Carl Icahn just called a shareholder meeting for AIG investors to discuss ousting chief executive Peter Hancock and ramp up plans to split the insurance giant in three November 23, 2015 Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn is calling a shareholder meeting for AIG to discuss ousting current chief executive Peter Hancock, claiming the company is not reacting quickly enough to fears that it's grown "too big to succeed". Last month Icahn – who is one of AIG's largest shareholders, owning more than 42m shares – published a statement calling for the insurance [...]
Insurer Towergate reports fall in income to £87m, down 10 per cent, in third-quarter 2015 results November 23, 2015 Towergate Insurance announced today that it has seen its group income topple to £87m for its third quarter of 2015, down 10 per cent compared to £97m last year. Income for the year to date was also down 10 per cent, falling to £271m for the nine months ended 30 September 2015 from £300m for the same period last [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Businesses back deficit reduction plans but the public remains split November 23, 2015 The vast majority of business directors want chancellor George Osborne to hold his nerve on budget deficit reduction when he delivers the Autumn Statement this week, new survey figures reveal this morning, while the general public remains split on the issue. The Institute of Directors (IOD), a business group, said 85 per cent of 1,211 members [...]
Chinese cash is not enough to plug the funding gap or solve the skills shortage for UK infrastructure projects warns RICS November 23, 2015 The government cannot just rely on Chinese investment for UK infrastructure projects. The warning comes from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), who said the UK faces a skills and funding crisis that could see major programmes grind to halt. Jeremy Blackburn, RICS' head of policy, said 43 per cent of surveyors turn down around five [...]
Small business confidence hits second-lowest level since 2012 November 23, 2015 Confidence levels at UK small and medium-sized businesses are waning, according to new survey figures published today. The confidence index from accountants BDO dropped to a score of 61.8 this month from 64.3 six months ago. With the exception of January this year, the confidence of small and medium-sized quoted companies is at its lowest [...]
Nearly half of Brits would squander their wealth to make sure they qualify for council care cost coverage in their old age November 23, 2015 Almost half (43 per cent) of people would be willing to deliberately deplete their assets to make sure their council pays for their care in old age, according to figures released today from specialist insurer Partnership. By comparison, less than a quarter (23 per cent) said they would be prepared to do the same when asked [...]
City Moves for 23 November 2015 | Who’s switching jobs November 22, 2015 TISA The financial services membership organisation has appointed Kenn Taylor to its retirement policy and technical team. He has 30 years’ industry experience, most recently leading consulting teams with Troika, Navigant and Grant Thornton. THERIUM CAPITAL The third party litigation funder has appointed Timothy Mayer and Nicholas Moore as principals in its investment team. They [...]
Insurance giant Axa planning to sell off wealth management division in UK November 22, 2015 Axa has brought in advisors to help it sell off some of its UK businesses, including parts of their wealth management division, the Sunday Times reported today. Sources told the Sunday newspaper that the insurer, who is headquartered in France, had grown weary of the UK’s regulatory environment and had called in bankers at Barclays and [...]
Rangers “big tax case”: Will HMRC now look at other football clubs’ payment structures? November 20, 2015 Earlier this month the Murray Group – owners of the now liquidated Rangers Football club – lost the third round of its battle with HM Revenue & Customs over whether payments made to an employee benefit trust (EBT), that were intended to benefit the families of players and certain of the club’s senior executives, should [...]
Where in the UK is the biggest gender pay gap? And how much more money do men earn than women? November 20, 2015 We're all aware of the issues by now: women not being selected for enough leadership roles, earning less than men in a variety of industries and the pay gap being reduced at a snail's pace. It was only this week that the World Economic Forum said it believes it will take another 118 years – or until 2133 [...]