Aviva names USchief executive September 9, 2009 Insurance giant Aviva has named Christopher Littlefield as chief executive officer of its US business. Littlefield, who was chief operating officer, will lead the firm’s US life and annuity business. He will still report to Tom Godlansky, who runs the overall Aviva North America region. Littlefield joined AmerUs Group – which was later acquired by [...]
European stocks near 11-month high September 7, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed higher yesterday, led by UKchocolate giant Cadbury which soared 38 per cent following a £10.2bn bid approach from US company Kraft Foods. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 1.4 per cent to 975.90 points, just 0.3 per cent away from an 11-month closing high. The European benchmark index has [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 3, 2009 Pinsent MasonsThe law firm has appointed Raymond Beven as a London-based partner, responsible for leading the transport team within the firm’s projects and international construction group. Beven will be tasked with working across a broad transport portfolio including airports, rail and ports and projects in the Middle East, Caspian region and Europe. He joins from [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 2, 2009 THE benchmark share index closed flat yesterday as a retreat in financials and miners, triggered by weak US data, was offset by stronger energy stocks, after a “giant” oil find by BP. The FTSE 100 index ended down 2.15 points at 4,817.55, after it fell 1.8 per cent on Tuesday. US private employers cut 298,000 [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 20, 2009 Aviva InvestorsThe investment group has appointed John Wood as a UK equities fund manager. Wood will be responsible for running the Aviva Investors UK Growth Fund and will join in October from Artemis Asset Management, where he was a senior fund manager for the UK and Europe. Prior to that, he was head of UK [...]
NAB snaps up Challenger unit August 18, 2009 National Australia Bank, the top lender in Australia, said yesterday it has agreed to buy Challenger Financial Services’ mortgage unit for A$385m (£192m) to up its market share. NAB said the deal would give it an additional A$4bn worth of residential mortgages. The acquisition follows its purchase of Aviva’s Australian businesses in June for A$825m, [...]
Fears over pace of economic recovery see FTSE stumble August 17, 2009 THE FTSE 100 fell 1.5 per cent by the close yesterday with mining, oil and banking stocks leading the losers, as global markets retracted amid concerns over the pace of global recovery. The index closed 68.96 points lower at 4,645.01, extending losses from Friday when it shed 0.9 per cent and marking its biggest one [...]
Aviva to launch property fund August 16, 2009 Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of the insurance group, is poised to launch a £250m fund to take advantage of the depressed commercial property market. Aviva’s real estate team, which is headed by chief executive Ian Womack, is understood to have begun contacting potential investors for the so-called “opportunities fund” ahead of an official [...]
The Pru raises its dividend as boss departs August 13, 2009 INSURER Prudential outpaced its rivals yesterday when it raised its interim dividend and reported a smaller-than-expected drop in first-half profit. The UK’s largest insurer said its operating profit fell eight per cent to £1.25bn on the widely recognised European embedded value measure (EEV) – which tracks future earnings from life insurance policies – compared to [...]
International Power leading the way for defensive stocks August 11, 2009 THE LARGE cap index shed 1.1 per cent yesterday, knocked by weakness in heavyweight banks, miners, and oils, but defensive stocks were back in favour once again. The FTSE 100 was 50.86 points lower at 4,671.34 by the close of the session, weakening for a second day after hitting a 10-month closing high of 4,731.56 [...]