Pru investors to rebel over executive pay June 6, 2010 THREE major investors are voting against Prudential’s remuneration package, heaping more misery on the embattled firm. Aviva Investors, Schroders and Co-operative Investments, all top 40 investors, say the awards being offered to two new executives, which have come under scrutiny lucrative “golden hello” deals, are unacceptable. The remuneration package is still expected to pass at [...]
CRUNCH TIME June 1, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S future was hanging in the balance last night after its dream of taking over AIA died, drawing a line under what one shareholder called “an unprecedented shambles”. The insurer is expected to tell the London stockmarket this morning it will abandon its calamitous $35.5bn (£25bn) pursuit of AIG’s Asian operation. Following a series of [...]
European insurers line up to buy half-stake in Barclays Vie June 1, 2010 A QUEUE of European insurers is waiting in the wings to snap up half of Barclays’ French life insurance business, Barclays Vie, after the bank last week entered talks to offload a 50 per cent stake in the venture for around €65m (£54.2m). French groups CNP Assurances, Axa and La Mondiale are all thought to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 31, 2010 Sainsbury’s Finance The supermarket personal finance business yesterday said interim chief executive David Fisher has been appointed as its new permanent chief. Fisher, who has been in the interim role for five months, joined the group in January from Lloyds Banking Group, where he was group HR director for HBOS. He spent a total of [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW WILL THE UK ECONOMY FARE THIS YEAR? May 27, 2010 MICHAEL EPHGRABE | AVIVA “I think that things will get tougher because we haven’t seen the worst yet. Economists are forecasting growth, but I don’t think it will be as high as they are predicting. Things will definitely get worse before they get better.” ASTON SINFIELD | SYNERGY SELECTION “Generally the mood is positive. The [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 27, 2010 Hogan Lovells The law firm has made its first partner hire since the merger of Lovells and Hogan & Hartson, in the form of antitrust, competition and economic regulation specialist Suyong Kim. Kim is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. She has recently advised on the OFT’s dairy products and tobacco investigations [...]
FTSE closes higher, fuelled by energy stocks and BP Gulf oil spill response May 27, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares rose 3.1 per cent yesterday to hit a one-week high, with oil stocks the standout gainers led by BP as it was making progress in plugging a well which has been leaking in the Gulf of Mexico for five weeks. The FTSE 100 index closed up 157.09 points at 5,195.17, its highest [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 24, 2010 Matrix Group Matrix Group has expanded its investment banking business after appointing Paul James as chief operating officer (COO) of the investment banking arm. James moves into the role with immediate effect and joins after 20 years experience in investment banking. He was most recently COO of global banking and markets HSBC and has previously [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE RISK OF DEBT CONTAGION IS A REALITY? May 13, 2010 SIAN THOMAS | AVIVA “The contagion is likely to spread because most of Europe is dominated by one currency. Naturally this can be offset by addressing the problem with the necessary measures, but you hope the situation isn’t severe enough that it will affect other countries.” BILL COX | CAPAX GLOBAL “The situation in Greece [...]
Life products boost insurers May 12, 2010 EUROPEAN insurers were yesterday buoyed by strong sales of life insurance and asset management products on the back of a reviving economy in the first quarter, offsetting big disaster damage claims. Germany’s Allianz, Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali, the Netherlands’ Aegon and Belgium’s Ageas, formerly known as Fortis, all reported strong first quarters as consumers’ fears began [...]