Aviva to cut 800 jobs at its UK businesses August 23, 2012 INSURANCE giant Aviva last night confirmed plans to cut 800 jobs in the UK this year as part of a shake-up aimed at reducing the number of middle-managers in the company. Aviva currently employs 18,500 staff in Britain and a spokesman confirmed to City A.M. that “up to 800 roles” are at risk. “In practice [...]
Co-op suffers as bank woes knock profits August 23, 2012 SOARING levels of bad debt combined with the uncertainty caused by the Eurozone crisis pummelled The Co-operative Group, dragging down the overall group’s performance, its half-year results showed yesterday. Group profits came to £174m in the first six months of the year, down 34 per cent on the £264m recorded in the same period of [...]
Bank report claims pensioners benefited from QE programme August 23, 2012 THE BANK of England yesterday hit back at critics who claimed its quantitative easing (QE) policy has harmed pensioners, saying they were actually the main winners from the asset purchase programme. A report from the Bank, commissioned by the Treasury, argues that QE boosted bond and equity prices. It said this consequently inflated the wealth [...]
Ex-trader claims anyone at RBS could have fixed LIBOR entry August 23, 2012 A FORMER trader at RBS has claimed the bank’s internal controls were so lax that staff that had nothing to do with LIBOR-setting could easily alter the bank’s interest rates submission. Tan Chi Min, who is suing the bank for wrongful dismissal, made the claim in court documents filed in Singapore, which emerged yesterday. He [...]
Bank‘s Weale: further action unnecessary August 23, 2012 DESPITE the benefits the Bank accords to QE so far, policymaker Martin Weale did not recommend more easing. “At this stage, my personal opinion is that it is not necessary to increase the size of the asset purchase programme,” he told French newspaper Les Echos.
Pension groups want to open up on charges August 23, 2012 CLEAR details on fees and charges on pensions, as well as regular, standard updates on costs are vital if public trust is to be rebuilt in the industry, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said yesterday, calling for a sector-wide agreement on transparency. Millions of new savers are set to build up pension pots for [...]
Phoenix appoints ex-FSA chief Howard Davies as chairman August 23, 2012 INSURANCE firm Phoenix yesterday named Howard Davies, the former head of the Financial Services Authority, as its new chairman. The company also increased its cash generation target for the year by £100m. Chief executive Clive Bannister told City A.M. that his new chairman would bring a “breadth of expertise” to the firm, which also announced [...]
Bonuses lost as more banks claw back pay August 23, 2012 INCREASING numbers of banks clawed back pay from executives who breached codes of conduct, failed to perform or made losses on transactions last year, according to new research from Mercer. And this year’s scandals could see pay reduced further. A total of 14 per cent of banks across North America, Europe, the Middle East and [...]
Diageo success spurred by new market growth August 23, 2012 DIAGEO, the drinks giant, yesterday reported an 11 per cent hike in full-year profits after its exposure to fast-growing markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America helped offset weaker sales in Europe. The maker of Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff Vodka said it made an operating profit of £3.2bn in the year to 30 June, while [...]
Aegis profits shoot up ahead of Dentsu sale but ad spending forecasts are cut August 23, 2012 ADVERTISING firm Aegis said new contracts including a lucrative deal with General Motors led to a 20 per cent rise in first-half profit, in what is likely to be the company’s last earnings report before it is sold to Japanese giant Dentsu. Chief executive Jerry Buhlmann said the results continued Aegis’s “considerable positive momentum” although [...]
