A sunny day at Sunningdale October 18, 2012 WITH the sun shining so marvellously on Wednesday, what better day could have arisen to bunk off work, in order to dodge some bunkers, on the green fairways of Sunningdale golf club in Berkshire. City and celebrity players alike turned out in their plus fours for the 15th Tullow Oil charity golf day. Besides the [...]
Go-Ahead’s bus plan impresses as revenues rise October 18, 2012 SHARES in transport group Go-Ahead leapt 5.8 per cent yesterday as it reported strong trading and ambitious growth plans for its UK bus business. The firm told investors that it aims to organically grow operating profits in buses to £100m over the next three years, up from the £70m it generated this year. Go-Ahead also [...]
FSA issues £600,000 fine to Sun Life Financial of Canada October 18, 2012 A BRITISH life insurer has been fined £600,000 after admitting to governance failings that could have potentially affected 114,000 policies and £1.2bn of assets. The UK division of Sun Life Financial of Canada, part of the global Sun Life Financial group, admitted that it made mistakes relating to its with-profits pension funds in 2008 and 2009. During that [...]
Jardine Lloyd Thompson sees reinsurance profits slowdown October 18, 2012 INSURANCE broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) yesterday said that profits from its reinsurance business are set to fall this year. Despite delivering good revenue growth the unit has encountered difficulties, as large insurers become more reluctant to pass on risk. “This, together with our continued investment in the business, means that we now expect trading profit [...]
Derwent secures Ticketmaster as Tenant October 18, 2012 PROPERTY developer Derwent London said yesterday it has let 10-4 Pentonville Road in North London to Ticketmaster. The ticketing giant will pay £1.9m per annum to lease the whole of 4 Pentonville Rd and the top five floors of 10 Pentonville Rd for 12 years.
Boost for GDP as retail sales bounce back October 18, 2012 RETAIL SALES climbed in September, data showed yesterday, defying their flat long-term trend. Sales volumes grew 0.6 per cent between August and September, the Office for National Statistics said, after a 0.1 per cent fall between July and August. This means 2.5 per cent more goods are being sold than a year before. The amount spent [...]
Bank data reveals loans drop despite Funding for Lending October 18, 2012 NET lending was negative in August, statistics showed yesterday, with more businesses paying off debt than taking more out. The net monthly flow of lending to businesses was minus £2.2bn in the month, according to Bank of England data. The total stock of lending shrunk 2.2 per cent at an annualised rate in the three months to [...]
Deloitte says that new capital rules are hitting levels of loans October 18, 2012 TOUGH capital requirements are the main cause of falling bank lending across Europe, according to a major new study out yesterday. Deloitte’s study of 19 institutions found 71 per cent cutting lending to raise capital in order to hit regulatory targets. Deleveraging is particularly marked because banks are struggling to sell off non-core assets as [...]
China grows slower than yearly target for first time since crash October 18, 2012 CHINA’S economy grew more slowly than its yearly forecast for the first time since the depths of the financial crisis, data showed yesterday, but some signs suggest China may be able to reverse its slowdown. GDP grew 7.4 per cent in the third quarter, compared to a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [...]
US new claims jump threatens positive unemployment trend October 18, 2012 NEW unemployment insurance claims in the US rocketed last week, data from the Department of Labor revealed yesterday. Seasonally-adjusted new claims soared 46,000, bringing the total from 342,000 in the week ending 6 October to 388,000 in the week ending 13 October – reversing months of small improvements. This adjusted figure came from a 29,129 increase in [...]
