Admiral boss’ £116m loss as stock plunges November 9, 2011 THE CHIEF executive of car insurer Admiral saw more than £115m wiped off the value of his stake in the business yesterday after the group finally succumbed to the industry-wide slump in profit growth. Shares in Admiral, which also trades under the Bell, Diamond and Elephant brands, closed down 25.61 per cent at 887.5p after [...]
FTSE falls as Italy debt yields spook investors November 9, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares sank to their lowest close for a week yesterday on spiralling concerns over Italy’s debt as the country’s bond yields raced to dangerous levels. Italy was thrown into the spotlight as its 10-year bond yields shot above seven per cent, levels that forced bailouts in Ireland, Portugal and Greece, and as investors [...]
Buffett says Berkshire hit by derivatives November 6, 2011 WARREN Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reported a smaller third-quarter profit over the weekend, after losing more than $2bn (£1.24bn) on derivatives related to stock market performance. That was nearly three times what Berkshire lost on the same instruments a year ago. Buffett has criticised derivatives in general, but said these particular contracts were safe and [...]
Car sales rise unexpectedly in October November 4, 2011 Car sales unexpectedly moved up a gear, rising 2.6 per cent in October compared to the same month last year, driven by sales of fleet and business cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said sales to these customers outweighed a fall of 4.3 per cent in private purchases. Sales of cars to businesses [...]
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is much more than a bookseller: He’s the Everyman entrepreneur October 30, 2011 WITH the Kindle Fire, Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos is showing the world that he’s much more than an online retailer. The original Kindle, released in 2007, was the first piece of electronic hardware Amazon ever produced, and it revolutionised the electronic book business. Wall Street analysts expect Amazon to sell about 26m Kindle devices [...]
Go-Ahead revenues boosted by commuters taking trains October 27, 2011 BRITISH bus and rail operator Go-Ahead said first-quarter trading rose as drivers turned to public transport to avoid rising motoring costs, although it remained cautious about the medium-term wider economic outlook. Go-Ahead said revenues at its non-London bus unit, which includes services in Oxford and Brighton, were four per cent higher in the period to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HITS FRENCH AUDITORS French auditors have been lambasted by the UK’s leading accountancy regulator for their performance during the Greek debt crisis. Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, criticised the way French banks and insurers had been allowed by their auditors to post smaller losses on Greek government bonds [...]
Jobs data boosts FTSE but US markets falter October 7, 2011 London stocks have closed slightly higher after better-than-expected US jobs figures prompted an afternoon rally, but US markets remain down after fresh downgrades of Spain and Italy. The FTSE 100 index spiked sharply when US figures showed 103,000 new jobs created, and while it gave up most of the gains it still closed up 0.2 [...]
Banks hired as first stage in esure’s London listing October 5, 2011 THE INSURANCE tycoon Peter Wood has lined up bankers to prepare a bumper listing of esure, reports last night said. Wood, who also founded the car insurer Direct Line, is said to have hired Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to help ready the company for a stock market flotation that is being earmarked for next [...]
State Farm pays out $5bn in storm claims September 25, 2011 STATE Farm Insurance has paid $5bn (£3.23bn) to its customers for weather-related catastrophes – damage to cars, homes and other property so far this year – the largest US insurer of homes and cars said yesterday. That payout has been increased by wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes during the summer, which came after last spring’s [...]