Allianz on track for the full-year despite jump in disaster claims May 4, 2011 DAMAGE claims in Japan and elsewhere in the first quarter failed to blow Allianz off course for its full-year profit goal, Europe’s biggest insurer said yesterday. Allianz’s operating profit was steady at nearly €1.7bn (£1.5bn) in the first three months of the year, compared with a year earlier, it said in a statement. “We are [...]
Laxey blasts Alliance for withholding details May 4, 2011 THE ongoing dispute between Alliance Trust and activist investor Laxey Partners has taken another twist, with Alliance being accused of withholding strategic information. Laxey has been pushing for the £2.9bn investment trust – the country’s biggest – to introduce tough new rules to help combat its hefty discount. Laxey argues a share buyback mechanism to [...]
Intel unveils smallest chip May 4, 2011 INTEL has unveiled a new low-power chip that crams in a record number of transistors. The firm hopes the design will give it a foothold in the market for smartphones and tablets. It has been left behind in the rapidly expanding sector, with chips designed by Cambridge-based ARM Holdings cornering more than 95 per cent [...]
Xstrata and Antofagasta suffer May 4, 2011 ANGLO-SWISS miner Xstrata reported a six per cent decline in copper output in the first-quarter due to severe weather conditions at its Collahuasi mine in Chile and lower grades at its Alumbrera copper and gold mine in Argentina. Overall, the firm said adverse weather conditions including flooding in Queensland and Western Australia, tropical cyclone Yasi [...]
Please vote No today – even if you don’t care May 4, 2011 HAVE you done it yet today? How did you feel? I don’t want to get too soppy about this, but putting a cross in a box in a national referendum should be an emotional experience. It is an issue of such importance that the government and parliament feel it is not a decision they can [...]
Morgan Stan hires former UBS executive May 4, 2011 MORGAN Stanley has snapped up a senior banker from Swiss bank UBS. Ashley Jarvis, who was the global head of business and capital consultancy for UBS, will start for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong before moving to London for the US bank. He quit last month, following a string of senior prime services bankers out [...]
Profit boost for US giant Marsh & McLennan May 4, 2011 US INSURANCE broking giant Marsh & McLennan posted a 31 per cent rise in profits over the first three months of this year. The world’s second-largest insurance brokerage saw its first-quarter net income hit $325m (£196m), compared with $248m a year earlier. Revenues for the firm rose nine per cent to $2.8bn. Revenue at Marsh, [...]
ConAgra ups Ralcorp offer May 4, 2011 CONAGRA Foods has raised its bid for Ralcorp Holdings to around $4.9bn (£2.96bn) in cash as it looks to attract price-conscious shoppers with lower-priced foods – but may have to dig even deeper to close a deal. Shares of Ralcorp – which mainly makes foods that stores then brand as their own – rose to [...]
Applied buys rival Varian May 4, 2011 CHIP equipment maker Applied Materials will buy rival Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates for $4.9bn (£2.96bn) in cash, as it looks to cement its edge in chipmaking technology to meet the rising demand from smartphone and solar equipment makers. Varian provides chipmakers with ion implantation gear for making integrated circuits, or chips, found in all modern [...]
Renren soars after float May 4, 2011 SHARES of Renren, dubbed “China’s Facebook”, surged nearly 50 per cent in their stock market debut yesterday in the latest sign that investors are eager to buy into social media and China’s booming internet sector. The shares rose to $20.62 (£12.50), or 47.3 per cent above their $14 IPO price, in early trading on the [...]
