Hurricane specialist gears up for growth after stormy 2009 March 8, 2010 HURRICANE insurance specialist Chaucer had a stormy 2009. It raised £75m in a share placing; fought off two takeover bids; saw private equity house Pamplona become its biggest shareholder; and cleared out the boardroom. Luckily, the hurricane season was unusually calm, helping the Lloyd’s insurer back into the black. Gross premiums also rose by five [...]
McDonald’s sales rise on Asian demand March 8, 2010 MCDONALD’S reported a better-than-expected 4.8 per cent rise in February sales at established restaurants as Asia helped offset softness in the US?and Europe. New menu items, Olympic sponsorships and the company’s introduction of a $1 breakfast value menu in the US helped the world’s biggest hamburger chain surpass forecasts for same-store sales growth of 3.9 [...]
The results of our first poll are in March 8, 2010 THE markets are panicking about the outcome of a general election that is just weeks away, but we decided to find out what our readers think. Will a Conservative government fix the economy or is Labour the only party that can be trusted with the recovery? And what would a hung parliament mean for the [...]
Barker: Hiking rates would not have eased recession March 8, 2010 MONETARY policy could not have done very much more to alleviate the depth of the recession, monetary policy committee (MPC) member Kate Barker said in her final speech before she steps down at the end of May. She said it would have been difficult to pinpoint the level of rates to keep the expansion of [...]
Nomura shakes up management March 8, 2010 Siggi Thorkelsson has quit his post as Asian head of equities at Nomura Holdings, as the Japanese brokerage yesterday announced a management shake-up that included a new US chief to drive growth there. Nomura said Naoki Matsuba will take over as CEO for the Americas to drive its build out in the United States. Matsuba, [...]
Citi’s Shedlin joins rival bank March 8, 2010 Gary Shedlin, who was most recently chairman of Citigroup’s investment banking effort for financial institutions, is departing to join Morgan Stanley, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said. Shedlin in his new position with Morgan Stanley will be a vice chairman focused on financial institutions, spokeswoman Alyson Barnes said. His position will be a new one. While [...]
Harrah’s $5.5bn loan extended March 8, 2010 Harrah’s Entertainment has won approval from lenders to extend the maturity date on a $5.5bn (£3.65bn) loan, giving it until 2015 to pay off the debt. Harrah’s, the world’s largest operator of casinos, will also have the ability to buy back the commercial mortgage-backed securities loan at a steep discount, helping it reduce debt, the [...]
Losing Cesc is no excuse, fires Wenger March 8, 2010 ARSENAL vs FC PORTO Tonight, ko 7.45pm, Sky Sports 2 ARSENE WENGER insists the absence of captain Cesc Fabregas will not be used as an excuse for failure when Arsenal put their Champions League hopes on the line against Porto tonight. The Gunners must come back from a first-leg deficit in order to reach the [...]
Injured Shaw misses out but Tindall gets the call March 8, 2010 ENGLAND lock Simon Shaw has lost his battle to be fit for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Murrayfield after failing to recover from a shoulder injury. The 36-year-old was helped off in the opening few minutes of England’s defeat to Ireland at Twickenham 10 days ago and now faces a fitness race for [...]
Timely ton’s a boost to Trott March 8, 2010 JONATHAN TROTT all but secured his place in England’s Test side for Friday’s series opener after firing a timely century in the warm-up game with Bangladesh A in Chittagong. The Warwickshire batsman’s place in the top order has been under threat from the emerging Michael Carberry in recent weeks but he wasted no time in [...]
