Betting: Sarries to win it again – but Wasps can provide a sting in the tail September 1, 2016 The rough and tumble of the Aviva Premiership returns on Friday and, on the face of it, Saracens will once again be the team to beat this season. With a forward group hardly shy of confrontation, their famed ‘Wolf Pack’ has flipped Burgers at flanker, swapping cult hero Jacques for his namesake, legendary South African Schalk. [...]
Canada Life re-opens its property fund as the commercial property market shows “stabilisation” after the Brexit vote September 1, 2016 Canada Life has re-opened its commercial property funds after investors withdrew cash in the wake of the Brexit vote – but the firm has admitted its property valuations may be inaccurate due to current market conditions. When investors scrambled to take out money from property funds at the end of June, Canada Life and several other firms were [...]
Standard Life on the hunt for a Brexit guide to add to its public affairs knowledge August 31, 2016 Those with a head for Brexit-related red tape might want to dust off their CVs, as insurance and pensions company Standard Life is looking out for somebody to help guide it through the referendum fallout. The new hire will report to Graeme McEwan, chief communications officer, and will help advise the FTSE 100 firm on policy [...]
Shareholder groups pile the pressure on Mike Ashley as new groups speak out against the retail tycoon August 26, 2016 Fresh voices are adding to calls for a shake up at Sports Direct, with investors demanding a review of corporate governance and some shareholders even urging the retailer's founder Mike Ashley to step down from the board. Ashley has faced a volley of criticism after admitting to the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee [...]
Firing on all fronts. Leicester is voted Britain’s greatest sporting city August 23, 2016 Leicester City may be making a stuttering start to their defence of the Premier League title but last season's heroics helped them jump to the top of the UK's greatest sporting cities of 2016. Leaping 17 places and pushing Manchester down to second place, Leicester's success wasn't just down to its football team. Leicester Tigers made the Aviva Premiership rugby [...]
Aviva’s property fund may be closed for up to eight months due to uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote August 10, 2016 Aviva's property fund will be closed for six to eight months, meaning investors wanting to withdraw their cash won't be able to do so until next year. In a note issued to investors, Aviva said: "Property sales may be more difficult to execute in the current environment due to market uncertainty. Read more: Aberdeen Asset Management lifts [...]
In hindsight, we don’t need no education: Almost three-quarters of millennials regret going to university August 10, 2016 Almost three quarters of millennials in London are relying on a one-off event to help them repay their student debt, new research from Aviva reveals. More than a third are hoping for a promotion, while 20 per cent are awaiting some form of family inheritance and another 20 per cent are hoping to win the [...]
Insurers expected to have weathered the Brexit vote storm August 7, 2016 Insurers are expected to reveal they have navigated referendum uncertainty just fine when they announce their half-year results next week. Pensions, investments and insurance giant Standard Life will reveal how it has performed in the first six months of 2016 on Tuesday, as will Legal & General. Meanwhile, results are due from Prudential on Wednesday and from [...]
Markets poised for crunch interest rate move from Bank of England August 4, 2016 Markets are standing by this morning for the Bank of England to take interest rates to a record low later today – and the nerves are showing. Sterling is falling ahead of the announcement and the FTSE 100 has also eased back as traders assess just how much fuel the Bank of England will throw onto the [...]
Aviva hikes dividend by 10 per cent as operating profit rises 13 per cent – but combined operating ratio deteriorates August 4, 2016 Insurance giant Aviva has hiked its dividend after posting "encouraging" results for the first half of 2016. The figures Operating profit was up 13 per cent to £1.33bn, from £1.17bn last year, with operating earnings per share up one per cent to 22.4p, from 22.1p in the first half of 2015. General insurance net written premiums [...]