WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UK RAISES OPEL ‘SUBSIDY WAR’ FEARLord Mandelson called on Brussels last night to ensure that Germany’s offer of multibillion-euro subsidies to smooth the sale of General Motors’ European arm does not begin a “subsidy war”, with governments using state aid to protect jobs. The UK business secretary’s intervention in the political row over [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 7, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES ZURICH CHIEF BACKS EU SOLVENCY RULESThe head of Zurich Financial Services, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies, has broken ranks to criticise industry rivals for lobbying against European plans to increase insurers’ financial strength. James Schiro, Zurich chief executive, said the fierce industry “pushback” against proposed new solvency rules for insurers was [...]
Why Boris is right to fight for the City September 2, 2009 WHENEVER there is a crisis, certain sections of the British establishment revert to type. Rather than vowing to fight back and rebuild our shattered economy, many senior figures have evidently decided that the best we can hope for is to manage decline, post-war style. In a dynamic, forward-looking, optimistic nation, we would be debating how [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 11, 2009 Piper JaffrayThe boutique investment bank has hired Richard Kirkham, formerly a partner at Oriel Securities, as a principal of European equity sales. Kirkham was previously a director of UK small and mid-cap sales at Teather and Greenwood. He will be responsible for developing business relationships with assigned institutional accounts. BarclaycardBarclaycard has appointed David Daniel as [...]
THE TIPSTER RESULTS AND BUYOUTS TO FUEL MARKET August 9, 2009 Interim results are still dominating the headlines and the markets at the moment so spread betters should be well aware of which companies are reporting and what the market is expecting from them. Insurance company Friends Provident reports interims on Tuesday and investors will be hoping for an update on the Resolution situation. For investors [...]
RSA boosts dividend despite a massive drop in its profits August 6, 2009 RSA INSURANCE yesterday posted pre-tax profits down 24 per cent in the first half of the year, as it unveiled a seven per cent dividend hike that it said underlines its positive outlook. The general insurer, which operates the “More Than” brand in the UK, posted profits of £301m, compared to £395m made in the [...]
Profit falls at Zurich as new chief named August 6, 2009 SWISS insurance company Zurich Financial Services has announced the appointment of Martin Senn as chief executive, after revealing first-half profits had fallen 53 per cent compared with last year. Senn, who is currently Zurich’s acting chief investment officer, will succeed James Schiro, who will retire on 31 December. “Martin is an engaging, thoughtful and results-oriented [...]
US jobless claimants come down July 16, 2009 The number of Americans lining up for jobless benefits tumbled in the last week, a decline seen as distorted by upheaval in the car industry, while a key regional factory index slipped in July, reports showed yesterday. At the same time, US home foreclosures raced to a record high in the first half of 2009, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CLARKE WARNS CAMERON NOT TO CHALLENGE ‘PRO-BUSINESS’ STANCEKen Clarke, the outspoken former Conservative chancellor, has warned David Cameron not to translate his “standing up to big business” rhetoric into policies in government. However, the shadow business secretary said he “overwhelmingly approved” of Cameron’s transformation of the Tory party. “So long as Mr Cameron [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 29, 2009 ADMIRALCredit Suisse said that Admiral is ideally positioned to take advantage of the improving price conditions in the UK personal car market and upgraded the stock from “neutral” to “outperform” with a target price of 1,097p. The broker said the firm offers a defensive alternative within the insurance sector. DSG INTERNATIONALJP Morgan upgraded its earnings [...]