Troubled RSA sees ratings put on negative watch by Fitch December 16, 2013 RATINGS agency Fitch has put RSA’s financial strength rating on negative watch after further concerns were raised about the insurer’s ability to maintain its position in the market. And Standard and Poor’s cut its credit rating on RSA and its core subsidiaries from A to A-, arguing that a series of profit warnings indicate management [...]
Europe’s banks build capital buffers before stress tests December 16, 2013 EUROPE’S banks have improved their capital positions rapidly in advance of next year’s stress tests, European Banking Authority (EBA) numbers showed yesterday. The EU’s biggest 64 banks increased their capital buffers by €80bn (£67.5bn) and slashed risk-weighted assets by €817bn between December 2011 and June 2013. The effort increased their core tier one capital ratios [...]
Retirement pay fails to improve December 16, 2013 BRITONS born in the 1960s and 1970s will not be any better off in retirement than those born a decade earlier, according to a study out today from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). This is the first generation where incomes are not rising in old age, thanks to wages stalling, housing costs soaring and [...]
France’s firms point towards third recession December 16, 2013 FRANCE is flirting with a potential third recession since the financial crisis, after another grim survey of the country’s firms suggests that business conditions worsened during last month. Though the Eurozone as a whole recorded one of the best results of the past two years in Markit’s most recent purchasing managers’ index (PMI), France’s individual [...]
US records productivity boost ahead of crucial Fed meeting December 16, 2013 US BUSINESS productivity increased at the fastest pace in four years during the third quarter, according to official figures released ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monthly policy meeting. A Bureau of Labor Statistics release showed that productivity rose three per cent in three months to September, the best result since the fourth quarter of 2009. [...]
Japanese firms surge to pre-crisis optimism December 16, 2013 A MAJOR index of Japanese business suggests that firms were more confident in the three months to December than at any point for the last six years. The climate of economic optimism has also spread from large companies: the part of the index which applies to small firms is positive for the first time since [...]
Hedgie Busson moves in with fund manager December 16, 2013 HEDGE fund guru Arpad “Arki” Busson yesterday agreed to merge his funds business EIM Group into larger Swiss money manager Gottex Fund Management, creating a bigger business with $10bn of fee earning assets. Busson, one of the industry’s best known figures, will take a 29 per cent share stake in the enlarged group through his [...]
Aldermore raises another £40m ahead of expected London float December 16, 2013 CHALLENGER bank Aldermore yesterday sold a £40m stake to two hedge funds, worth roughly nine per cent of the lender. Lansdowne Partners paid £10m, valuing its stake at around two per cent. The fund is a major investor in the financial services sector, with around $10bn (£6.1bn) in assets under management. Meanwhile Sky News reported another [...]
Aggreko surges on new contract awards for 2014 December 16, 2013 TEMPORARY power provider Aggreko soared to the top of the FTSE 100 yesterday morning, after it unveiled major contract wins and lifted its full-year guidance. The company, which provided electricity for the 2012 London Olympics, said it has been selected to supply power for the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil and the Glasgow 2014 [...]