Emerging economies face catastrophe threat November 26, 2012 COUNTRIES with high-growth economies could see their progress derailed by natural disasters, according to research released today. It finds that emerging nations such as Vietnam, China and India do not have enough insurance to cover the effect a major natural catastrophe, leaving the countries at risk of long-term economic damage if they are severely affected [...]
Should homes at risk of floods be given insurance subsidies? November 26, 2012 ANTHONY LEECH AGRICULTURAL BANK OF CHINA It is very difficult to find insurance when you are continually flooded out. It is up to the government and locals councils to ensure that areas at risk are protected and some subsidy should be provided if they are not. GEORGE BROWN SHELL I don’t think there should be [...]
UBM flies back to UK after near unanimous vote November 26, 2012 PUBLISHING company UBM will move its tax base back to Britain by the end of the week after shareholders overwhelmingly voted for the return from Ireland yesterday. The transition was emphatically approved at a special meeting, with 99.997 per cent of votes cast in favour of the move. The former owner of the Daily Express [...]
UBS fined £30m by watchdog over £1.4bn rogue trader loss November 26, 2012 SWISS bank UBS, which last week saw former trader Kweku Adoboli jailed for a £1.4bn trading fraud, was fined £29.7m by regulators yesterday for failing to prevent the scandal. The Zurich based bank, which lost its chief executive Oswald Gruebel over the trading debacle, managed to reduce an original fine of £42.4m the Financial Services [...]
Lehman set to sell off biggest asset Archstone November 26, 2012 LEHMAN Holdings is set to sell apartment owner Archstone, it announced yesterday, in a cash and shares deal worth roughly $6.5bn (£4.05bn). Lehman Brothers bought the company, which at the very peak of the housing boom was worth around $22bn. But it will now get just $2.7bn of cash and $3.8bn of shares from developer [...]
Amazon’s UK sales revealed by committee November 26, 2012 AMAZON made £3.351bn in revenues in the UK last year, private letters published by the government’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed yesterday. Information shared by the web retailer with the committee, intended to be confidential, revealed a 23 per cent rise in sales on Amazon.co.uk last year. The UK’s website, which channels revenue to Amazon’s [...]
UK e-tail is paying off all round November 26, 2012 THE UK component of Amazon’s European revenues is a startling figure. Amazon’s sales hit €9.1bn (£7.3bn) across the continent last year. The new data shows it took in £2.91bn, or almost 40 per cent, from amazon.co.uk alone, and another £441m from other UK business such as Lovefilm. With Amazon getting 45 per cent of its [...]
Lawyers slug it out for charity November 26, 2012 LOYAL readers will remember that The Capitalist reported last month on five sparring solicitors from DLA Piper, Clyde & Co and SJ Berwin clubbing together to compete in a black tie charity boxing match near St Paul’s. The gloves are now firmly off and The Capitalist is happy to report that Saturday’s punch-up at the [...]
Bookies raise a glass to the surprise new Bank governor November 26, 2012 FOLLOWING the announcement yesterday that Canadian candidate Mark Carney is the new chosen one at the Bank of England, bookies have wasted no time in setting odds on his reign as governor. Ladbrokes has set odds of 8/1 that Carney will authorise a greater volume of quantitative easing than his predecessor. They also make interest [...]
Betfair is cashing out of Greece over crackdown November 26, 2012 BETFAIR has pulled out of Greece in its second European exit in a month, citing the threat of sanctions from the country’s gambling authorities. The exchange betting operator has been trading without a licence in the country, claiming that Greek gambling laws violate EU ones. Earlier this month the Greek Gambling Commission announced a clampdown [...]