QBE set to snap up reinsurer Secura July 5, 2010 AUSTRALIAN INSURER QBE has announced the acquisition of specialist Belgian reinsurer Secura from KBC Group for €267m (£221m). The deal, which is set to be completed by 31 August, is subject to regulatory approval, with Secura’s 2010 gross premium expected to be around €200m. The purchase price reflects tangible assets of €205m. Secura will form [...]
AgBank attracts interest from big insurers for IPO July 5, 2010 AGRICULTURAL Bank of China (AgBank) yesterday said it had attracted subscriptions from big insurers and other major companies for the Shanghai portion of its initial public offering (IPO), helping to ensure that the issuance would not cause disruptions to local markets. AgBank’s roughly $20bn (£13.2bn) Hong Kong-Shanghai IPO has hung over the Shanghai stock market [...]
EU parliament group backs bank data sharing deal with US to fight terrorism July 5, 2010 A EUROPEAN Parliament committee said yesterday it supported a deal with the United States on sharing citizens’ bank data, a move which investigators say will help counter-terrorism investigations. The vote in the parliament’s civil liberties committee followed weeks of negotiations between Washington and the European Union to improve privacy safeguards in the agreement after lawmakers [...]
E&Y boosts headcount with 400 new partners July 5, 2010 ERNST & YOUNG (E&Y) has bolstered its global partnership after admitting almost 400 new partners across its offices. The accounting giant let in 396 new partners in total, with the UK and Irish practice seeing the addition of 48 partners to its headcount this year, including 31 in yesterday’s rounds. E&Y’s Europe, Middle East, India [...]
SOLVED: MYSTERY OF VANISHING FORMER PM July 5, 2010 IT WAS a rip-roaring ride for those who turned up at the swanky Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn yesterday to hear Mayor Boris Johnson exercise his notoriously sharp tongue. Boris, the guest of honour at the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association’s annual lunch, certainly knows how to play to an audience including [...]
Unite strike causes BA traffic to drop July 5, 2010 STRIKE action by Unite, the union representing British Airways (BA) cabin crew, saw passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers reduced by 11.1 per cent last month. As a result of the nine-day strike period in June, BA on average filled only 77.5 per cent of its planes, while passenger capacity fell 8.6 per cent [...]
Serco wins £415m contract to build a new London prison July 5, 2010 SERCO has signed a contract to run a new London prison, despite concerns that public spending cuts could mean fewer deals for support services firms. Serco, which runs the DLR and detention centres in Australia, said its consortium signed a contract worth £415m with the Ministry of Justice to build and manage a prison at [...]
FSA bans six mortgage brokers and fines one over £130,000 for fraud July 5, 2010 SIX MORTGAGE brokers have been banned and one fined over £130,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for allegedly committing fraud as the financial watchdog continues its campaign to crack down on illegal activity in the UK. Neale Morton, Syed Meah and Jonathan Smith of Neale Morton IMS Limited have all been banned, with Morton [...]
Serco: Coalition will come good for outsourcers July 5, 2010 THERE may be trouble ahead for outsourcers. The new coalition government is intent on getting a better deal from support services firms; as one of the biggest clients in town, the likes of Serco are powerless to resist. But while there is short-term uncertainty, this government will outsource more in the future. The massive Work Programme [...]
British Land shifts focus to West End July 5, 2010 DEVELOPER British Land is “tweaking” its property portfolio by extending its West End presence because of financial uncertainty in the City, the company said yesterday. The switch will see the company concentrate on areas where rents are holding up. British Land is planning to spend £330m to redevelop a property on Baker Street that it [...]
