Lawyers were spied on says NewsCorp November 7, 2011 NEWS International said yesterday its staff had ordered surveillance on two lawyers for victims suing the group over the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed the group. The UK newspaper arm of News Corp admitted that the action, the latest in a string of embarrassing and damaging revelations about illegal eavesdropping on phone messages, was “inappropriate”. Private [...]
Headhunter: bonuses on Wall Street could fall by 50 per cent November 7, 2011 ONE of America’s top headhunters has warned Wall Street bonuses could fall by as much as 50 per cent. Ilana Weinstein, founder and chief executive of executive search firm IDW, told Bloomberg TV: “This year it’s going to be a tough year. We’re hearing bonuses at the senior end are going to be down between [...]
Hiscox looks ahead to New Year rate rise November 7, 2011 LLOYD’S insurer Hiscox said steady losses from catastrophes and a choosy approach to underwriting this year had put it “in good shape” yesterday, but its investment portfolio lost value since June as markets plunged. Hiscox, which insures specialist commercial risks and reinsurance, said its revenue from premiums fell by three per cent to £1.2bn in [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THE FALL IN PREMIUM INCOME A PROBLEM FOR HISCOX? November 7, 2011 JOY FERNEYHOUGH | BANCO ESPIRITO SANTO The likely reservations from this update will come from the investments side where the yield is down. We continue to expect yields to come under pressure, but believe Lloyd’s insurers have already taken much of the pain here. SARAH LEWANDOWSKI | PEEL HUNT The portfolio declined in the third [...]
Insurers urge FSA to ease new rules start November 7, 2011 INSURERS have warned the UK’s finance regulator that the industry is unimpressed with the confusion around the start of far-reaching new regulation on their capital requirements. The Financial Services Authority has weathered an angry backlash from the industry since October when it said it would delay the start of new Solvency II rules by a [...]
BP chief hurt by deal blow November 7, 2011 BP was under pressure yesterday after a £4bn sale of its stake in Pan American hit the buffers, triggering renewed questions over the company’s recovery from the Deepwater Horizon crisis. The deal was ditched after buyer Bridas, the oil and gas firm owned by Cnooc of China and Argentina’s Bulgheroni family, failed to resolve a [...]
Middleton effect means sales sparkle for Boodles November 7, 2011 BOODLES, the luxury jeweller beloved by Kate and Pippa Middleton, could be set for a global push after seeing annual profits soar by more than a quarter, City A.M. can reveal. Pre-tax profits rose 25.5 per cent to £4.71m for the year to 28 February, according to the accounts of Boodle & Dunthorne, which were [...]
Shares in DTZ crash by 86pc November 7, 2011 SHARES in DTZ have crashed by more than 86 per cent after the property consultancy, which is in takeover talks with several unknown bidders, said the equity in its business was worth “minimal value”, if anything at all. The company put itself up for sale last month, just days after its majority shareholder Saint George [...]
Focus on more lucrative routes boosts Ryanair November 7, 2011 RYANAIR raised its 2011 profit forecast by 10 per cent yesterday, saying a focus on more lucrative routes was pushing up revenue per passenger and offsetting stubbornly high fuel prices. The budget airline, headed up by outspoken boss Michael O’Leary, said it had seen virtually no impact from the global downturn in consumer confidence, but [...]
HMRC probed in Commons November 7, 2011 A TAX OFFICIAL lost their bonus following a blunder that allowed Goldman Sachs to escape a tax bill of around £10m, Parliament was told yesterday. In a hearing by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee yesterday, Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HMRC said the error was dealt with through a staff member’s annual [...]
