CITY SNAPS UP FLATS IN DELAUNAY NEIGHBOUR December 6, 2011 NO PRIZES for guessing who was first through the doors of The Delaunay: restaurant reviewer AA Gill, who was yesterday spotted having breakfast with the new brasserie’s co-owner Jeremy King. Of course, Gill was followed closely by The Capitalist, who caught up with King as he studied the architects’ plans for his next opening Brasserie [...]
Aegon to hit 2015 targets despite crisis December 6, 2011 DUTCH insurance group Aegon has reassured investors that it had not been blown off course by the Eurozone debt crisis and will meet its financial targets to 2015, as it kicked off a two-day investor conference in New York yesterday. Aegon, which received a €3bn (£2.6bn) bailout in 2008 and has sold off non-core assets [...]
Outsourcing insurers lift firm’s profits December 6, 2011 INNOVATION Group, a supplier of outsourcing services to insurers, yesterday said major new client wins such as RBS Insurance helped boost its pre-tax profit by 54 per cent to £15.1m in the past year. The firm said revenues rose nine per cent to £175.9m, while in Europe revenues rose 12 per cent as all businesses [...]
Demand for coverage in Asia to boom December 6, 2011 ASIAN appetite for insurance products should boom next year, outpacing growth in developed markets, Swiss Re said yesterday. The reinsurer forecasts a 4.4 per cent jump in life insurance premiums, up from just 0.6 per cent growth this year, as affluent Asian populations seek out more savings and protection products. The news bodes well for [...]
SWISS RE SEES $600M THAI FLOOD LOSS December 6, 2011 FLOODS that swept Thailand in November, killing more than 600 people and causing $8-11bn (£5.1-£7bn) of insured losses, will cost reinsurance giant Swiss Re $600m, it said yesterday. The floods hugely damaged factories, adding to the woes of Asian firms that moved production from Japan after the earthquake. Picture: REUTERS
Wolseley still wary despite lift in profits December 6, 2011 WOLSELEY, the world’s biggest building supplies company, posted a 16 per cent rise in first-quarter trading profits yesterday and warned it will remain vigilant on costs due to uncertainty over the outlook. The FTSE 100 company said underlying operating profit rose 16 per cent to £185m in the three months to the end of October, [...]
Showdown for UBS activists in High Court December 6, 2011 PROTESTERS who have taken over a disused UBS building in the City could be evicted as soon as today after a High Court judgement is handed down. Mr Justice Roth is due to rule this morning on the Occupy group’s challenge to the injunction obtained by Sun Street Properties, a subsidiary of the Swiss bank. [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR WOLSELEY IN TOUGH MARKETS? December 6, 2011 TONY SHEPARD | CHARLES STANLEY Over the last two years, Wolseley has done well to deleverage and reposition the Group. It is now more focused and with improving customer service it is looking to increase market share and and improve returns. Although Wolseley is operating in tough markets we expect it to make further progress. [...]
Shell boosted by shale gas find in China December 6, 2011 ROYAL Dutch Shell has found shale gas in China, a development that could cap imports in a market natural gas producers are hoping will drive demand. An official with Shell’s partner PetroChina, a unit of the country’s top energy group, state-owned CNPC, said drilling results from two wells Shell drilled had been positive. Shell has [...]
RWE’s €2.1bn share sale hampered by S&P’s credit warning to the Eurozone December 6, 2011 RWE’s share sale fell flat yesterday as investors held back amid the Standard & Poor’s warning of a credit rating cut to Eurozone countries. The German utility said it raised €2.1bn (£1.8bn) by selling 80.4m shares to institutional investors at €26 a piece – well below the €2.5bn it had hoped for when it announced [...]
