Standard Life Aberdeen’s share price falls as firm reveals plans to return £1.75bn to shareholders May 29, 2018 Standard Life Aberdeen’s share price fell this morning after the firm revealed plans to return £1.75bn to its shareholders following the sale of its UK and European insurance business to Phoenix Group. The finance giant this morning announced plans to gift £1bn to shareholders via a B share scheme, in which new B shares will [...]
Suits you: Lloyd’s of London lets staff dress down May 25, 2018 Venerable insurance market Lloyd’s of London confirmed today that it has relaxed the once-strict dress code for its underwriting room. Previously not wearing a tie or a jacket would have been enough to have someone ejected. However, this policy has been relaxed as Lloyd’s looks to move with the times. Read more: Dress-down Friday? Dress-down [...]
Uber to offer drivers medical cover and maternity pay as it gears up for court hearing on its future in London May 23, 2018 Uber is introducing a number of protections for its European drivers including sickness, and maternity and paternity payments, as it gears up for a crunch decision on its future in London. The company lost its licence to operate in the capital last September with Transport for London (TfL) ruling it not fit and proper to [...]
M&S passes on £1.4bn of its pension liabilities to Aviva and Phoenix May 17, 2018 Nearly £1.4bn of Marks & Spencer’s pension liabilities were today passed to insurers Aviva and Phoenix. It follows a trend of organisations including National Grid, Pearson and Smith Group transferring pensions calculated on worker’s final salaries over to insurers. Read more: Zurich completes deal to cover £2bn of National Grid pension liabilities Around £925m will [...]
Insurer Ageas bowled over by ‘Beast from the East’ but still posts positive results May 17, 2018 Insurer Ageas said today that its first quarter results were hit hard by adverse weather conditions in the UK and Belgium. The Belgian listed insurer, sponsor of Hampshire cricket ground the Ageas Bowl, said that it took a €40m (£35m) impact from adverse weather in Belgium and the UK in the first quarter. Read more: [...]
Why it’s crucial for investors to incorporate inflation into their financial planning May 16, 2018 We often find media coverage fretting inflation’s impact on consumer spending—particularly true after UK inflation jumped over the last couple years. In our view, though, British investors should be more focused on whether their financial plans take it into account. We believe doing so is vital to increasing the likelihood of reaching your goals. The [...]
Zurich completes deal to cover more than £2bn of National Grid pension liabilities May 15, 2018 Zurich has agreed a longevity swap of more than £2bn of pension liabilities from the National Grid in its Electricity Supply Pension Scheme. The insurance agency said the transaction would protect National Grid against “risk of rising costs” that have come about from 6,000 pensioners and future dependant members living longer than expected. It will [...]
The directionless and ineffective World Health Organisation is in urgent need of reform May 14, 2018 As one of the biggest contributors to the World Health Organisation (WHO), holding its annual assembly in Geneva this week, the UK has a pivotal role in setting the global health agenda. The WHO’s work has never been more important to address serious and evolving international health threats. It is only a matter of time [...]
Finding value in American growth May 11, 2018 Last year saw global growth accelerate at its fastest pace since the financial crisis as this long-running bull market defied expectations and found another gear. It was a period of synchronised global growth reminiscent of yesteryear – a brief boon for global stock market investors. But with growth inevitably cooling in 2018, the challenge now [...]
Pro-Brexit group Leave.EU fined £70,000 for electoral law breaches May 11, 2018 Pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU has been fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission for breaching the law during the EU referendum campaign. The group, which was backed by insurance millionaire Arron Banks and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, was fined after an investigation into its funding and spending during the EU referendum. The investigation concluded that [...]