CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 5, 2012 Plethora Solutions Holdings James Mellon has been appointed as a non-executive director of the urological products developer. Mellon started his career with GT Management, and later became the co-founder and managing director of Thornton Management (Asia), based in Hong Kong. He is also co-founder of Regent Pacific Group and Charlemagne Capital, chairman of Manx Financial [...]
BOARDROOM CLEAROUT January 4, 2012 Like former PM Harold McMillan, who had his own “night of the long knives” in 1962 by sacking eight cabinet ministers in one go, incoming chairman Frank Meysman has dispensed with three of Thomas Cook’s five non-executive directors. The soon to be ex-execs have a combined age of 202. But who are they? Peter Middleton [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 3, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES MINISTER ATTACKS GREEN LOBBY The climate change minister has rounded on the “environmental Taliban” of green campaigners, insisting they are wrong to accuse the government of abandoning its commitment to a low carbon agenda. Greg Barker said: “There is nothing environmental about exporting manufacturing jobs abroad.” Barker has led the contentious efforts to [...]
Commodities fuel FTSE gains January 3, 2012 The FTSE 100 was off to a positive start this morning led upwards by commodity stocks which were boosted by strong data from China. Asian markets were given a lift as the official Chinese purchasing managers’ index indicated a rise in factory activity in December and London followed suit. Industrial metals such as copper rose [...]
WANEY SEES IN 2012 AT NEW YEAR’S EVE CONGA January 2, 2012 DILEMMAS, dilemmas. Should one have accepted the invitation to see in 2012 with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at Roman Abramovich’s £5m party on the Caribbean island of St Barts? Or should one have saved oneself the bother of a plane journey and make an appearance at restaurateur Arjun Waney’s New Year’s Eve party at his [...]
That was the year that was January 2, 2012 22 FEBRUARY The revolution in Libya was the most striking incarnation of the Arab Spring, which also toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Just eight months later, Colonel Gaddafi was killed, while his family were captured or exiled. 14 MARCH With a death toll near 16,000, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami was truly devastating. Disrupted [...]
Amlin sells $150m of catastrophe bonds December 23, 2011 Amlin, the biggest listed British insurer in the Lloyd’s of London market, said it sold $150m (£95m) of catastrophe bonds to protect itself against potential losses from US earthquakes and hurricanes and European storms. The bond issue, carried out through Bermuda-based vehicle Tramline Re, is double the $75 million of cover a source said Amlin [...]
Year-end portfolio reshuffles help to boost the FTSE 100 December 22, 2011 BANKS buoyed the FTSE 100 yesterday as Goldman Sachs analysts said the take-up by lenders of ECB loans should be seen as an “important positive” and market bulls attempted to push the index through important technical levels. London’s blue chips closed up 67.23 points, or 1.3 per cent, at 5,456.97, although the index failed to [...]
Hardy again in sights of rival Beazley December 21, 2011 BRITISH insurer Beazley is hatching a new plan to take over Hardy Underwriting, a year after abandoning an initial move on its smaller rival. The potential bid would comes at a time of consolidation in the Lloyd’s of London insurance market. Beazley revealed it was interested in talks following Hardy’s announcement this month of a [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 21, 2011 Cinven The private equity firm has made several appointments at Guardian Financial Services, the UK consolidator of closed life assurance funds acquired by Cinven in August. Jonathan Yates (pictured), formerly group finance director of Phoenix Group, joins as chief executive; Paul Dixon joins from Phoenix as chief investment officer; and Simon Davis, who previously ran [...]