FTSE hits a three-month low as Japanese disaster deepens March 14, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index hit a fresh three-month closing low yesterday, with some sectors seen vulnerable to further falls as the extent of the damage in Japan after the earthquake and tsunamis becomes clearer. Luxury goods firms such as Burberry Group and insurers including Aviva and Catlin Group were among the top fallers as [...]
FTSE ends at three-month low on Japan crisis March 14, 2011 The FTSE slumped to a three-month low at market close as traders digested the humanitarian disaster emerging from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. Risk appetite sank, with only non-nuclear energy firms boosted by the disaster, up as the threat of a nuclear explosion in one of Japan’s three damaged power stations remained high. The FTSE 100 [...]
TOP LAWYERS CALL FOR QUOTAS TO BOOST WOMEN IN THE BOARDROOM March 13, 2011 SOME of the UK’s most high-powered female lawyers convened at the Southbank Centre on Saturday afternoon to debate the “chronic inequality” at City law firms. The panel, chaired by Denise Jagger from legal practice Eversheds, which organised the event, contained some of the most high-powered women in the industry (pictured right), including Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, deputy [...]
Touching distance March 13, 2011 ENGLAND (22) vs SCOTLAND (16) Grand Slam just one win away after England survive a scare to defeat tenacious Scotland ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson admits major improvement is needed if his side are to complete the Grand Slam in Dublin next weekend. Scotland put up brave resistance at Twickenham yesterday but eventually succumbed to Tom [...]
England must find another gear March 10, 2011 THE Grand Slam might be there for the taking, but it would be premature in the extreme to compare this current England team to the class of 2003. True, there is a certain amount of symmetry in that a first RBS 6 Nations clean sweep in eight years is likely to boil down to winning [...]
Thiam placates investors but pay row may be next March 9, 2011 TIDJANE Thiam returned like Lazarus from beyond the reputational grave yesterday with the kind of convincingly superb results needed to regain investors’ faith. Thiam, promoted from finance director to chief executive of the Pru in 2009, has felt the wrath of shareholders since his ill-fated $35.5bn (£22bn) bid for AIA. Thiam launched the bid last [...]
Retirees face decades of debt as living costs soar March 8, 2011 A FIFTH of UK retirees still have thousands of pounds of mortgage debt while a third owe money on credit cards, a report showed yesterday. Outstanding mortgage debt among over-55s has also risen by a fifth to more than £65,000 from £54,500 in February 2010, according to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report. The survey painted [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 7, 2011 CAPITAL SHOPPING CENTRES Societe Generale rates the landlord “hold” and has raised its 12-month target price by five per cent to 420p. The broker expects the firm’s recent purchase of the Trafford Centre to give a four per cent lift to cash flow and dilute net asset value by around one per cent. It also [...]
Activist investors eye bumper 2011 as market improves March 6, 2011 THIS year has started well for activist investors, those outspoken stake-builders that push boards to buck up their strategy. 2011 has kicked off with a spate of high profile public exchanges between funds and their targets. Activists claimed their first major scalp last month when Sherborne Investors ousted City veteran Nick MacAndrew from the chair [...]
Aviva hints at disposals as profits surge March 3, 2011 INVESTORS welcomed Aviva’s forecast-beating results yesterday as the insurance giant reported a 35 per cent jump in pre-tax profit. Achievements included eliminating its £1.7bn pension deficit in the year, and returning its net asset value to a £12.8bn pre-crisis level. Aviva said its 2011 strategy was “to concentrate on the markets where we have strength [...]