CITY VIEWS: IS THE UK GOVERNMENT DOING ENOUGH TO REDUCE THE DEFICIT? February 18, 2010 DANNY STUFARD | THOMAS EXCHANGE “Yes, I’d say so. It’s going to take a while to recoup and adjust to what’s happened. They are doing everything they can and there is not going to be an improvement overnight. I wouldn’t cut costs in the public sector, we need to keep as many people employed as [...]
Mortgage lending at a 10-year low February 18, 2010 GROSS mortgage lending fell to its lowest level in nearly 10 years last month as buyers rushed to complete purchases before the stamp duty holiday ended, the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. Total mortgage lending fell 32 per cent to £9.1bn from £13.4bn in December and down 21 per cent on January 2009. [...]
Court: Stanford must stay in jail February 18, 2010 A US appeals court denied for the second time a bid by accused swindler Allen Stanford to be released from jail pending trial. The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said in a ruling that Stanford’s lawyers presented “no new circumstances” in their second effort to win his release. His lawyers had [...]
ITV sale of Friends is cleared February 18, 2010 The Competition Commission has cleared ITV’s sale of FriendsReunited to Brightsolid. The competition concerns are over Brightsolid’s ownership of findmypast.com and the 1911 census site while FriendsReunited runs Genes reunited. But the regulator said that the deal could improve competition by forcing ancestry.co.uk to up its game in the face of rejuvenated competition.
Hedge funds to stick to Mayfair February 18, 2010 Hedge funds are unlikely to exit the UK because of tax, a report suggested yesterday. Property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield found 10 per cent of UK firms now consider taxation a crucial factor in deciding where to headquarter their business, up from 5 per cent three years ago. Around 18 hedge funds are contemplating overseas [...]
Swiss Re records a net profit for 2009 February 18, 2010 SWISS Re, the world’s second largest re-insurer, has turned around its fortunes and recorded a profit for 2009 following a dismal set of results in 2008. Annual net profit stands at SFr506m (£300.6m), up from the heavy 864m loss in 2008. The company’s core businesses have maintained strong earnings resulting in a improved balance sheet [...]
New directors on board at Pearl as it heads for UK float February 18, 2010 FUND management and insurance group Pearl yesterday said it was pressing ahead with a London stock market flotation despite its well-publicised wrangle with bondholders. The company, which is being renamed as Phoenix, is not raising any new capital at the time of its listing. Shareholders Liberty Acquisitions and Hugh Osmond, the group’s founder, do not [...]
Severe weather and the recession put a dampener on Axa UK earnings February 18, 2010 FREAK storms and floods in 2009 sent Axa’s UK year-end earnings tumbling by 18 per cent. The firm’s underlying earnings decreased to £235m, from £288m in 2008. Commercial losses within its general insurance business totalled £157m. Axa’s UK Property and Casualty arm was the worst hit, but reported strong revenue growth in personal motor and [...]
CPP hopes to buck the trend of IPO failures in March listing February 18, 2010 INSURANCE firm CPP will brave choppy IPO waters with a March flotation. It has not announced how much it plans to raise but City A.M. has learned the firm hopes to issue up to £30m from new shares, valuing it at £450m. It is believed owner and founder Hamish Ogston will also sell a £150m [...]
BAE profits tumble after truck deal loss February 18, 2010 BAE Systems swung to a loss last year after a major writedown linked to its purchase of US military group Armor Holdings. The British defence company said it suffered a net loss of £67m in 2009 compared with profit after tax totalling £1.745bn in 2008. BAE said it was forced to writedown £973m after Armor [...]
