ANALYST VIEWS: HAS PRUDENTIAL MET WITH YOUR EXPECTATIONS? August 13, 2009 BARRIE CORNES PANMURE GORDONPrudential has delivered interim results that were well above the top end of the range of forecasts, both on an EEV and an IFRS basis. The capital position is robust, with Insurance Group Directive surplus at £3bn at 31 July. These are good figures, and have benefited from capital preservation and focus [...]
Autumn swine flu vaccinations August 13, 2009 Britain’s swine flu vaccination programme is to start in October for at-risk groups, chief medical officer Liam Donaldson said yesterday, with most vaccines coming from drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline. A first batch of 300,000 vaccines will arrive this month with 54.6m expected by December, Donaldson said, adding that exact supply levels would depend on the manufacturers.
Treasury stability hire pulls out August 13, 2009 The Treasury has been forced back to square one in its bid to appoint an executive overseeing the Bank of England’s efforts to factor financial stability into policy. The Treasury re-advertised for the non-executive director role yesterday, after its mystery top choice pulled out at the eleventh hour. Her Majesty the Queen will make the [...]
Canada to gain economic clout August 13, 2009 Canada is expected to leap up the global economic rankings, according to the Conference Board of Canada, an independent not-for-profit research organisation. The country is currently 11th of 17 countries on the Conference Board of Canada’s 2008 report card, but is expected to rise to fifth based on forecasts from the Organisation of Economic Co-operation [...]
Budget goods boost Asda’s market share August 13, 2009 WAL-MART owned Asda yesterday said it was stealing market share from other supermarkets as customers shopped around for low prices during the downturn. Asda said over three months to 31 July it had grown its market share of the grocery sector to 17 per cent, up from 16.7 per cent the quarter before. Tesco continues [...]
Swine flu hits Thomas Cook August 13, 2009 TOUR operator Thomas Cook yesterday admitted it would miss its operating profit target, compounding the gloom in the leisure sector. The group, in which insolvent German retailer Arcandor still holds a 53 percent stake, said it would fall short of its hopes of achieving operating profit of £480m in 2010. Chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said [...]
Citigroup risks Washington’s ire over $100m pay package for energy trader August 13, 2009 CITIGROUP is heading for a row with US pay tsar Kenneth Feinberg over a $100m (£61m) in pay due to be awarded to energy trader Andrew Hall. The Wall Street bank is preparing to argue that Hall’s payout should be exempt from a review of remuneration at bailed out firms, due to be launched by [...]
Waterhouse buys into clearing through OMX August 13, 2009 STOCKBROKER TD Waterhouse (TDW) announced yesterday it has agreed to buy clearing and settlement service house OMX Securities. OMX, which is currently 51 per cent owned by the Nasdaq OMX Group, will continue to operate as a separate business once the deal is finalised, and will rebrand as TD Waterhouse Corporate Service (Europe). “OMX Securities [...]
Buffet’s Berkshire admits slip-ups on derivative risks August 13, 2009 BILLIONAIRE US investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway underestimated the risks of falling stock prices to its billions of dollars of derivatives bets, yet still believes it is valuing the contracts fairly. Berkshire revealed its error in a 26 June letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, one of several pieces of correspondence with the [...]
Activity returns to property August 13, 2009 Activity in the European property investment market inched up to ¤13bn (£11.2bn) in the second quarter, from ¤11.6bn in the first quarter of 2009, according to CBRE. The group said that while it is too early to predict a sustained upturn, there is some expectation that the fourth quarter could see a modest further improvement [...]
