Female drivers feel the pinch as insurance premiums rise today December 20, 2012 YOUNG women drivers are set to see substantial rises in the amount they pay for car insurance from today, after a new EU ruling came into force. Last year the European Court of Justice ruled that it was discriminatory to charge people different amounts for insurance products based on their gender. “The new rules are [...]
City Views | Are the new car insurance rules fair? December 20, 2012 JEN HAWES-HEWITT ACCENTURE No, not really. I think it is fair to let insurance companies assess their risk. I do not quite see it as discrimination. It will just make things more blunt, and that does not benefit the consumers. DANIEL BLYTON RPS No, I do not really think it is fair. You have different [...]
Former Lloyds wholesale boss joins ANZ in US December 20, 2012 TRUETT Tate, Lloyds TSB’s former global head of wholesale and international banking, is going to head up the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s (ANZ) New York office as chief executive and head of institutional relationship banking America, it was announced yesterday. Tate will take up his new post from 1 February 2013. He resigned [...]
Energy firms urged to lift lid on prices December 20, 2012 THE UK’s Big Six energy companies should be forced to reveal how much energy they have bought and sold from themselves, in a bid to increase transparency and customer trust, MPs said yesterday. The Energy and Climate Change Committee, headed by Conservative MP Tim Yeo, said there was not enough information about suppliers’ wholesale arrangement, [...]
Providence in landmark year December 20, 2012 ■ Irish-focused Providence Resources yesterday hailed a “landmark” year for its drilling programme. Earlier this year, Providence struck oil at the Barryroe oil field, with flow rates of 3,514 barrels a day. The junior stock market-listed firm spent up to $500m (£307m) on this year’s drilling programme, in six basins offshore Ireland. Providence plans to [...]
WPP continues shopping spree December 20, 2012 ■ WPP has purchased a majority stake in Australian digital communications firm Bienalto for an undisclosed sum. The FTSE 100 ad giant’s acquisition is the latest in a shopping spree, which also includes Chinese communications agency ArtM and entertainment marketing agency Filmworks China. WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has set a target of 35-40 per [...]
Deutsche Telekom chief quits December 20, 2012 ■ Deutsche Telekom chief executive Rene Obermann has unexpectedly announced he will step down at the end of 2013 and be succeeded by finance director Timotheus Hoettges. Hoettges, 50, said yesterday he was not planning major changes to strategy and would continue Obermann’s drive of investing in the United States and Germany as the firm [...]
Centamin resumes at Sukari mine December 20, 2012 ■ Gold miner Centamin yesterday confirmed that operations had fully resumed at its flagship asset, the Sukari mine in Egypt. Last week, the operations at the mine were suspended following a dispute over diesel supplies and a customs request to halt gold exports. Capital Drilling, which also works on the gold mine, said in a [...]
Lack of debt finance hampers hotel deals December 20, 2012 THE number of hotel deals slowed in the second half of the year as the lack of debt financing continues continued to take its toll on the sector, data published yesterday by Deloitte showed. UK hotel transactions totalled around £300m in the second half of the year, a significant slowdown on the £1bn reported in [...]
Luxury home developer confirms takeover talks December 20, 2012 NORTHACRE Group, the ultra high-end residential developer, yesterday confirmed it has received two takeovers offers, one of them led by its chief executive Ken MacRae. The Aim-listed firm, which helped develop the Lancasters apartments next to Hyde Park, said it is in preliminary talks with Law 2492, MacRae’s management buyout vehicle. It has also received [...]