Insurer says disasters caused less death and damage during 2013 January 7, 2014 NATURAL catastrophes like floods and storms claimed more than 20,000 lives and caused around $125bn (£76bn) in damage worldwide in 2013, well below the average of the last decade, reinsurer Munich Re said yesterday. The world’s largest reinsurer said Supertyphoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines, China and Vietnam in November, was probably the strongest tropical [...]
Amec wins £255m Kuwait project January 7, 2014 International engineering and project management company Amec has won a £255m consultancy contract with Kuwait Oil Company. The five-year agreement renews a decade-long working relationship between the companies. “The contract is further evidence of our success in this strategically important region”, said Alan Armstrong, Amec’s Operation Directors in Kuwait. Nonetheless, shares in the company closed [...]
Costain boosts its order book January 7, 2014 FTSE-listed engineering firm Costain yesterday said it expects full-year results to be in line with forecasts thanks to an order book of £3bn – up 25 per cent. Over £750m of work has been secured for this coming year, the company said in a trading update. “Our continued success is the direct result of our [...]
BAE names new boss for US wing January 7, 2014 British defence contractor BAE Systems has appointed Jerry DeMuro to head its US business, pinning its hopes on the former General Dynamics executive to steer it through military cuts in Washington DC that are set to bite over the next decade. DeMuro, who will begin as president and chief executive of the US unit on [...]
City Moves for 8 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 7, 2014 Markel The insurance company has announced the appointment of Maren Modena as a senior risk analyst in its trade credit division. She was most recently at Euler Hermes UK, where she worked for nine years as a senior risk underwriter. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management The asset and wealth management business has recruited Michael Lee as [...]
Best of the Brokers for 8 January 2014 January 7, 2014 SEVERN TRENT JP Morgan downgraded the water company to underweight, reducing its price target from 1,680p to 1,535p ahead of the regulator’s announcements on financial parameters. The brokers believe regulatory risks will rise, slimming the chances of mergers and acquisitions until Ofwat’s final decision. ITV Jefferies has raised ITV from a hold to a buy [...]
London Report: Investors take punt on banks to drive FTSE up January 7, 2014 THE UK’S blue chip share index rose to a one-week high yesterday, with gains in financial stocks pushing the FTSE 100 towards major technical resistance levels. Lloyds rallied three per cent, as investors bought the stock on expectations that the bank will start paying dividends this year and that it will benefit from a recovering [...]
New York Report: US trade data pushes S&P to first 2014 gains January 7, 2014 US STOCKS ended higher last night, snapping the S&P 500’s three day losing streak to give the benchmark index its first positive session of 2014. A sharp decline in the US trade deficit and upbeat German data helped improve market sentiment, pointing to strengthening economic fundamentals on both sides of the Atlantic. The S&P healthcare [...]
Don’t let the Vegas tech giants fool you: We’re in the age of disruption January 7, 2014 IT’S HARD to think of a better parable about the effects of technology than Samsung’s embarrassing product launch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Monday. The Korean tech giant had lined up high-octane movie director Michael Bay to launch its new curved television at the show, where the world’s techies come [...]
Against the Grain: The UK and US recoveries show why France has become such a basket case January 7, 2014 THE COMING year looks like it will be a good one. At the start of each of the past five years, the economic scales have been tilted downwards, and the challenge has been to look for factors which might have tipped them back up. The balance is now reversed, and the onus lies with the [...]
