ABI director Kerrie Kelly leaves after just six months July 15, 2010 KERRIE Kelly has left as director general of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) after just six months in the role. Kelly is “stepping down from her role to return to Australia… for personal reasons”, according to the ABI. She joined the ABI to replace Stephen Hadrill, who left to join the Financial Reporting Council. [...]
Goldman, TPG in $1.5bn bid for nappy firm July 15, 2010 US buyout firm TPG and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs yesterday agreed to buy nappy-maker Ontex from rival Candover in the year’s largest European buyout. The deal, which Candover said values Ontex at €1.2bn (£1bn) including debt, is Europe’s largest buyout this year, just ahead in dollar terms of KKR’s £955m deal for [...]
Corporate profits are down in first quarter July 15, 2010 CORPORATE profitability deteriorated in the first quarter of 2010 to match the third quarter of 2009, which was the worst quarter since the last three months of 1993. Companies’ net rate of return fell to 11.1 per cent in the first three months of the year from a downwardly-revised 11.3 per cent in the fourth [...]
DAVID MILES STAYS DOVISH July 15, 2010 BANK of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member David Miles yesterday argued that it was not yet appropriate to start tightening policy, saying “fragilities in the banking system remain and pose risks that the recovery in demand and activity we have seen across Europe – including the UK – falters”. The dovish external MPC member [...]
US data indicates pace of recovery is beginning to slow July 15, 2010 NEW claims for jobless benefits tumbled to a near two-year low last week, but a modest gain in industrial output and a third monthly drop in wholesale prices in June confirmed a slackening in the economy’s recovery. Other data yesterday also implied that the slowdown in manufacturing extended into July, but analysts said there was [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD INTEREST RATES RISE? July 15, 2010 JAQUES VANZYL ALLIED WORLD ASSURANCE “At the moment I’m happy with the current rate. I have a flexible rate on my mortgage so my payments are very low. On the other hand, we also have savings and they have taken a hit, so it’s a bit of a conundrum. I’m looking for a fixed rate [...]
Britons up stake in their homes July 15, 2010 British homeowners ploughed £3.2bn into their properties in the first quarter of this year, according to Bank of England figures published yesterday. This was slightly less than the £3.4bn recorded in the last quarter of this year. This means it is now two years since Britons last withdrew equity from their homes.
China cools in second quarter July 15, 2010 China’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter to 10.3 per cent from a year earlier, a touch weaker than expected, in response to the fading of government fiscal and monetary stimulus. The reading was slightly below market forecasts of 10.5 per cent growth. Particularly striking was a sharper-than-expected drop in factory growth to 13.7 [...]
Eurozone industrial output rises July 15, 2010 Industrial production in the Eurozone rose 0.9 per cent month-on-month in May and 9.4 per cent on May 2009. The expansion was broad-based with healthy monthly production gains in all sectors. It was up three per cent in the three months to May compared to the quarter to February. Even flat output in June (which [...]
Cable: Cost of universities is set to soar July 15, 2010 THE cost of a university education is set to soar as the public spending squeeze takes its toll on higher education. However, business secretary Vince Cable vowed repayments will be fairer and linked to earnings. A rise in the amount students have to pay for degree courses is inevitable, Cable said, as the government seeks [...]
