Shares rally on US Supreme Court decision June 25, 2015 SHARES in US hospitals surged yesterday after the US Supreme Court upheld subsidies for individual Americans under President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. Shares of several hospital groups hit all-time highs on the decision, with investors welcoming the news that millions of insurance customers created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), more often called “Obamacare”, [...]
FCA probe leads to record slump in Slater & Gordon share price June 25, 2015 SHARES of the Melbourne-based law firm Slater & Gordon dropped more than 20 per cent yesterday in the company’s biggest ever one-day loss. The slump came after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it was probing Quindell, a UK-based insurance claims handler. Slater & Gordon bought most of Quindell’s business in May for £637m. [...]
Weak performance in mining sector is a drag on the FTSE – London Report June 25, 2015 WEAK mining stocks and persistent concerns over Greece’s debt problems weighed on the UK market yesterday. The benchmark FTSE 100 equity index closed down 0.5 per cent at 6,807.82 points. Miners took most points off the index, with the FTSE 350 Mining Index falling 1.8 per cent as copper prices lost ground. The FTSE 100 [...]
The NHS isn’t unique – and we’ll never fix its many flaws until we realise this June 25, 2015 As an undergraduate student, I spent an Erasmus semester in a small town in Spain. During a flat viewing, the landlady who showed me around pointed at the microwave in the kitchen, and said: “This is a microwave. Do you know what a microwave is?” I got a bit confused by the question, which sounded [...]
The rental revolution: changes in the private rented sector June 25, 2015 The UK’s rental market is undergoing a transformation as it continues to grow New investors including pension funds Legal & General and M&G are entering the sector, promising to add scale through major new apartment developments. And the government is backing the private rented sector as a key provider of new homes. Alongside UK developers [...]
Healthcare stocks rise after Supreme Court Obamacare decision June 25, 2015 Healthcare stocks in the US were up after Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) won an important victory today. Up for debate was whether subsidies would be available to people in all 50 states, or just those which set up insurance marketplaces under the act. The court ruled the subsidies should be available universally. [...]
Standard Life to shut down Singapore arm June 25, 2015 Standard Life is closing its insurance business in Singapore, swallowing a £45m loss, it revealed today. The FTSE 100 company said the closure would go ahead subject to regulatory approvals, but that it was now no longer accepting new applications or contributions to existing plans. Customers in Singapore will be contacted with an [...]
Energy specialist voted London’s top underwriter in peer ranking June 24, 2015 WATKINS Syndicate’s Dominick Hoare has scooped the title of leading underwriter in the London market, as voted by his peers, in a ranking of almost 900 individual insurance workers by research consultancy Gracechurch. Meanwhile, in a vote by insurance brokers, Mark Pepper from Ascot took the top spot, while Hoare came in second. Hoare, who [...]
City Moves for 25 June 2015 | Who’s switching jobs June 24, 2015 Nexus CIFS The trade credit insurer has announced the appointment of two commercial underwriters. Gavin Brown joins from Euler Hermes UK, where he has been working since 2006, most recently as an account manager. Philip Oldfield (pictured) has held roles at Aon and Amlin Credit. Artemis Ed Legget is joining the investment management firm to [...]
Northern powerhouse project: Finance, science, and tech industries creating two-speed housing market, could boost north June 24, 2015 A big boost for the northern powerhouse project? Areas that have embraced the science, technology and finance industries have enjoyed disproportionately high house price growth, according to research from Savills. The fillip given to areas with a large number of companies in key industries suggests encouraging growth in such industries in the north could lead [...]