Luxury firms take a tumble March 14, 2011 THE DISASTER in Japan pummeled manufacturing and luxury goods stocks yesterday, alongside insurers and energy firms, as markets across the world ended lower. Burberry, which says it makes a significant portion of its profits from its Japanese licenses, fell 4.3 per cent in London trading yesterday. Hermes, which makes 19 per cent of its sales [...]
THE PARTY’S OVER FOR TCHENGUIZ BROTHERS March 9, 2011 THEY came, they saw, they conquered – and then the Tchenguiz brothers were arrested by the Serious Fraud Office yesterday morning in connection with the collapse of the Kaupthing Icelandic bank. The dramatic raid at the property developers’ Mayfair HQ has been the talk of the MIPIM property fair at Cannes, where the brothers were [...]
SNOW’S THE STAIR MASTER IN THE RACE OF THE THOUSAND STEPS March 3, 2011 HERE’S a story with legs: the results of the third annual Vertical Rush race up the 920 dizzying steps of City skyscraper Tower 42 in aid of housing charity Shelter. Setting off in hourly slots, 1,200 chip-timed runners – including racers from Legal & General, Schroders, Threadneedle, Tullett Prebon and KPMG – vied to see [...]
FTSE slips lower but profits from StanChart help cheer March 2, 2011 RALLYING banks boosted by results from Standard Chartered helped Britain’s top share index pare losses yesterday, but the index still closed lower as geopolitical concerns continued to dog sentiment. The FTSE 100 closed down 20.87 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,914.89, as lingering political concerns in the Arab world continued to dent confidence and [...]
FTSE finishes in the red despite late rally March 2, 2011 The FTSE slumped below the 5,900 mark this morning on continued Middle East unrest fears, but recovered ground after a boost to Wall St. The FTSE 100 still closed the day below 6,000, though, 0.35 per cent down at 5,914.89. It has lost ground in eight of the last nine sessions. Michael Hewson said the [...]
City backlash against ECJ insurance rule March 1, 2011 MOTOR insurers and annuity providers attacked a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that banned insurers from using gender to calculate policy prices yesterday. The ruling will mean women no longer pay lower car insurance premiums than men despite male drivers under 21 being twice as likely as young women to have a crash. Annuity [...]
HOW THE INSURANCE RULING COULD AFFECT YOU March 1, 2011 Q.WHAT IS THE RULING? A.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that insurance companies cannot charge different premiums to men and women based on their gender. It also bans use of actuarial factors to calculate men’s and women’s pension contributions. Q.WHY HAS IT HAPPENED? A.The ruling amends the Gender Directive, which came into effect [...]
Moneysupermarket.com profit triples March 1, 2011 Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com said its full-year pre-tax profit jumped more than three times due to growth in its insurance, money and home services business. The company, which offers services such as travel, insurance and money and uses actor and comedian Omid Djalili in its advertising, said trading in 2011 was in line with management [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ITALIAN BANKS GO FOR GOLD IN MOVE TO TRANSFORM CORE CAPITAL RATIOS Italian banks think they may have struck gold as they seek to add lustre to balance sheets ahead of the summer stress tests. The lenders, which are shareholders in the central bank, are lobbying for their stakes to be marked to [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS JET TRAVEL REBOUNDS AS RICH SPLASH OUT FOR PRIVACY Private jet travel, shunned in the recession as a sign of ostentation, is recovering in a further sign that the world’s richest people are spending more freely again. The number of business flights – which includes celebrity, state and business hire – grew [...]