Euro surges after ECB’sTrichet hints of rate rise next month March 3, 2011 THE euro jumped to a four-month high against the dollar yesterday, after European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet dropped hinted that interest rates could rise soon. Despite holding rates at one per cent for now, Trichet said “strong vigilance” was warranted, with the ECB “prepared to act in a firm and timely manner” to [...]
BBA: US bonus rules less onerous and expensive than EU laws March 3, 2011 RULES regulating bonuses in the US are substantially less onerous than equivalent UK rules introduced in January, according to the British Bankers’ Association. The framework for the US rules, released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, state that financial institutions must provide a description of their pay plans and explain why they [...]
Aviva hints at disposals as profits surge March 3, 2011 INVESTORS welcomed Aviva’s forecast-beating results yesterday as the insurance giant reported a 35 per cent jump in pre-tax profit. Achievements included eliminating its £1.7bn pension deficit in the year, and returning its net asset value to a £12.8bn pre-crisis level. Aviva said its 2011 strategy was “to concentrate on the markets where we have strength [...]
Kwik-Fit unit to make £192m March 3, 2011 EUROPEAN private equity firm PAI Partners is expected to make £192m from its sale of Kwik-Fit to Japanese conglomerate ITOCHU, a deal first revealed by City A.M. on Wednesday (see right). PAI, which was being advised by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, signed off on a £637m sale of Britain’s biggest tyre retailer to ITOCHU [...]
Shire receives European approval for Firazyr drug March 3, 2011 SHARES in Shire leapt 2.6 per cent to a near all-time high yesterday on the news that European regulators approved its Firazyr drug for self-administration by sufferers. The treatment, for a rare hereditary immunity disorder known as Quincke edema, now looked very likely to be approved by the US regulator and has the potential to [...]
Impressive results that should give the share price a much-needed lift March 3, 2011 AVIVA’s results and strategy update should cheer investors for several reasons. The winter weather that has hindered other insurers’ results didn’t even dent its £2.4bn pre-tax profit. Its strength in life insurance and commitment to cost-cutting are welcome, particularly against a backdrop of new regulation such as the ban on using gender in insurance calculations [...]
Insurer Hardy takes a hit after disaster losses March 3, 2011 LLOYD’S insurer Hardy Underwriting yesterday became the latest company to report results hit by catastrophe losses as its profit halved to £10m in 2010. Net tangible assets rose 1.5 per cent to 270p per share, from 266p in 2009, and it raised its dividend ten per cent to 14.6p. Gross written premiums increased to £279.4m [...]
News Corp wins right to make Sky bid March 3, 2011 NEWS Corp yesterday won full approval to bid for the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own. Culture minister Jeremy Hunt accepted an eleventh hour News Corp concession that it would spin-off Sky News into a separate, publicly-traded entity, in order to counter media plurality concerns. Hunt said he accepted the terms [...]
Trinity Mirror tanks after results disappoint March 3, 2011 TRINITY MIRROR saw its share price tumble more than 20 per cent yesterday after it admitted that it will not hit savings targets for the year. The publisher pointed to inflation and the rising cost of newsprint, which will outstrip its cost-cutting measures. Despite tripling its pre-tax profit for 2010 from £42m to £123m, it [...]
What becomes of Sky News post-takeover? March 3, 2011 IF News Corp goes ahead with its £8bn takeover of BSkyB it has agreed to spin off the loss-making Sky News channel as an independent company, which will have its shares publicly traded. As part of the deal, Rupert Murdoch has agreed to continue broadcasting Sky News for at least 10 years and provide it [...]
