Lloyd’s reaps record profit but fears 2010 March 24, 2010 LLOYD’S of London was bracing itself for a “very tough” 2010 yesterday, despite releasing a record set of results that showed pre-tax profit doubled to £3.9m last year. A lack of natural disasters and strong investment performance helped the insurance market boost the figure from £1.9bn in 2008, when hurricanes Ike and Gustav forced to [...]
Alstom directors arrested in SFO raids in foreign contract bribes probe March 24, 2010 three directors of French engineering group Alstom arrested by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on suspicion of bribery and corruption after raids on nine properties were last night released without charge. The SFO said in a statement it suspected bribes were paid in order to win contracts overseas and that this had involved associated money [...]
IRISH BANKING ARREST March 24, 2010 IRISH police yesterday arrested William McAteer, former finance director of Anglo Irish Bank, the second man to be held in a fraud probe into events preceding the bank’s nationalisation. Last Thursday, police arrested Sean FitzPatrick, 61, former Anglo Irish chairman but later released him without charge after a day of questioning.
LSE welcomes £900m flood of new floats March 24, 2010 FOUR separate companies raised a total of over £900m yesterday as they floated on the London Stock Exchange, the best day for listings in the City since May 2008. African Barrick Gold (ABG) raised £581m as it came to the market at 575p per share – the largest initial public offering on the LSE in [...]
Dubai set for crunch talks March 24, 2010 Bankers yesterday gathered in Dubai to hammer out a $26bn debt plan with state-owned Dubai World as a repayment deadline loomed, adding to pressure on the glitzy emirate to settle the conglomerate’s debt. Core creditors representing 97 banks met to finalise months of talks on how Dubai World can restructure the debt, about a quarter [...]
Icap is in good shape, says Spencer March 24, 2010 ICAP, the world’s biggest interdealer broker, yesterday said it had maintained or slightly improved second-half profit margins and said it expected pretax profit roughly in line with forecasts. The company said profit for the year to the end of March would be between £295m and £315m before tax, amortisation and impairment of intangibles arising on [...]
Man Group rises despite profits slide March 24, 2010 Man Group yesterday posted lower profits and a further fall in assets, bucking the trend in a recovering hedge fund industry as clients continued to withdraw cash following poor returns from its flagship AHL fund. The world’s largest listed hedge fund firm said assets – on which investment firms earn fees – were $39.1bn, down [...]
BA strips perks away from striking crew March 24, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) has withdrawn travel perks for cabin crew walking the picket line, the airline confirmed. Staff taking part in the work stoppage this coming weekend and last weekend have been told they will loose their access to heavily discounted travel as a result of walking off the job. A spokesperson from the airline [...]
Tube staff threaten strike March 24, 2010 LONDON Underground has been given until the end of today to withdraw plans to axe 800 jobs or workers will walk out of the job. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which is representing workers facing job cuts said it will call a ballot for strike if management doesn’t comply. “We have already warned [...]
Resolution says deals will come after cash injection March 24, 2010 INSURANCE acquisition vehicle Resolution insisted its takeover strategy was on track as it announced a £180m boost to its war chest. Clive Cowdery’s firm yesterday used its first set of results since absorbing Friends Provident to allay investors’ impatience for another deal, which has caused its share price to slide since November. Describing Resolution’s demotion [...]
