easyBus drives to first profit June 20, 2011 EasyBus, the low-cost travel business founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has posted its first annual profit since it was founded eight years ago. The bus operator, established in 2003 and part of Sir Stelios’s easyGroup venture, reported post-tax profits of £1.4m in the year to 30 September 2010, compared with a loss of £1.5m the [...]
MILLION EURO WIN FOR SILVER SPECULATOR June 20, 2011 SILVER is the stock of the moment – just ask the Slovakian kindergarten teacher who has become a euro millionaire by “transacting heavily” on the commodity to win a trading contest run by European brokerage house XTB. The 30-year-old teacher, known only by her trading name of “Rudinka”, surged ahead in the late stages of [...]
New insurance body outlined June 20, 2011 THE UK’s new insurance regulator will treat the sector differently to the banks, but will be heavily focused on enforcing new Solvency II capital requirements, authorities said yesterday. The Prudential Regulation Authority, due to launch by the end of 2012, will supervise firms’ business models and financial strength using a forward-looking, judgement-based approach. To be [...]
INSURERS FACE MORE NZ QUAKE LOSSES June 20, 2011 THE earthquake that hit Christchurch in New Zealand last week will leave Australia’s largest insurers including Insurance Australia Group, Suncorp and Lloyd’s insurer QBE exposed to rising reinsurance costs, rating agency Fitch said. The first quake, which devastated the city in March (pictured), has already caused around $8bn (£4.9bn) of insured losses.
Vallares defies gravity in new issues market June 20, 2011 SEBASTIAN Grigg looked even more ebullient than usual when I bumpedinto him at the weekend. The Credit Suisse investment banker was as pleased as could be about the manner in which Nat Rothschild’s new acquisition vehicle Vallares had managed to raise £1.3bn in funds, with Grigg’s bank as the lead adviser. Grigg is not the [...]
Tories stick to pensions plan June 20, 2011 THE government will stick to its plans to raise the state pension age for women despite growing opposition, secretary of state Iain Duncan Smith insisted last night. Duncan Smith has “no plans” to make changes to the policy that will see the pension age for women rise to 65 by 2018, bringing it in line [...]
Inflation pressures are set to stick, survey says June 20, 2011 MORE THAN six out of 10 investors expect persistent inflation to still be hitting the UK in six to 12 months time, according to research seen by City A.M. Only half of the surveyed fund managers expect interest rates to rise within three to six months, the study from Capital Spreads showed. “With no action [...]
Eurozone current account widens June 20, 2011 The Eurozone’s current account gap widened in April, official figures revealed yesterday. The deficit grew to €5.1bn (£4.5bn), from a downwardly revised €3bn in March. “This is the fifteenth consecutive monthly current account deficit,” said BNP Paribas in a note.
Labour costs rise across Euro area June 20, 2011 Labour costs in the Eurozone rose by 2.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, data showed yesterday. The figure was higher than expected, and a sharp jump from the 1.5 per cent increase in labour costs seen in the fourth quarter of 2010. Wage inflation climbed to 2.3 per cent from [...]
German producer prices stagnate June 20, 2011 Producer prices in Germany rose by 6.1 per cent in the year to May, slightly slower than the 6.4 per cent rise measured in April. Prices remained stagnant on the month, fresh data revealed, below expectations of a modest rise.
