Hailstorms leave insurers with £1.7bn bill September 23, 2013 Freak hailstorms that hit Germany during July will leave the insurance industry with a bill of up to $2.7bn (£1.7bn), Swiss Re said yesterday. Massive hailstones smashed cars and broke through roofs.
Labour resorts to spin after its football defeat September 23, 2013 LABOUR’S shadow cabinet was yesterday at war – over a brutal football defeat to a group of journalists. The annual showdown between the Labour team and Fleet Street’s finest ended in a 4-0 win for the media. But some of the politicians – mainly consisting of a rapidly ageing group of Blair-era MPs – resorted to [...]
Labour MP’s errant tweet sparks Brighton shooting investigation September 23, 2013 LABOUR MP Jamie Reed sparked a police alert after saying he had heard gunshots near to the Labour party conference – only to admit that his sleuthing skills may be more akin to Scooby Doo. “Gunshots in the underground car park at Brighton Marina. Not a gag,” he tweeted late on Sunday night, prompting The [...]
Centrica slides after shelving storage plans September 23, 2013 SHARES in Centrica tumbled yesterday after the British Gas owner said it would write off £240m in investment after it abandoned plans to build two new gas storage projects in the UK. The FTSE 100-listed energy company said that it had decided not to proceed with the facilities at Baird off the coast of Norfolk [...]
Six men arrested in City office in carbon credits boiler room raid September 23, 2013 CITY of London Police said yesterday that its fraud squad detectives had arrested six men after a raid on a suspected boiler room in the Square Mile, which was thought to be mis-selling carbon credits. It is believed that the boiler room had already made around £1m from cold-calling people across the UK, using high-pressurised [...]
JP Morgan set to face charges over pre-crash mortgage bonds September 23, 2013 JP MORGAN could face another legal suit as the US Justice Department plans to sue the bank over mortgage bonds sold in the boom years, it emerged last night. It comes less than a week after the bank paid $920m (£573m) to settle with regulators on both sides of the Atlantic over the London Whale [...]
Construction firm Wates hires BAE’s Davies as new chief exec September 23, 2013 BRITISH construction firm Wates yesterday said it has hired BAE Systems’ Andrew Davies as its new chief executive, after Paul Drechsler decided to step down after nearly 10 years in the role. Davies is currently managing director of aerospace group BAE Systems’ maritime business and previously held roles including group strategy director and managing director [...]
First UK Bribery Act defendants appear in court September 23, 2013 THE FIRST defendants to be charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) under the UK Bribery Act since it was introduced in 2011 appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had charged the four men connected to Sustainable AgroEnergy with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish false [...]
Aberdeen set to meet forecasts despite outflows September 23, 2013 ABERDEEN Asset Management said yesterday it expects profits to come in towards the top end of the range of analyst forecasts in the current year, thanks to inflows into higher-margin products. Aberdeen said clients pulled a net £1.2bn from its funds in July and August, reflecting volatile conditions especially in emerging economies where it is [...]
Buy-to-let specialist Paragon raises £273m in mortgage sale September 23, 2013 SPECIALIST lender Paragon completed a securitisation transaction yesterday, raising funds in the market to finance more lending, the group announced. Special purpose vehicle Paragon Mortgages 18 was made up of three tranches of assets, and came in at a total of £273m. The vast majority of the deal was made up of triple-A rated notes [...]