Private sector keeps growing across England May 13, 2012 ECONOMIC growth slowed across the UK in April, according to survey data out today, though London continued to expand strongly. The capital’s solid growth pushed up employment, Lloyds and Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) revealed, though the rate of jobs growth stayed low in the rest of the country. London firms registered a PMI of [...]
LONDON REPORT May 13, 2012 THIS week will see a string of stormy annual meetings, which will be closely watched for signs that the “shareholder spring” is taking hold. The market is also due to digest some key earnings reports on Thursday and Facebook’s long-awaited US float on Friday. However, today looks set to be relatively quiet on the corporate [...]
Beazley leaves catastrophes in the past to increase premiums May 10, 2012 LLOYD’S of London insurer Beazley yesterday said it has recovered from last year’s catastrophe claims and had increased premiums written in the first quarter by nine per cent. Rates on renewals were also up two per cent, helping it write business totalling $465m (£288m) – up from $426m in the equivalent period last year. “The first [...]
Insurer Hiscox says premiums remain stable May 8, 2012 FTSE 250 insurer Hiscox yesterday announced a slight decline in premiums written during the first three months of the year to £450.7m, down from £453.5m for the same period last year. But after the firm suffered from substantial claims during the last two years investors will be pleased to hear that the quarter has been [...]
Struggling miners dent FTSE May 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning as political uncertainty sent shockwaves across the Eurozone while heavyweight commodity stock were dented. A win by socialist Francois Hollande in the French presidential election and chaos in Greece – where no party gained enough seats to form a government – served to sap investor confidence. In London the [...]
ARE YOU PLEASED TO SEE A RETURN IN SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM? May 3, 2012 KEVIN POWELL XL INSURANCE No, I think businesses should be left to run themselves. That’s what executives get paid for. If investors don’t approve of the way the company is being run, they can get rid of their shares. ANDY SWAN JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON Yes – if companies want to be on the stock exchange [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 3, 2012 KPMG David Ellis has been appointed as a partner and head of KPMG’s UK reward practice, which specialises in advising companies on how to most effectively pay their executives. He joins from BDO, where he was head of human capital and a partner since 2004. Ellis has also previously worked for Ernst & Young and [...]
FTSE rise fuelled by solid earnings May 3, 2012 The FTSE 100 pushed higher in early deals, recovering some of the previous session’s falls as investors turned their attention to a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting and tomorrow’s key US jobs report. ECB chiefs meet today after a week in which a string of bleak economic data, including manufacturing figures, has cast a shadow. [...]
FTSE shored up by strong blue chip results May 2, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat in early trading as better than expected US manufacturing figures were offset by the bleak picture in the Eurozone. US manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace for 10 months fuelling confidence in the recovery of the world’s largest economy. However, the Eurozone’s manufacturing sector slipped further into decline last month, [...]
No large claims helps Lloyd’s May 1, 2012 LLOYD’S of London insurance market said yesterday that there had been no change to its expected performance for 2012 thanks to a lack of major claims in the first quarter of this year. The market said the excess of its central assets over solvency shortfalls rose to £3.2bn in the first three months of 2012, [...]