Ringing the changes: Why Britain’s retail bond market has life in it yet February 17, 2015 The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Order Book for Retail Bonds (ORB) today. The trading platform enables retail investors to buy and sell corporate bond issues. Corporate bonds should be an important asset class for retail investors. They generally offer higher interest rates than many bank and building society [...]
Fraud rises to its highest level in 12 years (but fraudsters are stealing less each time) February 17, 2015 The number of reported cases of fraud rose four per cent to 546 in 2014, its highest figure in more than 12 years, according to findings by accountancy giant BDO. But the research also found that the average value of fraud cases fell 34 per cent during the year, from £2m in 2013 to £1.3m [...]
Canadian firm Fairfax to buy insurer Brit for £1.22bn February 17, 2015 Shares in insurer Brit soared more than 10 per cent this morning, after Canadian financial services firm Fairfax revealed plans to buy the insurer for £1.22bn less than a year after it went public. Last night it emerged private equity owners CVC and Apollo were looking to offload the business, which specialises in underwriting [...]
Apollo and CVC look to sell off Brit insurance February 16, 2015 Insurance company Brit is close to being sold off by its private equity owners CVC and Apollo, it emerged last night. Brit, a Lloyd’s of London insurer that specialises in underwriting complex products such as kidnapping insurance, is attracting several parties, including at least one from the US. Update: To read the details of [...]
Quindell shares jump as Morgan Stanley takes a bigger slice of it February 16, 2015 SHARES in Quindell closed 9.5 per cent higher to 75p yesterday, after Morgan Stanley increased its stake to more than five per cent. Shares in the insurance claims processor are still more than half of their value compared to last year, after the company was accused of having “magical… paper profits” by mysterious US-based short [...]
Armstrong hit with record $10m bill after losing doping lawsuit February 16, 2015 DISGRACED cyclist Lance Armstrong has been ordered to pay an American record $10m (£6.5m) in damages after losing a lawsuit with sports insurance company SCA Promotions. The Texan firm paid Armstrong $7.5m (£4.9m) in bonuses for his multiple Tour de France wins but sued him for the return of that sum plus $4.5m (£2.9m) in [...]
Quindell share price jumps 8.3 per cent as Morgan Stanley increases stake February 16, 2015 Shares in Quindell jumped more than eight per cent to 74.25p in mid-afternoon trading, after Morgan Stanley increased its stake to more than five per cent. Shares in the insurance claims processor lost more than 90 per cent of their value last year, after the company was accused of having "magical… paper profits" by mysterious US-based [...]
Phoenix chair Sir Howard Davies asks Clive Bannister to explain himself over HSBC February 16, 2015 Former private banking boss at HSBC Clive Bannister has come under pressure from the chairman of Phoenix Group, the insurance company he now runs, to explain his role at HSBC, after revelations that the bank’s Swiss arm helped some clients evade taxes. Phoenix chairman Sir Howard Davies contacted board members last week to inform them [...]
Tesco Bank moves into new mortgage territory with independent brokers February 15, 2015 Tesco Bank is extending its mortgage offering to include independent brokers, with the hope of dramatically increasing its customer base. In an interview with The Telegraph this weekend, the business said it would start selling the loans through intermediaries in 2016. The bank has already shown promise in the property market – [...]
Former HSBC boss Lord Green steps down as TheCityUK chairman over tax avoidance banking row February 14, 2015 The under-fire former boss of HSBC has quit his job as head of a City lobby group following revelations over tax avoidance at the bank when he was in charge. Green has been in the firing line after it was revealed HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped clients evade and avoid hundreds of millions of pounds [...]