Windfall bonus for 1m Norwich Union policyholders as firm sees profits surge July 31, 2008 Claire Spottiswoode delivered on months of marathon negotiations yesterday after 1m Norwich Union policyholders will be offered pay outs of around £1000 each. Aviva, the group’s parent company, is offering cash to qualifying customers in two of its with-profits funds, in exchange for buying out their right for any future pay-outs or redistribution of money. [...]
Informa receives second full takeover approach July 30, 2008 Informa shares spiked after the publisher and events organiser revealed it had received an approach from another potential suitor. Informa said it is still in discussions with a Providence Equityled consortium, but it has also now provided information to the new bidder. It stressed the approach was preliminary only. Buyout firms Providence Equity, The Carlyle [...]
Crosby review fails to please industry July 30, 2008 Property industry experts yesterday sharply criticised the government commissioned Crosby report on the crippled state of the mortgage market for failing to take immediate action to relieve the problem. In his interim report, published yesterday afternoon, Sir James Crosby, the former boss of HBOS, said the mortgage markets would remain jammed another three years, possibly [...]
Bean-count your way to the top July 30, 2008 If you’re clever, an accountancy career can be a route to corporate success, says Chris Higson Not so long ago, people were predicting the eclipse of the accountancy profession. Accountancy had always been a reliable route to the top, particularly in the UK, but perhaps this was changing. It looked as though other countries got [...]
Police close in on Antigua murder case July 30, 2008 Police in Antigua are questioning six suspects over the murder of a British doctor shot dead on her honeymoon, according to local media reports yesterday. Catherine Mullany, 31, was killed in her hotel room at a luxury resort on the Caribbean island. Her husband Benjamin Mullany, also 31, was shot in the neck and is [...]
Unilever sells off US detergents business July 29, 2008 Shares in Unilever climbed after the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant announced it had finally sold its North American detergents business – after almost a year of struggling to find a buyer. Private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners snapped up the business, which includes brands such as Snuggle, Wisk and Surf, for $1.45bn (£727m). Unilever has [...]
Ryanair cuts ticket prices while earnings plummet July 29, 2008 Shares in low cost airline Ryanair sank 22 per cent yesterday after the company warned it may make a €60m (£47.4m) loss this year, as high oil prices eat into margins. It said it had made profit after tax in the first quarter of €21m- a drop of 85 per cent- but the carrier yesterday [...]
Housing market boost July 29, 2008 Britain’s battered housing market received a boost yesterday after an influential report predicted that house prices would rise 25 per cent by 2013. The data, published yesterday by the National Housing Federation, said that the average price of a home in Britain would increase by a quarter over the next five years to £274,700, with [...]
Fabregas denies remarks and commits to Arsenal July 29, 2008 Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas last night quashed reports that he plans to leave after becoming frustrated by a lack of silverware. The 21-year-old, who helped Spain win Euro 2008 last month, yesterday denied making remarks linking him with a move to Real Madrid. “I have not spoken to any media so it’s frustrating to read [...]
Pearson gains buck Media sector gloom July 29, 2008 Financial Times owner Pearson Group brought some much-needed cheer to the media sector after beating analysts’ first half revenue forecasts by posting a 14 per cent rise in sales to £1.965bn, in what chief executive Marjorie Scardino described as “tough economic conditions.” Pearson shares climbed 2.85 per cent to 612.5p after the group said it [...]
