What the other papers say this morning August 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Ryanair seeks rivals’ help in bid Ryanair is seeking regulatory approval for its proposed takeover of Aer Lingus by asking at least six airlines to operate alternative services on some of the Irish flag carrier’s routes. Ryanair has approached competitors, asking them to consider providing competition on routes to and from Dublin. Aviva [...]
Every little helps as Tesco tie-up pushes up earnings at Ageas UK August 6, 2012 AGEAS UK, the British arm of the Belgian insurer, yesterday announced a strong set of results boosted by earnings growth at its joint venture with Tesco. Pre-tax profits for the first half of 2012 hit £64.1m, an increase of 81 per cent on the same period last year while the total combined ratio – a [...]
Car insurance cost drops £50 July 16, 2012 THE COST of comprehensive car insurance has fallen by £47 in the last six months and now costs an average of £797 across the UK, according to analysis of 5m quotes from Confused.com by consultants Towers Watson. East London is the area with the highest premiums at £1,628. The average quote for third party, fire [...]
Takeover offers threaten to hit Direct Line plans for flotation July 15, 2012 DIRECT Line could see plans for a flotation dashed by two takeover bids, just weeks before its owner Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to file for the £3.2bn listing. American private equity firms Blackstone and Bain Capital are preparing a joint bid while a consortium of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Apax and BC Partners is [...]
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. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 9, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Morgan Stanley sheds staff as transactions fall Morgan Stanley will this week complete a round of job cuts that will ultimately see the company shed 100 sales and trading staff, underscoring what is expected to prove a dismal second quarter for Wall Street banks. The cuts are across Europe, the Middle East and [...]
Modern means for managing your money July 8, 2012 YOU’VE probably changed the way you buy airline tickets and car insurance over the last decade, and it’s likely that you shop around on the internet or buy through price comparison sites. But what about the way you invest your own money? Some of us do it ourselves, some leave it to a trusted adviser, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 26, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Global role for Citi’s Asia consumer head Citigroup has underlined Asia’s growing importance to the bank by naming its consumer banking head in Hong Kong as global head of retail banking, according to an internal email seen by the Financial Times. Jonathan Larsen has been given the task of bringing all of Citi’s [...]
RSA expands in Canada with a £94m purchase June 6, 2012 RSA, Britain’s biggest commercial insurer, has agreed to buy Canada’s L’Union Canadienne for £94m, more than doubling its share of the lucrative Quebec market. “Our group strategy is to drive continued growth and strong profitability in our overseas markets,” RSA chief executive Simon Lee said in a statement. RSA, Canada’s third-largest general insurer after its [...]
How an explosive setback put one legal firm on the path to international growth June 5, 2012 TWENTY years ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find anyone prepared to bet that Norton Rose – one of London’s oldest City law firm’s – would eventually rank in the top five largest international practices in the world. Unless perhaps you’d asked Peter Martyr, the firm’s group chief executive. Back in 1992, he was [...]