Banks and City regulator deny £1bn PPI crisis June 5, 2014 THE CITY watchdog and the banking industry do not recognise the claim that banks have underpaid payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling victims to the tune of £1bn, the groups said yesterday. An analysis of figures, commissioned by the BBC from an undisclosed source, had claimed banks were failing to repay the fees charged to borrowers as [...]
Inside Track: Pfizer flop puts Soriot in tight spot May 21, 2014 IF AT first you don't succeed, walk away and try again in six months: as City epithets go, it’s not exactly compelling. But it sums up where Pfizer finds itself at the end of this week, unexpectedly jilted after a quartet of knockbacks from Astrazeneca. The American drugmaker’s tactics were surprising. Its medicine cabinet was [...]
Shareholders revolt over pay at Reckitt and Ocado May 7, 2014 OCADO and Reckitt Benckiser have become the latest companies to suffer an investor backlash over pay for the most senior staff. About 20 per cent of investors in the online grocer voted against the remuneration report while 13 per cent opposed Ocado’s pay policy. A person familiar with the situation said Ocado’s board had consulted [...]
ITV makes $360m push into original reality TV May 7, 2014 BROADCASTER ITV continued its push into original content yesterday with the $360m (£212.2m) acquisition of a stake in Leftfield Entertainment – the producer of hit US reality TV shows including Pawn Stars, Real Housewives of New Jersey and American Restoration. The acquisition comes as ITV chief executive Adam Crozier finds himself in increasing hot water [...]
Car insurance premiums fall by £30 a month on average in 2014 April 29, 2014 MOTORISTS are enjoying cheaper car insurance premiums as the trend for discounts continues into 2014. Industry body the Association of British Insurers has revealed the results of its latest market tracker, with comprehensive motoring premiums falling by around £30 per month on average. Prices fell by three per cent compared to the same quarter in [...]
Essar’s minority investors appeal to UK and India to protect them April 28, 2014 MINORITY investors in Essar Energy have called on the UK and Indian authorities to step in and protect them from the firm’s biggest shareholder, which plans to force the firm off the London stock market. The Association of British Insurers has written to the business secretary Vince Cable and the Indian high commissioner to complain [...]
Insurers Paws for thought as pet claims rise April 15, 2014 THE UK’s love of pets is costing the country almost half a billion pounds a year in insurance claims. Figures from the Association of British Insurers show that pet insurance claims are up 24 per cent since 2010, with £478m paid out last year alone. One poor pooch was taken to the vet after swallowing [...]
IMA to bolt-on ABI division April 10, 2014 The Investment Management Association, the trade body for fund managers, is set to merge the investment affairs division of the Association of British Insurers into its organisation. The Institutional Voting Information Service (Ivis), best known in City circles for issuing “red top” alerts on companies, is on the verge of joining the IMA, which will [...]
Inside Track: HSBC to get one over on Barclays with capture of Moreno April 9, 2014 LIKE hands-on managers who get rebranded as directors of football, senior advisers at investment banks often find their august titles are merely stepping-stones on the way to a graceful exit. HSBC’s latest recruit suggests that theory is unfounded at Europe’s largest bank. City sources say it has signed up Glen Moreno, the chairman of Pearson, [...]
Insurers lash out at City watchdog’s blunder April 8, 2014 SLOPPY changes to insurance rules could undermine the government’s effort to boost savings, industry leaders warned yesterday, as the City watchdog revealed details of its probe into a bungled announcement of a market investigation. The Financial Conduct Authority has hired Simon Davis, partner at law firm Clifford Chance, to find out what went wrong in [...]