The man who’s locking horns with indecisive EU regulators April 17, 2011 MENTION Brussels to any senior London-based insurer and you will always get the same reaction: anger and exasperation. With just over 18 months to go before the introduction of Solvency II, the insurance industry’s equivalent of the new Basel III banking rules, European regulators have still not produced a framework that properly reflects the business [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES KEY INVESTORS FLOCK TO GLENCORE FLOTATION Demand from key institutional investors for shares in Glencore on its flotation has been well above the group’s expectations, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, according to bankers involved in the initial public offering. The Swiss-based company plans to allocate between 20 and 30 per cent [...]
Disasters cut Lloyd’s profits March 30, 2011 LONDON’S insurance market Lloyd’s paid out more than £2bn in global catastrophe claims in 2010, pushing its profit down 43 per cent to £2.2bn, it said yesterday. It said the fall was to be expected in a year that saw net claims of £2.18bn and the third-highest level of catastrophe losses in 15 years apart [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LSE TO RING CHANGES WITH OPENING BELL REVIVAL The London Stock Exchange , whose trading pits disappeared 25 years ago, is reviving the buzz of the opening bell by recreating the ritual in its lobby. Construction starts today on a facility at LSE headquarters, next to St Paul’s Cathedral, that will probably feature [...]
Profits return to GM as debt and costs cut February 24, 2011 GENERAL Motors yesterday posted fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations, capping its most profitable year in over a decade after slashing costs and debt in a landmark bankruptcy. Profit for all of 2010 was $4.7bn (£2.9bn), GM’s first full-year earnings since 2004 and its largest profit since 1999, when it earned $6bn on booming [...]
Broker team buys its way out of Brewin February 15, 2011 THE CORPORATE advisory and broking team of financial services group Brewin Dolphin has bought its way out of the company to set up a new firm. The asset manager agreed to sell the unit, which sees the departure of 55 professionals, in a deal worth £5m. The team has now established a joint venture with [...]
Profit from gaming fails to help Sony February 3, 2011 SONY’s lack of hit products and a price war for televisions is keeping a lid on earnings at the Japanese electronics giant, despite a boost in profits from its games division. While Sony’s operating profits fell 5.9 per cent in the third quarter, rival Sharp saw a 9.5 per cent rise in profit as its [...]
The budget hotel chain boss who says that bigger is certainly better January 30, 2011 NO wonder Guy Parsons, Travelodge’s boss, was feeling so chipper about life when we met earlier this month. He had just announced that very same day a £300m investment to build a further 35 hotels this year, which will expand his empire to 495 hotels with 35,841 rooms by next Christmas. Also, the key part [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LAWYERS URGE HUNT TO BE CAREFUL OVER SKY BID Jeremy Hunt must act carefully to avoid legal challenge to his role in regulating News Corp’s proposed bid for British Sky Broadcasting, after his department sent Rupert Murdoch’s company a key document, lawyers said. Three competition experts yesterday said the culture secretary’s move could [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]