Asian boost helps profits at Jardine Lloyd Thompson March 1, 2012 PROFITS at insurer Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) increased by 13 per cent to £147.6m during 2011, assisted by strong growth from its emerging market units. Overall group revenue was up 10 per cent at £818.8m. Although European retail sales declined, the firm managed to increase revenue from its Asian division by 28 per cent to [...]
House prices reverse January fall as confidence increases March 1, 2012 HOUSE prices rose across the country in February, according to data published yesterday – although asking prices for prime properties have taken a hit from the seasonal dip in buying activity. Average prices rose 0.6 per cent in the month, Nationwide figures showed, rebounding from the 0.3 per cent fall in January. Prices were up [...]
CapCo enjoys value hike and sells properties in West End February 29, 2012 CAPITAL & COUNTIES (CapCo), the owner of Covent Garden Market and Earl’s Court, has unveiled an 11.7 per cent hike in net asset value and the disposal of its West End properties. The listed developer reported a jump in NAV to 166p per share in 2011 thanks in part to a rise in its total [...]
Why we need to convert sport to suit today’s lives February 29, 2012 MAINTAINING and realising the sporting legacy of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games is a huge challenge. But it also presents the chance for those governing sport to do things differently, and find a new generation of participants as a result. Existing policy has failed to engage people in sport in the volumes hoped for. [...]
Standard Chartered reports record earnings February 29, 2012 Standard Chartered notched up a ninth consecutive year of record earnings in 2011 on the back of buoyant growth in Hong Kong and Singapore, though rising competition for staff pushed up its wages bill. London-based Standard Chartered, which makes more than three quarters of its profit in Asia, said on Wednesday strong growth in both [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 27, 2012 Berwin Leighton Paisner BLP has hired Linklaters’ former global corporate head David Barnes to its City corporate team. Barnes will join next month as a partner in the firm’s London corporate group after retiring from Linklaters last summer. Barnes left the magic circle firm after standing as one of five candidates for the senior partner [...]
Tech giants provide data boosts for all February 27, 2012 THE last week has seen two important developments for those seeking market data, albeit on opposite ends of the spectrum. Yesterday saw the launch of Bloomberg Next. Bloomberg is constantly tuning and tweaking its terminals, but it decided that the latest changes were large enough to warrant a launch event. “The complexity and interconnectedness of [...]
BOA unveil scarf in bid to raise funds for Team GB February 27, 2012 A RED, white and blue scarf was last night unveiled by British Olympic chiefs as this summer’s must-have item for fans wanting to show their support for Team GB athletes. The scarf (right), described as “an iconic momento of the London Games”, has been launched with a view to generating around £5m to fund the [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD February 26, 2012 Today A diverse group of FTSE 100 reporters will kick off a busy week in the corporate calendar this morning, with banking giant HSBC likely to be top of many investors’ watch list. Analysts are expecting the bank’s geographical diversity to offset any potential weakness in it investment banking division, with profits expected to hit [...]
The energy policy paradox: cheap tariffs for the savvy mean higher bills for most February 26, 2012 AT A time when energy bills are soaring, many families will be angry that British Gas reported profits last week of over £500m. It follows the news ten days ago that EDF’s profits rose to almost £1.6bn and announcements from the other “Big Six” energy firms are due in the coming weeks. But politicians and [...]