Catlin profits surge on lower natural disaster claims February 8, 2013 Insurer Catlin said this morning that its annual profit jumped almost fivefold thanks to lower natural disaster claims last year. The insurer, which is the operator of the biggest insurance syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, made a pre-tax profit of $339mm (£215.5m) over 2012, up from $71m in 2011, when insurers faced a spate of [...]
Meet the man who wouldn’t be king February 7, 2013 THE BANK of England could boost growth without creating too much more inflation, as long as it is prepared to be more creative and more flexible, incoming governor Mark Carney promised MPs yesterday. Marking a sharp change from the era of outgoing head Sir Mervyn King, Carney raised the prospect of changing the Banks’ target, [...]
Ireland dodges debt bullet with repayment deferral scheme February 7, 2013 IRELAND clinched an historic deal yesterday to ease pressure on its debt mountain and defer the legacy costs of bailing out failed Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide. The deal, which won the backing of the European Central Bank yesterday after 18 fraught months of negotiations, will stretch out the cost of paying back the [...]
Bank rolls over QE while Draghi hints at rate cut February 7, 2013 THE BANK of England yesterday announced it would reinvest maturing assets in the gilt market, to keep its asset portfolio in line with its £375bn target. The rate-setters kept interest rates at their all-time low of 0.5 per cent for the 47th month, and maintained the size of the quantitative easing (QE) gilt-purchase programme at [...]
Mark Carney will be more of a reformer than a revolutionary February 7, 2013 THERE is no doubt that Mark Carney will be a breath of fresh air at the Bank of England, and will make many useful changes, especially in terms of culture and management style. His appointment will also ensure that there is a single, simple line on financial regulation, one which is very tough – he [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 7, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Dell to repatriate $7bn of cash Dell plans to ship as much as $7.4bn (£4.7bn) of the cash it holds in foreign countries back to the US to help finance its proposed buyout, breaking ranks with other big US technology companies that have kept most of their liquid reserves abroad to avoid a [...]
Senior Barclays staff delay pay February 7, 2013 MANAGING directors in Barclays’ investment bank will not get an upfront bonus for 2012, instead receiving the payouts – half cash and half shares – over the next three years. More junior staff will receive a bonus of up to £65,000 in cash upfront, gaining more at the expense of the 1,200 MDs affected. It [...]
Seymour still hopes for deal February 7, 2013 EMPLOYEES at Seymour Pierce were summoned to a staff meeting last night to hear of their fate at the financially stretched small companies bank – but they left it no clearer as to their future, only with a hope that there might be a resolution to the situation later today. Chief executive Tom Forcier told [...]
LinkedIn shines to revenue gain February 7, 2013 PROFESSIONAL network LinkedIn hailed a “transformative” 12 months for the business yesterday after an 86 per cent increase in annual revenues. The online company increased revenues to $972.3m (£618.8m) due to a big jump in advertising sales. Revenues per user shot up from $1.16 a year ago to $1.50 for the three months ending December [...]
Retail boss found guilty February 7, 2013 THE boss of failed retail group Baugur, one-time king of the British high street, was found guilty of tax evasion yesterday. Jon Asgeir Johannesson, whose investment company owned stakes in a string of British high-street retailers including Hamley’s, Iceland and House of Fraser, was handed a suspended one-year prison sentence and a fined of 62m [...]
