying on the back of soaring oil prices. The oil and gas sector index rose 2.3 per cent, tracking a rise in the price of crude. That came after the International Energy Agency said it expected demand growth next year, and Citigroup raised its [...]