Chile earthquake to cost insurance industry $7bn March 10, 2010 SWISS Re, the world’s second biggest reinsurer, has said the insurance sector will have to pay out as much as $7bn (£4.6bn) in damage claims from the earthquake in Chile. Swiss Re yesterday estimated its own losses from the 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the fifth most powerful since seismic measurements began, at around $500m. Rival Munich [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS BARCLAYS RIGHT TO TRY AND BUY AN AMERICAN BANK? March 10, 2010 CHRIS HARRIS| INSIDE INVESTMENT “What I think on the subject is that it seems like a good idea. Considering the fact that values at financial companies are depressed at the moment, it’s probably a good acquisition for Barclays.” RAPHAEL VIALLET | FIRST STATE INVESTMENTS “Barclays has already had some experience in this area and with [...]
Weak factory data pushes pound lower March 10, 2010 STERLING sank further yesterday after unexpectedly weak industrial production data dashed hopes that the British economy would be able to build on its return to growth in the fourth quarter of last year. The pound – which had been battered last week by a combination of political worries, weak data, and the Pru’s acquisition of [...]
Chinese exports surge rapidly March 10, 2010 CHINESE exports and imports grew faster than expected in February, underlining the momentum behind the world’s third-largest economy and reinforcing the case for a rise in the yuan. Exports jumped 45.7 per cent in February from a year earlier, following a 21 per cent rise in January, while imports surged 44.7 per cent after record [...]
Oil touches 8-week high as US supplies dwindle March 10, 2010 OIL prices settled higher yesterday in choppy trading after a government report showed that gasoline stocks in the United States dropped unexpectedly. But after reaching a fresh eight-week high of $83.03, oil prices pared some of their gains on profit-taking. US crude for April delivery settled 60 cents higher at $81.81 per barrel. London ICE [...]
Britain faces two years of slow growth March 10, 2010 WEAK growth is still plaguing Britain at the start of the new year and sluggish growth will continue for the next two years, the respected think-tank the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr) forecast yesterday. The think-tank said that UK output grew 0.3 per cent in the three months ending in February after [...]
Investors line up ahead of law firm IPOs March 10, 2010 INVESTORS are queuing up to buy stakes in City law firms ahead of a series of planned flotations in the sector next year. Lyceum Capital and Investec are among a handful of businesses already interested in the legal sector once the government’s Legal Services Act comes into operation. City A.M. understands that Lloyds Development Capital [...]
Our unique City panel wants Ken Clarke to be chancellor March 10, 2010 FOR months now, people in the City have been telling us that they don’t rate George Osborne. But these findings from the City A.M./PHI Panel offer the first conclusive proof that the Square Mile would prefer someone else to run the economy. According to our panel, that man should be Ken Clarke, who held the [...]
Digital bill is savaged by ISP bosses March 10, 2010 ON the morning Gordon Brown insisted Britain’s digital economy would be the envy of the world, his digital economy bill was being savaged by business chiefs. Web giants Google, Facebook, eBay and Yahoo have teamed up with internet service providers including BT, Virgin Media, Orange, TalkTalk to protest against an amendment to the digital economy [...]
Fortis’ fine mars profit return March 10, 2010 BELGIUM-based insurance group Fortis returned to an annual profit, resumed its dividend and announced a name change yesterday as it sought a fresh start a year and a half after its dramatic break-up. The financial services group, stripped down to become a pure insurer after a state-led bailout, said it would change its name to [...]
