Pension fund assets rising September 5, 2011 The total assets of the world’s largest 300 pension funds grew by 11 per cent last year to a record high of $12.5 trillion (£7.77 trillion) according to new research. The study from Pensions & Investments and Towers Watson showed that despite last year’s growth in total assets, annualised growth of all funds during the [...]
Insurers hit out at no win no fee claims September 5, 2011 AMBULANCE-CHASING lawyers came under fire from major UK retailers and insurers demanding reform of the booming market for personal injury claims yesterday. Businesses led by the Association of British Insurers are fighting back against a surge in “no win no fee” legal actions behind a 72 per cent jump in the number of bodily injury [...]
Retailers and insurers campaign for no-win-no-fee reform September 5, 2011 Insurance companies are to join with some of the UK’s biggest retail brands in a new campaign to crack down on no-win-no-fee legal claims. The Association of British Insurers is working with carmaker Ford, supermarket chain Asda and pub group Whitbread to call for reform of the UK’s injury compensation system that has led to [...]
Volvo in Siemens partnership August 31, 2011 German industrial group Siemens and Swedish carmaker Volvo have formed a partnership to develop technology for electric cars and ancillary equipment. The two companies said yesterday that an electric version of Volvo’s small C30 hatchback will serve as a test platform and will be on test tracks by the end of the year. Volvo will [...]
The trials of Jobs August 25, 2011 Steve Jobs’ shock resignation was followed by the inevitable panic. Jumpy investors piled out of Apple stock, knocking $25bn from its market cap, most of which was soon recouped. But it will be months and years, not days and weeks, until the effects of his loss become clear. A man of his talent and vision [...]
STEVE JOBS QUITS AS APPLE’S CHIEF August 24, 2011 STEVE JOBS last night resigned as chief executive of Apple, telling the board he is no longer able to meet his duties. His shock departure heralds the end of an era for one of the world’s biggest firms and most colourful chief executives. The decision follows a seven month medical leave of absence, during which [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 24, 2011 Neuberger Berman The independent asset management firm has appointed Joseph Mukungu to the newly created role of senior vice president, head of client services for Europe and Middle East. Mukungu will manage the team based in Europe responsible for advising Neuberger Berman’s expanding client base outside the US. Mukungu joins from JO Hambro Capital Management, [...]
Make like Bond with an Aston in the Alps August 21, 2011 AMERICAN novelist Mark Twain wrote that rambling in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland was incomparable to any opiate, legal or otherwise. Imagine the rush, then, to be booming an Aston Martin V8 Vantage S round the picturesque, vertiginous Alpine passes, past crystal-clear glacier lakes and verdant valleys where cow bells jangle for miles. I’ve been let loose [...]
Great title, great stars, bland result August 18, 2011 Film COWBOYS & ALIENS Cert: 12A IT’S the best film title since Snakes on a Plane, and this would-be blockbuster also has two huge stars – Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford – on good form. Craig is especially memorable, riding into the dusty town of Absolution with no name, a mysterious shackle on his wrist, [...]
Osborne must heed the Misery Index August 17, 2011 FOR years now, American elections have featured discussions of the Misery Index, a simple indicator which sums the unemployment and inflation rates. The higher the index, the angrier the electorate. In 1976, Jimmy Carter famously made a big deal of the index, arguing that Gerald Ford had no right even to seek the presidency given [...]