Insurers to support plans to hand them welfare state role July 26, 2009 THE INSURANCE industry will today throw its full backing behind a key government report set to pave the way for the industry to take on a £17bn chunk of the Treasury’s welfare state obligations. Stephen Haddrill, director-general of insurance body the ABI, said the report should help the industry boost its strength significantly over the [...]
Pharmaceuticals inject more life into the FTSE 100’s rise July 22, 2009 THE FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent yesterday, extending its winning streak to eight sessions thanks to modest gains on Wall Street and solid second-quarter results from drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. At the close, the index was 12.56 points higher at 4,493.73, up 8.2 per cent over the past eight sessions. Drug maker Shire was the [...]
FTSE gains on broad-based rally led by banks and miners July 20, 2009 A BROAD-BASED rally in the stock market saw Britain’s top share index recording gains for a sixth straight day, with banks leading the surge and commodity shares jumping on stronger crude oil and metal prices. The FTSE 100 index ended 54.87 points, or 1.3 per cent, higher at 4,443.62 — the highest close since 11 [...]
Huge change in the City’s roll of power July 19, 2009 A YEAR of financial turmoil has wiped all but a quarter of last year’s 100 most influential people in European financial markets off the current roll of power. This year’s Financial News FN100 listing, which has the highest rate of turnover in its five-year history, reflects the huge overhaul of top talent the credit crunch [...]
Aviva reassures on capital July 15, 2009 Insurer Aviva’s regulatory capital cushion is getting stronger, and the group is not planning any further disposals, its chief executive, Andrew Moss, said yesterday. In an interview, Moss said Aviva, the UK’s second-biggest insurer, had called time on disposals after offloading Aviva Australia to National Australia Bank in June, adding £400m to its capital cushion. [...]
Miners, banks and oil groups emerge as stars of the index July 14, 2009 LONDON’S top share index closed up 0.9 per cent yesterday, led by miners, banks and oil producers as impressive corporate data from the United States outweighed mixed economic figures. The FTSE ended 35.55 points higher at 4,237.68, extending Monday’s 1.8 per cent gains. The index has risen more than 23 per cent since hitting a [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 14, 2009 Piper JaffrayThe international middle market investment bank announced the appointment of Martin Brennan as associate for its technology banking team, which is led by Eric Sanschagrin. Brennan was previously senior associate at FirstCapital, a boutique telecoms, media and technology investment bank. He advised on nine technology Venture Capital and Private Equity financings and six M&A [...]
Commodities and financials emerge as stars of the index July 13, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 1.8 per cent higher yesterday, boosted by stronger energy and mining stocks, while financial shares also provided support to the market which had fallen in five of last eight sessions. The index ended 74.96 points higher at 4,202.13, after falling 0.8 per cent on Friday to its lowest close since 28 [...]
First gains of the week as Alcoa boosts the markets July 9, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.5 per cent higher yesterday, ending a three-day losing streak on the back of gains in miners after reassuring earnings from Alcoa. The index closed 18.43 points firmer at 4,158.66, having fallen 1.1 per cent the previous session to its lowest closing level in more than two months. However trading was [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 8, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES ARCELORMITTAL ATTEMPTS TO EASE DEBT BURDENArcelorMittal has started talks with its banks about making conditions for re-paying its $26bn (£16.2bn) of debt less onerous, in a bid to reduce financial pressure on the company as the global downturn continues. The world’s biggest steelmaker has taken this step as an insurance policy against its [...]