Prudential preparing for £23bn AIG Asian deal February 28, 2010 PRUDENTIAL, the largest insurer in Britain, is on the verge of an audacious takeover of the Asian operations of American International Group valued at around £23bn. The Pru would raise £15bn through a mammoth rights issue to help fund the transaction, which would transform it into the most powerful insurance player in the high-growth Far [...]
Outflows dent Henderson’s bottom line February 24, 2010 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN fund manager Henderson reported a dip in profits for 2009 as outflows countered the effect of recovering markets and positive investment performance. The group, which last year took over struggling rival New Star, said recurring pre-tax profits after amortisation and charges was £63m, versus the £80.3m posted in 2008. Henderson said that at the [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS A DOUBLE DIP RECESSION LIKELY IN 2010? February 24, 2010 MILES ROBINSON | R K HARRISON “It’s too early to tell but we’re not out of it yet. It’s all about liquidity and we still haven’t got any of it. Banks need to start lending again. The insurance industry is reliant on banks who use us to free up their credit capacity.” TIM OLIVIER | [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 23, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES USAF STARTS BID TO REPLACE AGEING TANKERS The US Air Force will attempt to kick-start its long-delayed, multi-billion dollar competition to replace its ageing fleet of refuelling tankers this week with a new set of bidding rules. It promises the competition, mired in controversy for more than six years, will be “full and [...]
Religare takes Northgate stake in investment push February 23, 2010 RELIGARE Enterprises, the Indian financial services group, yesterday agreed to take a majority stake in private equity group Northgate Capital, as part of a new commitment to invest up to $1bn (£649m) in asset management firms across the globe. The partnership with Northgate, which has $3bn under management and is based in California and London, [...]
BA staff can’t resist change for ever February 22, 2010 WHAT a shame British Airways’ cabin crew has voted to strike. Willie Walsh, the firm’s chief, is doing a good job in extremely tough conditions to take out costs and ensure the airline will still be with us in five years’ time – yet some of his staff still seem to believe that it is [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES NORTEL AIMS TO BLOCK PENSIONS CLAIM Nortel Networks and its creditors are seeking to block the UK pensions regulator from pursuing a claim worth as much as £2.1bn ($3.3bn) against the company’s worldwide assets to cover the shortfall in its UK scheme. The Canadian telecommunications equipment maker and its UK subsidiary filed for [...]
Brevan Howard tells clients: we have not sold eurozone stragglers short February 22, 2010 HEDGE fund juggernaut Brevan Howard Asset Management has written to investors confirming it has no short positions in troubled eurozone countries Greece, Italy or Portugal. Attention turned to speculators earlier this month after spreads on credit default swaps (CDS), which insure against the risk of non-payment by a company or nation, shot up on Greek [...]
CPP hopes to buck the trend of IPO failures in March listing February 18, 2010 INSURANCE firm CPP will brave choppy IPO waters with a March flotation. It has not announced how much it plans to raise but City A.M. has learned the firm hopes to issue up to £30m from new shares, valuing it at £450m. It is believed owner and founder Hamish Ogston will also sell a £150m [...]
The cost of insuring Dubai’s debt soars on repayment fears February 15, 2010 The cost of insuring five-year Dubai debt against default jumped to its highest level since March yesterday as concerns intensified over the debt restructuring of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World. Nervousness over the fate of Dubai World debt grew after it was reported the business is mulling a two-part deal, including one that may repay lenders [...]