Pension pots to be more portable July 16, 2012 Pension pots will follow workers as they change jobs, according to new plans announced by pensions czar Steve Webb today. Many employees’ pensions are tied to their employer under current rules, meaning that when they move job they can lose access. But the new plans will consolidate the small individual funds built up at different [...]
RAPID responses July 15, 2012 Health solutions [Re: Demographic timebomb will force government to downsize, Friday] There are plenty of other healthcare models to explore to avoid the incipient funding crisis. One is the Singapore model of health savings accounts, which provides direct subsidies to the less well-off and catastrophe insurance to pay for huge one-off costs. Another is the [...]
Pensions firms hit back after Labour says charges are rip off July 12, 2012 THE PENSIONS industry was put on the defensive last night after a stinging attack from Labour leader Ed Miliband in which he claimed that it could be the focus of the “next big scandal” to knock the financial sector. Miliband claimed that he is aware that some people are facing four or five per cent [...]
Investors urged to clean up firms July 2, 2012 The government has done all it can to give shareholders power over executives and boost transparency in big firms, and it is now down to investors to improve the way businesses are run and make Britain’s banks safe again, business secretary Vince Cable told the Association of British Insurers last night. “If the prevailing culture [...]
INSURANCE BODY HIRES MAN FROM THE PRU June 27, 2012 PRUDENTIAL chief executive Tidjane Thiam will become chairman of the Association of British Insurers next month, taking over from Legal & General boss Tim Breedon. Thiam, who has led Prudential for almost three years, yesterday said the industry needs to support its customers “in a time of unprecedented austerity”.
Glencore and Xstrata under fresh pressure to alter deal June 26, 2012 GLENCORE and Xstrata look likely to overhaul their $65bn mega-merger after another prominent shareholder demanded they alter the terms of the deal last night. Executives at the commodities firms were already seeking to rejig pay packages linked to the tie-up when the Qatar Investment Authority broke cover to seek a better deal for its 11 [...]
Insurance groups try to assess the cost of recent flood damage June 24, 2012 INSURANCE companies are expected to calculate within days the cost of this week’s flooding in the UK, a spokesperson from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) told City A.M. yesterday. The rainfall on Saturday was equal to a whole month’s normal rainfall, weather experts said. Insurance companies have been trying to provide immediate services to [...]
Xstrata under fire for merger bonus package June 21, 2012 XSTRATA urged investors to focus on the business merits of its mega-merger with Glencore yesterday after an influential investor group issued its most severe warning against the firm’s huge pay packages for top staff. The Association of British Insurers issued a “red top” warning against retention payments promised to directors at Xstrata if the merger [...]
Silence isn’t necessarily golden, but the handcuffs are June 21, 2012 CAN Invensys blame the market for not entirely believing the engineer’s belated assurances yesterday that “there are no other discussions taking place in relation to an offer for the group”? On Wednesday, the British firm’s shares soared by more than a quarter, but the firm stubbornly refused to comment on this extreme price action. Its [...]
Investor wrath moves to IAG and Heritage June 17, 2012 THE UK’s shareholder spring could this week give way to a sizzling shareholder summer, as newly emboldened investors keep up the pressure on company boards. The biggest potential for fireworks this week comes on Thursday when the board of struggling Heritage Oil faces investors, disappointed at the two-thirds reduction in the company’s value over the [...]