CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 22, 2012 Avocet Mining David Cather has been appointed chief executive of the West Africa-focused gold mining and exploration firm. He joined the board as chief operating officer in May 2012 from European Goldfields, where he was also chief operating officer, and replaces Brett Richards. Cather has previously held senior positions at Anglo American and De Beers. [...]
NEWS CORP INVESTORS CALL FOR NEW CHAIR July 18, 2012 EIGHTEEN investors including Aviva, F&C and the Co-op have urged News Corp to hire an independent chairman and split the role of Rupert Murdoch, who is currently both chairman and chief executive. The institutions said in an open letter to the board that the firm is “in need of independent leadership” in the wake of [...]
Brennan waives AstraZeneca bonus but leaves with millions July 16, 2012 FORMER AstraZeneca chief executive David Brennan has waived his right to a 2012 bonus and will lose out on two years’s worth of performance-related shares, the pharmaceuticals giant revealed yesterday. Brennan was one of the first scalps of this year’s so-called shareholder spring, stepping down in June after investors voiced their anger over declining share [...]
Shareholders can find a potent ally in activist funds July 15, 2012 THE so-called shareholder spring – in which shareholders have been revolting against the pay of chief executives of major corporations like Barclays, Aviva, and William Hill – is gaining momentum. And activist hedge funds, which pressure public companies to make changes to improve a company’s share price, will increasingly drive this phenomenon. Many regard hedge [...]
Edwards backs Idowu decision to withdraw July 15, 2012 FORMER Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards has defended the decision of London 2012 medal hope Phillips Idowu to withdraw from the weekend’s Aviva London Grand Prix and argued he also would not have wished to compete. Concerns remain over triple jumper Idowu’s physical condition given that he has participated in competitions just three times this year [...]
Greene finetunes for London 2012 July 12, 2012 ATHLETICS: Team GB captain and 400m world champion Dai Greene will be among those stepping up their London 2012 preparations by competing in the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace tonight and tomorrow.
Aveva hit by shareholder spring as 35pc vote against pay deal July 12, 2012 IN A sign that shareholder unease over executive pay dubbed the “shareholder spring” is continuing, software maker Aveva yesterday saw over a third of its shareholders vote against approval of the directors’ remuneration report at its AGM. While the remuneration report was easily passed with 65.52 per cent in favour, versus 34.47 per cent against, [...]
CITY VIEWS | HAVE THE O2 NETWORK PROBLEMS AFFECTED THE FIRMS’ REPUTATION? July 12, 2012 RUPERT BUSHMAN AVIVA I’m not an O2 user, but I would say this hasn’t affected how I see the company. This is just one of those annoying things a bit like the NatWest fiasco – it’s a human glitch, and it’s bound to happen sometimes. It does demonstrate the weakness of these systems – we [...]
Wet weather hits insurers with flood payouts set to top £200m July 12, 2012 INSURERS face a bill of “hundreds of millions of pounds” following this summer’s floods, an analyst said yesterday. Barrie Cornes of Panmure Gordon estimated that Aviva, which insures around 12 per cent of households in the UK, will be hit with a charge of £20-£40m for flood damage during the first six months of 2012. [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 12, 2012 Ignis Asset Management Jeremy Soutter has been appointed global head of product development at the asset management firm. He will join on 1 August from Aviva Investors, where he has held a similar position for 13 years. Soutter has worked in asset management since the early 1980s, notably at Gartmore Fund Management, Lloyds Bank and [...]