Aviva heads back into Asian insurance market April 9, 2010 AVIVA said it would re-enter the Asian general insurance market five years after offloading its non-life operations in the region. Britain’s second largest insurer has made the move into Singapore after rival Prudential spent £24 billion on the Asian operations of bailed-out American insurer AIG. Asia has one of the world’s quickest expanding financial services [...]
Michael Page profits rise after UK jobs boost April 9, 2010 RECRUITMENT specialist Michael Page has seen profit rise by 2.9 per cent in the first quarter after a pick-up in the UK jobs market. The company – which places professionals such as accountants and lawyers – had said in January that Britain was lagging behind. The UK market makes up 30 per cent of its [...]
Investors fear a greek tragedy April 8, 2010 MARKETS cranked up the pressure on Greece for the third day in a row yesterday in a perilous game of brinksmanship with its financial backers, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. Betting on a default from the struggling country, investors forced the interest charge on Athens’ 10-year bonds beyond 7.5 per cent at one [...]
Brown: I’ll crack down on bonuses April 8, 2010 GORDON Brown put bankers’ bonuses at the heart of the general election campaign last night, as he pledged to give the FSA powers to “quash” individual pay contracts. The Prime Minister launched a broadside against “reckless risk taking” and said a Labour government would force banks to take more responsibility. He added: “In our manifesto, [...]
TNT considers mail unit IPO April 8, 2010 DUTCH post and logistics company TNT is considering a listing or partnerships for its mail unit, as investors grow concerned over poor performance. Increased competition due to European mail liberalisation and a rise in electronic communications have seen TNT struggle with volumes and costs at its mail unit. TNT’s management has already held strategy talks [...]
No bailout for Greek debt investors April 8, 2010 INVESTORS should have seen the sub-prime crisis coming. Yes, I know, it’s easy to say that with the benefit of hindsight, though a fair few economists and investors actually did get it right, not least the doctor turned hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who is brilliantly depicted in Michel Lewis’ new book, The Big Short. [...]
Apple launches mobile ads April 8, 2010 APPLE chief executive Steve Jobs yesterday began a war with Google after he laid out plans to launch a phone operating system with a new advertising platform to compete with its rival. Jobs, speaking at the company’s California headquarters, said the iPhone 4.0 operating system available later this year – also available on iPads this [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HOLLYWOOD TOP GUNS TAKE SHOT AT REVIVING DEBT-RIDDEN MGM Tony and Sir Ridley Scott have emerged as surprise contenders to steer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer back to solvency after submitting a restructuring plan to the Hollywood studio’s lenders. The brothers, who between them are responsible for Alien, Top Gun and Gladiator, have expressed interest in running [...]
BP to take $500m Mexican hit April 8, 2010 BP will face costs of about $500m (£327m) in lost production and direct construction costs following the group’s decision to shut down 50 per cent of the wells feeding its Thunder Horse oil and gas platform. The group has had to postpone production at the platform, after problems such as inferior welding on subsea pipelines [...]
Rio workers to appeal China trial April 8, 2010 Rio Tinto’s China iron ore head Stern Hu, an Australian citizen, has decided not to appeal his 10-year sentence for accepting bribes and stealing commercial secrets, his lawyer said yesterday. However, his three Chinese colleagues will challenge the 29 March verdict, which put them behind bars for between seven and 14 years for accepting bribes. [...]
