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 [...]
UK car insurers enjoy £300m legal victory October 10, 2012 BRITISH motor insurers yesterday celebrated a legal victory relating to a rise in personal injury awards, saying the decision will save them £300m. The Court of Appeal ruled that the forthcoming 10 per cent rise in personal injury payouts will only apply to claims made after 1 April 2013 – and not older claims that are [...]
Motor insurers hit by Moody’s October 4, 2012 RATINGS agency Moody’s yesterday said the Competition Commission’s (CC) probe into the UK car insurance industry will negatively impact the credit outlook of major insurers. Firms affected by the announcement include market leader Direct Line, which is due to float on the London Stock Exchange next week. “The CC’s investigation is credit negative because at [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 1, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call to pay bank bonuses in debt Banks should pay bonuses in debt, which would be wiped out if a bank failed, an EU banking report will suggest as Europe attempts to step up the fight against bankers’ pay. The Liikanen commission, an independent review set up almost a year ago by EU [...]
FTSE 100 firmly up on Glenstrata deal October 1, 2012 Banks and miners led the blue chip index up in early trading, as the £56bn mining mega-merger of Xstrata and Glencore stole the headlines. Better-than-expected results from the Spanish bank stress tests boosted UK financial shares. Barclays was up 2.89 per cent in early trading, followed by RBS, which added 2.06 per cent. HSBC was [...]