Iran nuclear deal: From oil prices to GDP, how have sanctions affected the country? July 15, 2015 After nine years of negotiations between Iran and leaders from the snappily-titled "P5 +1" nations – the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany – agreed yesterday to lift sanctions on Iran. But what does that mean for the country's economy? Sanctions were first applied to Iran in 1979, after the storming of the [...]
£1.8bn withdrawn from pension pots since new freedoms came into force in April July 15, 2015 In almost every facet of life, if more choice is offered, people will take it. Pensions are no exception with the increasing freedom the government has introduced and that came in to force 100 days ago, £1.8bn has flooded out. Read more: Pensions could look more like ISAs In the two months after pension rules were [...]
Building services group ISG is hit by another £10.5m of costs July 14, 2015 ISG warned yesterday that it expects to book another £10.5m in costs after problematic contracts forced the building services group to issue a shock profit warning in February. In a trading update for the year to 30 June, the Aim-listed firm said it has set aside £5.5m to wind down its luxury construction services arm [...]
Sergei Pugachev shows: You just do not mess with the Kremlin July 14, 2015 Sergei Pugachev was once a trusted and close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But not anymore. His case, as much as any of the string of mysterious deaths of people who have upset the Kremlin, go to show how Putin has carved out power in Russia for some time to come, despite economic hardship [...]
Legal & General exits Egypt in deal with Axa July 13, 2015 UK INSURANCE and investments group Legal & General (L&G) has exited its Egypt business, Commercial International Life Insurance (CIL), selling it to Axa in a deal worth 763m Egyptian pounds (£62.9m). L&G are joint owners of CIL, holding 55 per cent of the company, while Commercial International Bank owned 45 per cent. The sale to Axa is [...]
City Moves for 14 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs July 13, 2015 Advent Solutions Management The insurance consulting and outsource services provider has appointed Paul Bermingham to launch its new delegated underwriting support business. He joins as a director from Xchanging, where he was executive director, claims. Bermingham has 27 years’ experience in insurance. Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust Carlos Hardenberg has been appointed lead portfolio manager [...]
Greek startups step up to the plate – CNBC Comment July 13, 2015 IT IS often said that the best business ideas emerge during times of financial stress. When an economy is struggling and its people are cash-strapped, we’re pushed to think outside the box. A prime example is what happened in the US during the financial crisis. A 2013 study in the Journal of Economics and Management [...]
Ignore the rhetoric: George Osborne’s July Budget was a retreat from market liberalism July 13, 2015 George Osborne’s desired message was clear. He claimed last week’s Budget was a new settlement for a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare country”. The Tory media duly reported it as such. But political rhetoric often doesn’t match reality. Osborne’s Budget fails on his own terms, and marks a retreat from the market-based consensus of [...]
Putin’s old pal Sergei Pugachev flees London for France in £655m fraud case July 10, 2015 A once-close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone on the run in the midst of a High Court case, saying his life is in danger. Sergei Pugachev defied a court order by fleeing the to France after he was charged with stealing more than £655m. The exiled Russian oligarch became a French citizen [...]
Bank of England asks insurers to imagine terrorist attacks and hurricanes in stress test July 10, 2015 It's rather more dramatic than the stress tests banks were asked to endure: insurers have been told to envisage "worst case" scenarios as UK regulators analyse how the industry could cope with disasters including floods and terrorist attacks. The disasters are part of a series of stress tests put together by the Bank of England’s [...]