Axa is set to sell private equity arm September 28, 2011 AXA hopes to spark an auction after it finally confirmed it is interested in selling its private equity arm. The French insurance group believes Axa Private Equity will go for between £200m and £400m. Axa yesterday said it had begun a strategic review of its PE unit, which was set up by Dominique Senequier in [...]
POUND COULD SUFFER FROM EU FALLOUT September 27, 2011 RECENTLY the focus in the FX market has been squarely upon the euro, while trading in cable has been uncharacteristically quiet. While the euro has tumbled as European officials desperately try to contain the growing credit crisis in the region, sterling has remained relatively steady. Amazingly enough the pound has become a safe haven play, [...]
Gatwick owner prepares bid for Spain’s airports September 25, 2011 THE OWNER of Gatwick and London City Airports has joined forces with the operator of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and German insurer Allianz SE to bid for Madrid and Barcelona airports. Global Infrastructure Partners, the $5.6bn (£3.6bn) investment fund backed by Credit Suisse and General Electric, is understood to be putting together a bid [...]
Breedon to step down from Legal & General September 22, 2011 CHIEF executive Tim Breedon is retiring from Legal & General at the end of 2012, by which time he will have spent 25 years at the insurer. “With the company in excellent shape I feel that next year will be the right time to retire from the company. By giving notice of this now, the [...]
Lloyds finance boss jumps ship to Friends Life September 19, 2011 Tim Tookey has decided to quit the part-nationalised British bank to join insurer Friends Life, the companies said, continuing a series of high-profile management departures in the wake of the arrival of new Lloyds’ chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio earlier this year. Lloyds said Tookey would remain with the company until the end of February next [...]
MELTDOWN MONDAY THREE YEARS ON: THE EVENTS OF 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 September 16, 2011 ON 15 September 2008, global markets were thrown into panic mode as US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure a rescue sale. The announcement kicked off a day of unprecedented corporate chaos in the US – by late morning, Bank of America had agreed to buy struggling Merrill Lynch, and [...]
Spotting the very best in charge and credit cards September 14, 2011 REMEMBER when the American Express Gold Card was the celebrity’s payment card of choice in the movies? Well, times have changed. Every bank is offering exclusive cards to its premium customers now – they’re always keen to sign up City high-fliers. But which bank is offering the best deal? Kevin Mountford from MoneySupermarket.com says: “None [...]
IMF warning over credit bubble risks September 13, 2011 PREVENTING severe disruption to financial services that could spill over and damage the “real” economy should be the focus of macroprudential policies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday in its global stability report. Policymakers need to understand the series of shocks that can lead to a build-up of systemic risk, the report said. Regulators [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UNICREDIT CHIEF SIGNALS RIGHTS ISSUE TO INCREASE CAPITAL LEVELS UniCredit has given its clearest signal yet that it will seek to raise its capital buffers as market turmoil continues to hit European bank shares. In his first big interview since becoming chief a year ago Federico Ghizzoni told the Financial Times that details [...]
Concern over Eurozone hits the markets September 12, 2011 JITTERY markets were shaken yesterday over escalating fears of a potential default by the Greek government and subsequent contagion spreading to other Eurozone states. The yield on Greek one-year bonds exploded past the 100 per cent mark, rising nearly a fifth to over 117 per cent. Investors are demanding more than double their money back [...]