BEST OF THE BROKERS August 17, 2010 LLOYDS Morgan Stanley places an “underweight” rating on Lloyds banking group. It says first-half figures were reassuring but warns of lower improvement ahead, with a slowing down of its book re-pricing. The bank faces a funding challenge, with the world facing austerity measures and a predicted housing dip by the end of 2011, it believes. [...]
Resolution posts profit and eyes new acquisitions August 17, 2010 Insurance buyout vehicle Resolution said on it would hunt out further acquisitions in a consolidating sector, as it posted an interim profit compared to a loss a year earlier. Resolution made an operating profit before tax of £203m for the six months ending June, compared to a loss of £7m a year earlier. Its earnings [...]
Aviva told to deliver or see itself split up August 16, 2010 INVESTORS piled pressure on Aviva to come up with a credible alternative to being broken up yesterday as the insurer formally knocked back rival RSA’s “unacceptable” £5bn approach for its general insurance business. Shareholders are disgruntled at Aviva’s decision not to consult them before rejecting the offer for the group’s property and casualty operations in [...]
RSA August 16, 2010 RSA’S offer was politely described as “speculative” when it was leaked on Friday. In fact, it looked downright odd: a £5bn proposal, made out of the blue from one chairman to another, swiftly rebuffed. But no-one in Aviva’s boardroom will be feeling comfortable this morning. RSA has skilfully turned the nascent takeover battle into a [...]
FTSE remains flat as takeover moves are offset by weak Japanese survey August 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed flat yesterday as concerns over economic recovery after weak data from Japan offset firmer miners, led up by Vedanta Resources which made its play for a controlling stake in Cairn India. The FTSE 100 ended up 0.66 points at 5,276.10, having closed up 0.2 per cent on Friday. “Investors continue to [...]
Mall owner disposes of four sites August 16, 2010 THE Mall Fund, a major investor in shopping centres in the UK, yesterday offloaded four sites for £135.9m. The fund, set up by Capital & Regional and Aviva Investors in 2002, sold the shopping centres to clients of Rockspring Property Investment Managers as part of its drive to cut debts. The Liberty 2 Shopping Centre [...]
Aviva investors tell RSA to up £5bn offer August 15, 2010 INVESTORS in Aviva have said rival RSA must increase its £5bn offer if it wants to walk away with the insurer’s property and casualty business. Aviva immediately rejected the surprise offer for its general insurance arms in the UK, Ireland and Canada, made in a letter from RSA chairman John Napier last month. There are no [...]
Aviva rebuffs £5bn bid from RSA August 13, 2010 INSURER RSA has approached rival Aviva about buying its general insurance operations in the UK and elsewhere for £5bn, Sky News has reported. Aviva declined to comment, while RSA was not immediately available. The approach was immediately rejected by the Aviva board, and there are no ongoing discussions between the companies, accoring to the report. [...]
Standard Life profit up on overseas expansion August 11, 2010 INSURER Standard Life reaped the benefits of growth at its overseas division to post higher interim profits. Operating profit before tax from continuing operations rose ten per cent from last year to £182m, helped by growth overseas in areas such as Canada and India. Net inflows rose 71 per cent to £5.3bn, while the company [...]
Investing with a conscience has the potential for long-term rewards August 10, 2010 THE need for responsible investment has never been more relevant in the wake of the BP Deepwater disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and multinational oil companies’ controversial activities in the Canadian tar sands. Responsible investment has traditionally been seen as a domain for militant activists and students whereby stocks that do not meet certain [...]