Aviva profits jump thanks to UK income March 8, 2012 INSURANCE giant Aviva beat expectations to announce a six per cent rise in operating profits to £2.5bn, driven by impressive earnings in its life insurance division. Chief executive Andrew Moss said his strategy of focusing the group on core products in just 12 key markets was paying off but singled out the British businesses for [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN ANDREW MOSS MAINTAIN AVIVA’S GROWTH? March 8, 2012 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO The Aviva story is one of longer-term normalisation of earnings and returns, through improved profitability, capital discipline and cash generation. .Aviva is not going to be high growth in the short term, it is cheap on a price to earnings basis and has a high dividend yield which is [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 8, 2012 AFC Energy The developer of low-cost alkaline fuel cell technology has announced the appointment of Sir John Sunderland as non-executive director of the company. Sunderland has spent 40 years in leadership roles, best known as the former chief executive and later as chairman of Cadbury Schweppes. Currently Sunderland is a non-executive director of Barclays Bank, [...]
Solid England won’t make it easy for hosts in ‘Le Crunch’ March 8, 2012 FRANCE vs ENGLAND SUNDAY – 3.00PM BBC ONE FOR Philippe Saint-Andre, the dream of securing a Grand Slam in his first Six Nations as coach of France may be dead, but the Championship trophy is still well within his grasp. This weekend’s match against England is very much the warm-up to an all important showdown [...]
FTSE buoyed by miners and banks March 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 pushed higher this morning as investors gained confidence in Greece’s chances of completing a lifesaving bond swap later today. Major banks and pension funds, representing about 40 per cent of Greece’s outstanding debt, threw their weight behind Athens’ bond swap offer to private creditors yesterday. That should be eno€130bn fund for Greece [...]
Aviva earnings pick up after Eurozone blow March 8, 2012 Aviva reported a bigger-than-expected six per cent rise in its 2011 earnings, helped by better profit margins in its life insurance business, and said capital reserves had recovered from a hit they took last year as a result of the Eurozone debt crisis. The company, Britain’s second-biggest insurer, had an operating profit for the year [...]
FTSE sees biggest fall since November over Greek drama March 6, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index ploughed down through support levels yesterday as slowing global growth and Greece’s dithering over its debt swap plan intensified pressure on riskier assets, prompting a flight to safety and sparking fears of a deeper sell-off. London’s blue chip index, which is heavily weighted towards riskier banking and commodity stocks, posted its [...]
FTSE pegged back by weak resources March 6, 2012 Resource stocks dragged the FTSE 100 backwards in early trading as fears over global growth continued to cast a shadow over markets. Higher oil prices triggered by the West’s tussle with Iran also added to the uncertainty and investor sentiment was weak. London’s blue chip index tracked losses on Wall Street and in Asia with [...]
The week ahead: Oil, gas, defence and UK interest March 4, 2012 Today Petrofac, a solutions provider to the oil and gas industry, announces full year results today. The first set of results after a restructuring exercise in 2011 could see a hike in profits. Petrofac has recently been awarded an Iraqi oilfield project, building on its presence in the region. Glencore is announcing its full-year numbers [...]
Insurance firms need regulators to pay attention March 4, 2012 PRUDENTIAL’S threat to quit the UK and move its headquarters to Asia isn’t a hollow one. There is a growing feeling in the City that British insurers are getting a raw deal from Solvency II, the new capital requirements that will soon govern the sector. There is wide acknowledgement that the UK regulator, the Financial [...]