OUT OF OFFICE March 14, 2010 KURSK RETURNS TO THE YOUNG VIC Having had a triumphant run at the Young Vic in 2009, the award-nominated show about fateful events onboard Russia’s doomed submarine, the Kursk, is making a welcome return to the theatre. Byron Lavery’s show is a nail-biting immersion in a submariner’s world – a promenade show, the audience is [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES PUSH FOR CLEARING HOUSES FAILS TO MOVE OIL TRADERS Big oil traders are choosing to keep more derivatives deals private, in spite of a global regulatory campaign to steer such contracts to clearing houses. Their willingness to take on risks viewed as intolerable just a year ago reflects renewed faith in the strength [...]
Inchcape still cautious, but profit pleases March 10, 2010 INCHCAPE, the international car dealer, posted a smaller-than-expected fall in 2009 profit, helped by cost cutting and market share gains, but said it did not see a recovery in its markets until late this year. The British firm, which sells and distributes cars for manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota in 26 countries, said [...]
Inflows into ETFs can guide future success March 10, 2010 ANNIVERSARIES are dominating the thoughts of investors this week. Yesterday marked 10 years since the Nasdaq crashed in the wake of the dotcom bubble. And a year ago this week, the US and UK stock markets both troughed, heralding the start of an almost miraculous rise in equities over the past year which many observers [...]
Alico sale to MetLife gets the go-ahead March 8, 2010 METLIFE is to significantly bolster its international footprint after finalising plans to buy one of AIG’s foreign life insurance units, American Life Insurance Company (Alico) for $15.5bn (£10.2bn). The US insurance giant announced the deal yesterday and will pay $6.8bn in cash and a further $8.7bn in MetLife equity securities for Alico. “With this acquisition, [...]
MetLife set to snap up Alico in £10bn deal March 7, 2010 AMERICAN insurance giant MetLife is on the brink of finalising a $15bn (£9.8bn) deal to take over AIG’s Alico. It is expected the two will announce the deal today, which will see MetLife buy AIG’s second largest foreign life insurance arm, American Life Insurance Company (Alico). MetLife is understood to be offering AIG $7bn (£4.6bn) [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND March 4, 2010 FILM LEGION Supernatural thriller with Paul Bettany as an angel saving the world from God’s wrath. Sure. ONDINE Colin Farrell plays an Irish fisherman who thinks he’s caught a mermaid in his net. CASE 39 Squinty-eyed Renee Zellwegger is a social worker working with a seriously creepy kid. DVD FANTASTIC MR FOX Stop-motion animation of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 3, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES POLICE SHUT DOWN MARIPOSA HACKER RING Police, private security experts and internet service providers said yesterday they had shut down the Mariposa botnet, one of the largest networks of hacked personal computers discovered. It had siphoned off financial and other information from inside half of the largest 1,000 US companies. Computers using about [...]
TNK-BP profits fall but group grows reserves March 1, 2010 RUSSIA’S third-biggest oil and gas producer TNK-BP yesterday said it replenished its reserves in 2009, helped by a rise in the end-year oil price although its profits fell on lower average prices over the year. TNK-BP, half-owned by BP, said yesterday that under the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s methodology, which uses the year-end spot [...]
How to manage your wealth in 2010 March 1, 2010 HASSIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT YOGI DEWAN WE have seen a volatile start ot the new year, but whatever is happening in the markets, some things never change. When choosing what to do with your cash, the first thing to remember is always to focus on long-term wealth preservation. Growth comes a definite second. When managing your [...]