Rosemont suffers in Katrina’s wake October 20, 2005 The fate of Goshawk’s subsidiary Rosemont Re was left hanging in the balance yesterday when its credit rating was cut. Ratings agency AM Best downgraded the insurer from A excellent to B fair, severely impairing the company’s ability to write new business. Rosemont Re has been severely hit by hurricane claims and shares in Goshawk [...]
Skandia hits back at Old Mutual overture October 20, 2005 The £3.13bn takeover battle for Skandia, the Swedish insurer, escalated yesterday as the company set out its key argument why it should remain independent. It listed 16 reasons why a hostile offer from Old Mutual of South Africa was “unacceptable”. Old Mutual said it remained committed to acquiring its target and that it was convinced [...]
St James’s A-Day profits October 20, 2005 Looming changes to pension legislation have helped wealth management company St James’s Place Capital increase its pension business by 22 per cent. New laws, due to come in on April 6 on what has become known as A-Day, have prompted more people to seek advice on their best personal pension plan including the chance to [...]
Flu anti-virus causes 17% profit jump October 20, 2005 Roche, the maker of bird flu anti-viral Tamiflu, yesterday announced a third quarter revenue increase of 17 per cent thanks to a jump in sales of the drug. The Swiss firm said sales of Tamiflu had more than doubled to SFr279m (£123m) and the companies overall sales for the quarter ending September climbed to SFr8.8bn. [...]
Google gives up battle for Gmail name October 20, 2005 Google yesterday gave up its long battle with a tiny company for the use of its Gmail branded email in Britain. Following months of wrangling, the company with a market capitalisation of £31bn bowed to pressure from London-based Independent International Investment Research (IIIR), worth just £2.3m, and changed its name to Googlemail. Now new users [...]
Drax turns down third £2bn offer October 20, 2005 Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant Drax has rejected a £2bn bid from International Power and Japanese engineering company Mitsui. Yorkshire-based Drax, which is running an auction for its sale at the same time as preparing an initial public offering, has also turned down similar bids from two American consortiums. Drax, which supplies 7 per cent [...]
BA: Ryanair passengers ‘like freight’ October 20, 2005 British Airways boss Willie Walsh has shocked the airline industry with an attack on Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. Walsh slammed the low-cost airline claiming that it treats its passengers worse than BA treats freight. In an interview with CityA.M. Walsh said: “I think we actually treat our freight better than he treats his passengers.” The [...]
OFT slams ‘too high’ Visa fees October 20, 2005 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) stepped up its assault on British banks yesterday, announcing an in-depth inquiry into Visa fees. The investigation relates to so-called “interchange fees” which are levied by high street banks on retailers when they process Visa credit card transactions. In a related investigation into Mastercard fees, the OFT last month [...]
Bugatti Power October 19, 2005 Veyron keyed up for super speeds YES, YES, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes please can I have one?! This is the long-awaited Bugatti Veyron which has the most amazing statistics of any production car I’ve ever come across. Its engine is a massive eight litres, it has 16 cylinders, four turbos, and seven gears. [...]
Alas Sugar and Jones October 19, 2005 Sir Alan Sugar teamed up with Griff Rhys Jones to save the Hackney Empire. Now they have reunited to lay on a fundraising extravaganza involving teams from the Square Mile. Sir Alan Sugar and Griff Rhys Jones are an unlikely double act. One left school at 16 and, following a short stint as a civil [...]