Amlin’s NZ quake bill $83m more than expected November 17, 2011 Amlin, the biggest Lloyd’s of London insurer by market value, has reported higher prices across its main markets and said earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand this year could cost it $83m more than previously thought. Amlin, which issued a profit warning in August due to bigger than expected catastrophe claims, said prices rose by [...]
Centrica issues profit warning November 17, 2011 British Gas owner Centrica issued a profit warning, saying customers were shopping elsewhere following price hikes and using less electricity and gas in response to the weak economy and warmer weather. The utility, whose British Gas unit is Britain’s biggest household energy supplier, said on Thursday that customer churn had increased following increases in its [...]
Glencore says marketing arm solid despite uncertain economy November 17, 2011 Commodities giant Glencore (GLEN.L) said trading within in its marketing arm remained “solid” over the third quarter despite economic uncertainty, as it posted a jump in copper and gold output and announced it had produced first oil ahead of plan. The news is likely to come as a relief to investors fretting Glencore’s key marketing [...]
CITY BANKS FACE JOBS BLOODBATH November 16, 2011 THE CITY faces a jobs bloodbath as investment banks accelerate job cuts to a speed last seen during the 2008 financial crisis. With data showing UK joblessness at a 15-year high, one of Canary Wharf’s biggest employers, Citigroup, confirmed plans to slash jobs, with 3,000 expected to go globally. BNP Paribas also said it would cut [...]
Sir Mervyn opens door to more QE November 16, 2011 ANOTHER multi-billion pound cash injection could be on the cards, the Bank of England indicated yesterday, as it published a bearish outlook for the imperilled UK economy. In its latest Inflation Report, the Bank predicted sluggish growth of around one per cent for next year, with the slump lingering into 2013. “Following this confirmation about [...]
Leaders fight over ECB role November 16, 2011 FRANCE and Germany are at loggerheads over the role of the European Central Bank (ECB) in solving the debt crisis, it became clear yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded that Germany was prepared to surrender “a little bit of sovereignty” to address the problem, yet she reiterated her view that current EU treaties do not [...]
Jobs and pay cut: it’s grim out there November 16, 2011 FOR the British economy, yesterday was another Black Wednesday. We learnt that employment – ultimately, the central measure of an economy’s ability to deliver for the public – fell by 109,000 over the past year, with a worried and battered private sector failing to create enough jobs to compensate for necessary public sector job losses. [...]
Greek PM wins confidence November 16, 2011 GREECE’S new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos won a large majority in a confidence vote in parliament yesterday, shoring up his support to lead an unelected government of technocrats. Members of the Greek parliament voted 522 to 38 to support the former ECB official Papademos, who said that his government was taking on a “titanic” challenge. Meanwhile, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TRIBUNAL HEARS OF UBS EFFORT TO ROOT OUT ROGUES UBS initiated a root-and-branch review of compliance practices in 2007 following unauthorised trading on its UK wealth management division’s Africa desk, a UK tribunal has heard. The revelation of another incident of rogue trading in London came from the barrister for one of the [...]
IMF’s European chief quits after just one year November 16, 2011 THE CHIEF of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) European division unexpectedly stepped down yesterday just a year into the job. Antonio Borges, who was appointed by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, quit for “personal reasons” and his role will be taken over immediately by Reza Moghadam. IMF chief Christine Lagarde said: “Antonio Borges has led the European [...]
