FTSE 100 down on concerns over Greece November 21, 2012 The blue chip index edged down in early deals today, weighed down by a lack of agreement among Greece’s international lenders on emergency aid for the Eurozone country. Credit card insurer CPP Group fell 7.48 per cent, while Imagination Technologies sank 6.42 per cent on the news that it faced a rival for its bid [...]
Zurich misses profit target due to troubled German business November 15, 2012 ZURICH Insurance shares plunged nearly four per cent to a three month low yesterday after missing third quarter profit targets. The group, which does car and home insurance, saw net profit fall 62 per cent to $477m (£300m) compared to last year. For the nine months up until 30 September this year net profit was [...]
Ageas UK profits hit record high November 7, 2012 AGEAS UK, the British arm of the Belgian insurance giant, yesterday announced its best ever results as pre-tax profits jumped 36.4 per cent to £106.7m for the first nine months of this year. Total income crept up by less than one per cent but a strong underwriting performance allowed profits to surge. Barry Smith, chief [...]
Have you bought a car over the last year? November 6, 2012 GARY MIDDLETON LOTHBURY FINANCIAL SERVICES Yes I did buy a car – but it was a used vehicle, so it wouldn’t have affected the figures. ABBY VANN RIGHT MANAGEMENT No, I don’t need a car to get around as I live in London – I can just use the trains. The public transport in the city [...]
Private equity firm puts online travel agency up for £100m sale November 4, 2012 ON THE Beach, the online travel business that specialises in holidays by the sea, has been put up for sale by its owners for £100m. Private equity group Isis is close to hiring DC Advisory, the corporate finance advisory firm, to search for a new investor, The Sunday Times reported. Analysts have said the website [...]
Rapid responses November 4, 2012 Risky business [Re: Financial regulation is worsening Europe’s demographic time bomb, Thursday] Bruno Pfister’s argument that financial regulation makes things worse is one that too often gets forgotten in the current discourse of “too big to fail” orthodoxy. This discourse has now effectively become “businesses must not take any risk they cannot afford” in the [...]
Frankenstorm October 29, 2012 First two day close of New York exchange due to weather since 1888 Millions left without power as storm surge threatens Manhattan Insurers estimate the total cost of the damage could reach $10bn HURRICANE SANDY last night hit the US’s North East coast, closing stock exchanges, grounding aeroplanes, flooding low-lying areas, and potentially landing insurers [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BAE shareholders say chair must go A group of BAE Systems shareholders has demanded the resignation of chairman Dick Olver, saying sweeping changes are needed at the UK defence group following the collapse of its proposed merger with EADS two weeks ago. In a letter to the board, which has been seen by [...]
Banks will protect your reputation in the online market October 17, 2012 PEOPLE are becoming increasingly empowered in their interactions with companies. But this is only the beginning. Soon, people will be using the assets of their reputations to make all their dealings with businesses easier. And banks are well placed to be the custodians of this data. For example, buying a car is currently a headache. [...]
Strong bank stocks drive FTSE 100 towards top of recent trading range October 16, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index notched up strong gains yesterday, and was on the cusp of breaking out of its recent trading range, as investors welcomed a media report saying Germany could adopt a softer approach towards financial aid to Spain. The index was already firmly in positive territory, helped by solid US corporate results and [...]