More suitors woo Lloyd’s firm Hardy January 24, 2012 THE BATTLE to buy Lloyd’s of London insurer Hardy Underwriting is hotting up, after a pair of new bidders entered the fray. Montpelier Re and Mitsui Sumitomo are said to have expressed an interest in buying the firm and join a list of potential suitors that includes Lloyd’s rival Canopius, Bahrain based Arig and the [...]
FTSE takes a breather as clouds gather over Greece January 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index retreated from six-month peaks yesterday as Eurozone debt woes prompted investors to take profits in banking stocks and rebalance portfolios in favour of high dividend payers. The fall on the London bourse chimed with weaker equity performance in Europe and the United States, on worries that Greece could be heading for [...]
Banks peg back FTSE as Greece faces the abyss January 24, 2012 The rally on the FTSE 100 stalled this morning after talks to address the Greek debt crisis appeared to be floundering with the threat of a default casting a shadow. Financial stocks pinned the market back as Eurozone ministers yesterday rejected an offer made by private bondholders to help restructure Greece’s debts, sending negotiators back [...]
Resource stocks lift FTSE as Eurozone closes in on Greece debt deal January 23, 2012 The FTSE 100 started in positive territory this morning — with hopes that Eurozone finance ministers can nail down a final agreement over the festering Greek debt pile on the rise. Banking shares across Europe were buoyed by renewed optimism that Greece can avert a default which would derail the bloc’s efforts to stabilize struggling [...]
Jobs fear cuts short protest January 22, 2012 THE protesters entered quickly and quietly in trademark style. They left with similar speed, however, when they realised their takeover of a City office block – owned by Berkeley Homes – risked adding to the ranks of the poor, rather than helping them. The takeover of Roman House in the Barbican was the shortest of the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 22, 2012 Kentz Corporation The FTSE 250 engineering group has announced that Christian Brown (pictured) will replace Hugh O’Donnell as chief executive on 1 February. Brown steps up from the role of group chief operating officer, while O’Donnell, who has led Kentz since 2000, will continue as an exclusive adviser to the group for the next three [...]
FTSE rally loses steam as energy stocks dip January 20, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down this morning as energy and resource stocks pinned the market back after solid gains over the week. Greece and its private bondholders resumed debt swap talks today amid signs they are edging towards the deal needed to prevent a chaotic default by Athens. That helped to give financial stocks a [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 19, 2012 Signia Wealth Chris Godding has been appointed as co-chief investment officer and managing director, focusing on institutional and charity clients. Godding moves to Signia Wealth after nine years at Morgan Stanley private wealth management international, where he was chief investment officer and a member of the Smith Barney investment committee. Prior to this, he managed [...]
Bank stocks up as Eurozone fears ease January 19, 2012 The FTSE 100 today opened with a strong performance in the banking sector with investor confidence being buoyed by efforts to bring the Eurozone back in line after months of damaging instability. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking to raise up to $600bn (£388.8bn) which would help ease worries about funding in the Eurozone. [...]
Resource stocks peg back FTSE January 18, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down this morning amid continuing fears of a Greek economic meltdown and a lowering of world growth forecasts by the World Bank. Resource stocks were the worst hit overall as the bank predicted world economic growth of 2.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.1 per cent in 2013, well below the [...]