AXA posts first-half loss August 4, 2010 AXA, Europe’s second-biggest insurer by market value, posted a net income fall of 29 per cent to €944m (£782m) yesterday driven by the loss of €1.48bn from the sale of some UK Life operations to insurer Resolution. The French firm also announced a management reshuffle. It said Nicolas Moreau, chief executive of the UK arm [...]
L&G shares drop despite dividend hike August 4, 2010 LEGAL & GENERAL shares fell yesterday even though the life insurer announced a 20 per cent hike to its dividend on the back of rising annuity returns and strong inflows. Uninspired by chief executive Tim Breedon’s “mixed” outlook for the coming year, investors sold L&G stock. The firm’s share price fell 1.3 per cent to [...]
Munich Re results beat consensus August 4, 2010 MUNICH RE reported much stronger-than-expected earnings in the second quarter, bolstered by surging investment income that offset hits from damage claims such as the sunken Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The world’s biggest reinsurer reported quarterly net profit of €709m (£588m), which was above the highest forecast of €570m and well [...]
BGC Partners looks to emerging markets August 4, 2010 INTERDEALER broker BGC Partners plans to expand in China and the Americas after reporting a 45 per cent rise in second quarter pre-tax profits. BGC, which brokers financial instruments for banks and traders, said it planned to target emerging market economies for growth. The company has established a presence in Sao Paulo, Moscow and Beijing [...]
Hammerson buys offices August 4, 2010 REAL estate investor Hammerson has teamed up with a Canadian pension investor to buy the long leasehold of 10 Gresham Street for £183m. The joint venture has bought the Foster & Partners-designed building from Union Investment, a German fund. Union purchased the property from Standard Life in May last year. Hammerson has paid £55m for [...]
ANCIENT INDIAN SEXUAL WISDOM, PIPED LIKE MUSIC TO YOUR EARS August 4, 2010 HURRAH for technology: the days of keeping up appearances among fellow passengers by trawling through suitably intellectual reading material on the daily commute are officially over. The Kama Sutra, that literary fountain of Indian sexual wisdom, has been released in audio book format for the first time in its 1,600 year history. Publisher Beautiful Books [...]
British Land aims for long term growth August 4, 2010 BRITISH Land’s growth stuttered in the last quarter, dampened by concerns over the UK economy despite growing demand for office space. The country’s second-largest property firm said yesterday its net asset value grew by just 2.2 per cent in the three months to 30 June, compared to 15.1 per cent growth in the previous quarter. [...]
Toyota posts £1.4bn profit as car sales start to recover August 4, 2010 EMBATTLED Japanese carmaker Toyota celebrated a return to profitability yesterday and lifted its full year guidance despite facing a crippling recall of its vehicles earlier in the year. The Tokyo based manufacturer posted a first-quarter net profit of 190.47bn yen (£1.38bn) marking a u-turn from the same period last year when it fell into the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF BRITISH LAND’S RESULTS? August 4, 2010 PAUL PULZE | EVO SECURITIES The importance lies in what British Land didn’t say, rather than the contents of the results. The firm said it’s doing exciting things in the long term, but competitors like Hammerson have got big plans in the works now. It has £3bn of debt facilities and doesn’t need to rely [...]
Next to hike prices as its costs increase August 4, 2010 NEXT yesterday reported a slowdown in consumer spending and said the rising costs of materials and VAT would force a hike in the price of its goods. The retailer said factors such as rising cotton prices and the VAT jump to 20 per cent from January would mean the customer being hit in the pocket. [...]
