Reinsurers transfer $2.4bn in risk June 1, 2010 Reinsurers transferred $2.35bn (£1.6bn) in catastrophe risk to capital markets before the US hurricane season that began yesterday, higher than the $1.4bn last year, as the catastrophe bond sector starts to resume normal issuance after the global financial crisis. The cat bond sector, in which insurers transfer risks linked to natural disasters to investors, is [...]
LIAM BYRNE BOMBS WITH TICKING MESSAGE TO TREASURY SUCCESSOR May 17, 2010 HOW poor old Liam Byrne must now be regretting his decision to leave his successor David Laws a sardonic little note of welcome in the office of the chief secretary to the Treasury. “Dear chief secretary,” the note read, “I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards and good luck! Liam.” Within minutes of Laws [...]
BOULTON, CAMPBELL IN BUST UP OF THE YEAR May 10, 2010 IF ANY readers were holed up behind a desk yesterday evening without access to a television, it’s time to indulge yourselves with a quick internet search, pronto. Yesterday’s Sky News coverage of Gordon Brown’s resignation as Prime Minister contained one of the best live TV snippets in years, as the channel’s political editor Adam Boulton [...]
Choosing the most suitable card is not a zero-sum game May 6, 2010 WHEN Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank announced earlier this week their offer of 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for the first 16 months, it threw the cat among the pigeons. The two banks, both UK subsidiaries of National Australia Bank, leapt straight to the top of the best-buy comparison tables with the deal, [...]
Cut-price Sky Sports moves a step closer April 29, 2010 SKY’S stranglehold over subscription TV took a hit yesterday as a court refused to postpone a ruling forcing it to slash the price it can charge rivals for Premier League football. The ruling guarantees top flight games will be available across four platforms by the start of next season. Sky, led by chief executive Jeremy [...]
Iron-clad entertainment April 29, 2010 Film IRON MAN II Cert: 12A Compared to the brooding darkness of the Batman films or the commercial cynicism of the Transformers franchise, 2008’s Iron Man was a breezy joy of a blockbuster, and so is its sequel. It may lose the thread of its plot from time to time, and the final showdown is [...]
PANTHER BOSS ON A TRIP INTO NOSTALGIA April 26, 2010 ANDREW Perloff, the eccentric chairman of property firm Panther Securities, has something of a cult following among City investors due to his penchant for using company results statements as an excuse to reminisce at length about life’s little quirks. But yesterday’s final results announcement was a corker even by Perloff’s own standards, ranging from fervent [...]
the INSIDER April 22, 2010 Last weekend I ignored my No1 rule and paid the price. It is essential to make sure a stable is in form before backing any horse. You may miss a few big priced winners but overall, in my opinion, it is the best way to show a profit. Arcano ran like a horse that wasn’t [...]
IMF proposes double tax hit for all banks April 20, 2010 BANKS around the world could face two new taxes to cover the cost of any future bailouts under proposals by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) circulated to the Group of 20 countries yesterday. The report proposes a “Financial Stability Contribution,” which would be used to cover the cost of any future financial sector bailouts to [...]
PRIVATE EQUITY FAT CATS COME OUT TO PLAY April 14, 2010 SIR Peter Paul Rubens’ beautiful and ornate painted ceiling gazed down upon the most successful figures in the private equity industry last night, as they gathered in the Banqueting Hall on Whitehall for the Private Equity News Awards for Excellence in Private Equity. Executives from the likes of CVC Capital Partners, Axa Private Equity, Coller [...]