Aviva and Legal General set to report profit rises March 5, 2017 Insurers Aviva and Legal & General are expected to report profit rises when they report on Wednesday and Thursday respectively next week. Analysts expect Aviva’s full-year operating profits to rise 8 per cent to £2.9bn and Legal & General is likely to advise operating profit increases of £1.6bn, an increase of 13 per cent, compared [...]
Chancellor is “personally committed” to finding a solution after insurers call for discount rate law change this year March 1, 2017 Insurance leaders called on the government to set a new discount rate this year in an attempt to mitigate the catastrophic effects of its decision to cut the rate on Monday. Justice secretary Liz Truss surprised insurers by cutting the personal injury discount rate, which takes into account the long-term cost of care and loss of [...]
Storm Doris: Insurers reveal a spike in claims after the UK’s worst storm of 2017 makes landfall February 24, 2017 The insurance sector has started to count the cost of the 100mph plus gales that have lashed the British Isles over the last few days. Storm Doris has led to a spike in activity for insurers, primarily in relation to land and buildings cover, with one provider saying it had already seen a 300 per cent increase in [...]
Wellcome Trust set for $100m windfall from Snap IPO as tech firm woos City investors February 20, 2017 The Wellcome Trust is set for a huge windfall from the hottest tech IPO of the year. Snap's public offering, expected next week, will return around $100m (£80.3m) to the science institution following on from successful early bets on Facebook and Alibaba, among others. It comes as the Los Angeles-based startup sought to woo European investors, bringing its IPO [...]
Why is M&A rising? The bigger the company, the more likely it is to survive February 20, 2017 Investor sentiment is still skyrocketing as Donald Trump continues his victory lap and investors revel in the fanfare. The markets are behaving as though the White House’s as-yet-undetailed economic policies will cure all ills, from the simmering uncertainty around French, Dutch and German elections to the biggest pain for chief executives – technology disruption. The [...]
Lowest earning families have just £95 in savings pot as inequality grows February 20, 2017 Low income families have just £95 in their savings and investments compared to £62,885 among high income families, according to research by Aviva. The news highlights growing inequality in the UK as the savings gap grows by 25 per cent annually, up from £50,072 last year to £62,790 in winter 2016/17. Around one in four [...]
Locals lose out as Severn Trent’s Dee Valley Water takeover gets the go-ahead from the High Court February 8, 2017 Locals' attempts to thwart the takeover of a Welsh water company have failed after Severn Trent's bid to pick up Dee Valley Water has been given the go-ahead in the High Court. The court decided the £84m deal by the FTSE 100 firm, initially agreed on back in November, could go ahead. However, it adjourned until 10 [...]
Six Nations 2017 predictions: Ireland will give England serious competition for the championship, Ben Youngs set for a big year February 3, 2017 It will be a grand finale at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin when England take on Ireland for the final game of the Six Nations next month. England have gained momentum since their 2015 World Cup humiliation, and will have some tricky games in the shape of Wales in Cardiff in particular. But all eyes [...]
How can we get ourselves to save more? Use behavioural economics February 1, 2017 It's a convenient excuse – we all vow to save more when we earn more. A new survey by YouGov for Zurich UK of British adults in work found that more than two fifths (42 per cent) said that earning more would encourage them to save more into a pension. Unfortunately, they rarely actually do [...]
Top dogs: 37 of the hottest startups to watch right now January 25, 2017 Nearly 40 UK tech startups have been branded "ones to watch" and will be mentored by top entrepreneurs, founders and investors to get them scaling up to become tech giants. A startup which lets wannabe pet owners borrow other people's dogs, BorrowMyDoggy, and an innovative mapping company which just landed backing from Daimler, What3Words, are [...]