FTSE finishes up after China data boosts miners – London Report August 11, 2015 MAJOR mining stocks experienced a sharp reversal yesterday, turning higher on hopes of stimulus after weak data in China, which led the UK’s top share index to recoup early losses. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 17.73 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,736.22 points by the close, turning higher after gains in early [...]
Clydesdale Bank PPI woes to cost a further £420m August 11, 2015 A further £500m is being made available to Clydesdale Bank by parent company NAB to cover compensation for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling and interest rate hedging products mis-sold to business customers. The combined figure of £500m is the parent company’s top estimate for the final amount Clydesdale will require to facilitate the payout of [...]
Esure share price drops as profit hits the brakes August 11, 2015 Shares in Esure tumbled by 9.6 per cent yesterday after it published interim results showing a 21.3 per cent fall in underlying profits before tax. Profits in Esure’s motor insurance arm fell to £3.3m, 80.7 per cent down on the previous year’s half-year figure of £17.1m. The online insurance firm, which owns Sheilas’ Wheels and [...]
Capita to sell dental insurer NDP to US-based Unum in £32m deal August 10, 2015 CAPITA has agreed to sell dental insurance provider National Dental Plan (NDP), to Unum Group for £31.7m in cash, the FTSE 100 outsourcer said yesterday. NDP provides dental insurance through the workplace to over 500 major firms and 150,000 insured employees. It was acquired by Capita in 2010 for £30m. The sale, which is still [...]
Carphone Warehouse cyber attack probed by data watchdog ICO August 10, 2015 Dixons Carphone has suffered its first major blow since last year’s £4bn merger after admitting to a huge data breach that has put millions of customers at risk and sparked an investigation by the UK’s data watchdog. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) said yesterday that it is “making enquiries” into the attack after being [...]
Top banks could face millions in new PPI claims over commission August 10, 2015 Britain’s top banks are facing further fall out from the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The latest potential threat comes from a case brought by lecturer Susan Plevin, over a loan and PPI policy taken out in 2006. She was unaware that more than 70 per cent of the commission she paid on the [...]
Chinese insurance giant Anbang nears £750m Heron Tower deal August 9, 2015 The Heron Tower in the City that is part-owned by property tycoon Gerald Ronson could soon change hands after a Chinese insurance giant emerged as a frontrunner to buy the skyscraper for £750m. Anbang Insurance, a privately owned group that last year snapped up New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel for almost $2bn (£1.3bn), is close [...]
QBE’s David Hall on how insurers are the unsung heroes of major sporting events: “I like to think we are the glue that allows the World Cup to operate” August 9, 2015 For A few short weeks next month, England's rugby team will find itself at the centre of the sporting universe. The World Cup will provide nailbiting thrills and drama, established stars will shine, new stars will burst into life, and seminal moments will be etched into the sport’s history books. Amid this landscape of excitement, [...]
Decline in Brits abroad as holidaymakers opt to stay home this summer August 8, 2015 The UK economy is recovering and consumer confidence is increasing – but not enough to encourage the majority of people to holiday abroad this summer. Read more: Why taking a holiday is vital to productivity Less than half of people in the UK will travel to other countries this year, a reduction on the 56 per [...]
From TfL Tube strike and Tom Hayes’ Libor conviction to Quindell and Fantasy Football: Here’s what got us talking this week August 7, 2015 There were singing farmers. There was a decapitated bus. And suddenly, in North Korea, there was a new time zone. Here's what got us talking this week 1) London was (over) grounded The second strike in two months brought London's Tube network to a halt, and while that meant we all had to [...]