Struggling RSA sets out £773m share issue plan March 25, 2014 TROUBLED insurer RSA has announced plans for a £773m share issue to tackle major losses. The company, which hired ex-RBS boss Stephen Hester in February this year, said the rights issue will help it to shore up its capital position, after expensive weather-related claims and a £200m black hole was discovered in its Irish business. [...]
Bottom Line: Hester is ready to move on from the past March 25, 2014 JUST two months into his new job as chief executive of insurer RSA, Stephen Hester is certainly making his presence felt. Alongside a cost cutting programme and planned asset disposals, the former RBS boss yesterday unveiled details of the £773m rights issue that he’s hoping investors will back – at a discount of 40 per [...]
Public pension burden much higher than official estimate March 25, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT’S colossal public sector pension liabilities are even larger than they suggest, according to an alarming estimate by a campaign group. The Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) says that the official estimate for the liability, which runs to £1.1 trillion, is only two thirds of the real burden. According to Neil Record, who conducted the research, [...]
Twitter spat as Bakries and Rothschild split March 25, 2014 TROUBLED coal miner Asia Resource Minerals (ARM) yesterday confirmed that it has completed a long-awaited separation from its co-founders the Bakrie family and will return at least $400m (£242m) to shareholders. The FTSE 250-listed firm, which was formerly known as Bumi, has been at the centre of an arduous dispute between Indonesia’s Bakrie family and [...]
Panmure stems the tide with first profit since financial crisis March 25, 2014 FINANCIAL firm Panmure Gordon reported encouraging full-year figures yesterday, helped by the ongoing revival in stock markets. The firm, which is working on the listing of Horizon Discover due tomorrow, reported its first statutory profit since 2007. “What we’ve done is try to put the firm back on track,” chief executive Phillip Wale told City [...]
Aldermore enters securitisation market in £330m mortgage deal March 25, 2014 CHALLENGER bank Aldermore is selling off £330m of prime residential mortgages in its first ever securitisation, the lender said yesterday. The bank wants to reduce its reliance on the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) and raise funds to increase its lending volumes. Mortgage-backed securities got a bad name in the financial crisis [...]
Bigger Gatwick could give lift to south of London March 25, 2014 GATWICK Airport argued yesterday that building a second runway would regenerate south London and offer better links for the city than expansion at Heathrow. Sir Terry Farrell, the architect planning a new runway for the airport, said a larger Gatwick could produce the same sort of boost that the Olympics did for east London. “It’s [...]
EasyJet raises forecasts as mild winter cuts plane de-icing costs March 25, 2014 A MILD winter has helped EasyJet beat forecasts, as the airline spent less than expected on de-icing its planes. The budget carrier said revenues per seat in the six months to the end of March rose by around 1.5 per cent, helped by the popularity of its new reserved seating as well as longer routes. [...]
Families hit out at Malaysia as wind hinders search for plane March 25, 2014 FAMILIES of the lost passengers onboard Flight MH370 clashed with police in Beijing yesterday as they protested they way the search for the missing plane has been handled. Protesters threw bottled water at the Malaysian embassy and shouted for the country to “return our relatives”. The protesters were taken back to their hotels, where they [...]
Kingfisher returns £200m to shareholders March 25, 2014 KINGFISHER, the owner of DIY chains B&Q and Screwfix, announced plans to hand £200m to shareholders as brighter prospects in the UK helped boost its full-year performance, sending shares up six per cent yesterday. Finance director Karen Witts said it will launch a multi-year programme starting with £200m in this financial year – its first [...]
