RESOLUTION EXEC MOVES TO BUPA June 12, 2012 Insurance acquisition vehicle Resolution yesterday announced that Evelyn Bourke, one of its most senior executives, is leaving the firm to become chief financial officer at healthcare insurer Bupa. Shore Capital analyst Eamonn Flanagan said Bourke’s departure could set back Resolution’s plan to boost cash generation at its closed life unit. “A great win for Bupa, [...]
Falling factory output hits UK recovery hopes June 12, 2012 MANUFACTURING output fell in April, official data showed yesterday, indicating another disappointing quarter for the UK economy. The sector’s output dropped 0.7 per cent on the month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), taking output down 0.3 per cent on the year. The wider production index, which includes industries like energy and mining [...]
ECB calls for deposit guarantee scheme to build banking union June 12, 2012 A BANKING union across the Eurozone is vital to ending the crisis and creating a stable base for future growth, the European Central Bank (ECB) said yesterday, although the German Bundesbank appeared cynical towards plans to integrate financial sector risk. A union could only work if properly anchored in a fiscal union with powers to [...]
Greeks cut off by ship insurer June 12, 2012 A SECOND major shipping insurer has stopped selling cover to Greek shipping firms, it emerged yesterday. French giant Coface has followed the world’s largest trade credit insurer Euler Hermes in suspending cover to the country’s exporters because of the risk of doing business in the debt-laden nation. Greek development minister Yiannos Stournaras has taken the unusual [...]
France backs fiscal tie-up June 12, 2012 FRANCE said yesterday that it would support taking steps towards budgetary integration in Europe, but the first priority must be to agree measures to solve the debt crisis. After talks in Paris with his German counterpart Michael Link, France’s European affairs minister Bernard Cazeneuve said issues could be worked on in parallel but a fiscal [...]
Merkel seeks EU regulator after stress test flop June 12, 2012 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a centralised Eurozone banking regulator yesterday, blasting national regulators for failing to organise proper stress tests. The demand came as her government demonstrated Germany’s economic strength by slashing its budget deficit target. She said central authorities should be given more power to impose discipline on member states and to [...]
Lagarde: Deficit plans urgently needed to prevent worse crisis June 12, 2012 THE HEAD of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday called for “decisive steps” by European policymakers to deal with the region’s financial crisis and suggested that carbon taxes could be used by cash-strapped governments to raise more revenue. “We need a strategy that is good for stability and good for growth – where stability is [...]
Capital rules for local banks still uncertain June 12, 2012 INTERNATIONAL banking regulators are split over how much extra capital big local lenders must hold to shield taxpayers from bailing out failed banks, an official at Germany’s central bank said yesterday. Banking watchdogs have already agreed that about 30 global systemically important banks, known as G-SIBs, must hold extra capital buffers from 2016 because they [...]
BAA traffic figures fall as visitors shun troubled Eurozone spots June 12, 2012 AIRPORTS operator BAA said yesterday the Eurozone crisis had dented traffic numbers from UK airports to Greece, Spain and other European countries suffering worsening economic conditions. The owner of Heathrow – Europe’s busiest airport – yesterday said passenger numbers between Heathrow and Greece dropped 11.3 per cent in May compared with the same month a [...]
TomTom plots path to profit with Apple June 12, 2012 TOMTOM’S shares climbed by 16 per cent to €3.80 yesterday after Apple unveiled a deal with the satellite navigation systems firm. The shares, down almost 40 per cent over the past year, jumped to their highest level since February. On Monday, Apple announced it was replacing old maps partner Google with its own software. The [...]
