Brit recommends CVC and Apollo bid September 19, 2010 BRIT Insurance has recommended shareholders accept an £850m offer after buyout firm CVC Capital Partners on Friday agreed to link up with original bidder Apollo Management. Lloyd’s of London insurers, which offer cover against large-scale risks such as natural disasters, have emerged as potential takeover targets because cyclically low insurance prices have weighed heavily on [...]
Public called on to nominate Britain’s best financial boss September 19, 2010 MEMBERS of the public have been urged to join financial services professionals as the search for the country’s best financial services boss begins today. The 2010 OStCaR – Outstanding Service to Compliance and Regulation – Awards are designed to promote best practice in the financial services sector, reward excellence and help reduce the likelihood of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 19, 2010 BLUEBAY Singer Research rates the asset manager a “buy” with an upgraded target price of 400p. The broker sees a second leg of growth available in the emerging markets, and views performance in this region as already ahead of rivals. Overall operating margins should improve from 36 per cent to 40 per cent this year. [...]
REMEMBERING THE FEW September 19, 2010 PRIME MINISTER David Cameron, Prince William and dignitaries watch a Spitfire flyby during the National Commemorative Service for the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Westminster Abbey yesterday.
The Co-op boss who is on a mission to rejuvenate an iconic organisation September 19, 2010 IT IS EASY to see why Co-operative Group chief executive Peter Marks is so excited about the new £180m head office that will open on a 20-acre site in the centre of Manchester in 2012. The current 1960s 13-storey building across the road seems to be made almost entirely of linoleum and plywood. I have [...]
JCB CHAIR TAKES THE HONOURS AT GOODWOOD September 19, 2010 TO SUSSEX yesterday for the final day of the Goodwood Revival classic car festival, where a raft of senior figures from the City were slogging it out against each other on the track in the most prestigious race of the weekend – the Royal Automobile Club TT race. The race – a one-hour, two-driver challenge [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK September 19, 2010 IT WAS quite the night for celebrating on Thursday, when these six guests turned up to watch the aerial performers and fire-eating ballet dancers at Circus in the West End. Our diners started with cocktails, including two of the bar’s new £700 luxury punches – the “Millionaire” and the “VIPP”, each filled with a bottle [...]
Positive open is forecast after jumpy trading September 19, 2010 A mildly positive start is the call for stocks this morning, but after Friday’s jumpy trading session sentiment is mixed. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 8 points from Friday’s close, at a level of 5,516. The German DAX 40 is expected to open up 9 points at 6,218, and the [...]
China is sowing the seeds of a bull market in wheat and corn September 19, 2010 SHARP rises in food prices over the summer raised the ugly spectre of riots and civil unrest across the developing world and rampant inflation in Western countries. In August a Russian ban on wheat exports caused the price to spike, prompting some countries like Egypt to aim for self-sufficiency. The surge was short-lived but the [...]
Set your trades on firm foundations September 19, 2010 HOUSE asking prices fell again today, dropping by 1.1 per cent – that is £2,474 – over two points in the house price spread better’s mind. But those tempted by the news on page one should not rush into a trade before taking a moment to contemplate the make up of the index. Today’s figures [...]
