Aviva to sell US unit at discount to boost revival November 8, 2012 INSURANCE giant Aviva yesterday said it will sell its struggling US business at a substantial discount in order to ensure its radical turnaround plan remains on track. Executive chairman John MacFarlane confirmed that the sale of the Iowa-based business is on the horizon and said it is set to fetch far less than its £2.4bn [...]
Samsung overtakes Apple as Galaxy S3 becomes a bestseller November 8, 2012 SAMSUNG’S Galaxy S3 overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S to become the world’s bestselling smartphone in the third quarter of the year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Samsung shipped 18m of its flagship model, compared to the iPhone 4S’s 16.2m. This was partly due to the fact that the latest version of Apple’s device, the iPhone [...]
S&P revises Lloyds TSB rating outlook due to profit forecasts November 8, 2012 CREDIT rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) yesterday downgraded its outlook on Lloyds TSB to negative from stable, citing the additional £1bn provision for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling claims which the bank made at last week’s third quarter results. S&P said the additional provision makes it likely that Lloyds will see a pre-tax loss [...]
SocGen profits demolished by Greek writeoff November 8, 2012 THE SALE of Greek lender Geniki wiped out Societe Generale’s profits in the third quarter, according to the French bank’s financial results published yesterday. Profits plunged 86.3 per cent to €85m (£67.8m), from €622m in the third quarter of 2011. That takes profits for the year to date to €1.25bn, 45.3 per cent below the [...]
Market doubts Commerzbank shakeup will boost prospects November 8, 2012 GERMAN lender Commerzbank swung back to profits in the three months to September, with commission income growing, according to figures published yesterday. The bank made a profit of €78m (£62.2m) in the quarter, compared to a loss of €687m a year earlier. Commerzbank said it will invest €2bn by 2016 to refocus on areas like [...]
Was the Boe right to hold interest rates and QE? November 8, 2012 CHARLES DAVIES | DBS VICKERS No. I don’t think it’s right. I think for the economy to function correctly interest rates should be kept around four per cent.” TERAS ULAKHOVICH | BARCLAYS CAPITAL I don’t know. Whatever you do with the interest rates, it won’t change the economy.” JOHN STAMPER | JUDICIUM I don’t know. [...]
Dexia gets a new capital boost from French and Belgian states November 8, 2012 THE FRENCH and Belgian governments agreed to pump billions more into bailed-out bank Dexia yesterday, after a year of wrangling with the European Commission over how best to manage the lender. The states also arranged an €85bn (£67.8bn) liquidity guarantee, on top of the €5.5bn capital hike. Belgium will put in 53 per cent of [...]
Banco Popular appoints STJ to key rights issue November 8, 2012 BANCO Popular Espanol, the Spanish lender that is seeking to raise as much as €2.5bn (£2bn) in a make or break share sale, has appointed STJ Advisors, the London-based equity advisory group, to advise on the deal. The Spanish bank is believed to have hired STJ to help it draw up a syndicate of banks [...]
Rise in value of assets boosts Carlyle’s profit November 8, 2012 US investment firm Carlyle Group yesterday swung into the black in the third quarter after firing on all cylinders to boost fundraising, investor returns and carry fund values. The Washington DC based company, which previously owned Dunkin’ Donuts in the US and Le Figaro newspaper in France, posted a three per cent increase in returns [...]
RSA relies on emerging markets as European sales continue to struggle November 8, 2012 THE PARENT company of insurer More Than yesterday announced flat sales of £2.7bn in the UK and western Europe, where it has been forced to do less business in the hope of remaining profitable. But RSA said its performance in emerging markets – including Latin America, Asia and the Middle East – is a cause [...]
