Sarries star Brits happy to sit out and cash in as understudy George thrives October 3, 2013 CANNY Schalk Brits is adamant he will cash in on the talents of Jamie George as the hookers battle for the right to keep Saracens unbeaten in Aviva Premiership Rugby against Wasps on Saturday. George, 22, is set to replace the South African as the leaders rotate their squad but Brits is content to sit [...]
O’Shea keeps faith despite Quins’ third defeat from five October 6, 2013 DEFIANT Harlequins boss Conor O’Shea has warned his rivals not to write them off after seeing his troops slip to their third Aviva Premiership defeat of the season at London Irish. Quins were undone on Saturday by a second-half flurry from the Exiles, as both Blair Cowan and Alex Lewington crossed for tries in the [...]
Wasps prop switches focus from bomb disposal to Dragon slaying November 14, 2013 LONDON Wasps prop Ricky Reeves is no stranger to the heat of battle but admits temperatures were through the roof on his home debut – and he loved every minute of it. Lance Corporal Reeves, who served in Afghanistan in a bomb disposal unit, made his bow off the bench in the 90-17 LV= Cup [...]
Saracens squad envy of Europe, claims Wyles October 17, 2013 SARACENS centre Chris Wyles believes the abundance of riches in the squad makes his team the ones to beat in this year’s Heineken Cup. The Aviva Premiership leaders have six representatives in England coach Stuart Lancaster’s squad for next month’s autumn internationals, including previously uncapped centre Joel Tomkins. Top 14 heavyweights Toulouse are tonight’s visitors [...]
St Jude storm could cost British insurance industry up to £500m October 29, 2013 MONDAY’S storms could cost British insurers up to £500m in claims, a leading broker claimed yesterday. Willis Re said the figure only covered damaged caused in the UK. The storm has since caused extensive damage across France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. “Based on our research we believe insured losses in the UK for the St Jude’s [...]
City Moves for 21 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 20, 2013 Barclays The bank has announced the appointment of James Brincat to its Beyond Benefits business. He has over 12 years’ experience working in financial services. Brincat was most recently at Thomsons Online Benefits, where he was an account director and head of partnerships. ING The financial services group has hired Leo Greve as head of [...]
City Moves for 20 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 19, 2013 Aviva The insurance company has announced the appointment of Colm Holmes as chief financial officer of its UK and Ireland general insurance business. He was most recently at Zurich Insurance Group, where he was group treasurer and head of capital management. UBS Wealth Management The wealth management business has recruited six specialists to its strategic partnership team. [...]
Best of the Brokers for 18 October 2013 October 17, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com TUI TRAVEL UBS has cut its rating from “buy” to “neutral” and trimmed its target from 410p to 400p following a strong run for the shares. The broker thinks now is a good time to take profits, given that the disruption in Egypt [...]
Standard Life misses targets as staff leave October 30, 2013 INSURANCE giant Standard Life yesterday announced lower-than-expected new business sales, which analysts pinned on the departure of key staff members over the summer. Star fund manager Euan Munro jumped ship to be chief executive at Aviva Investors this summer, causing some leading investors to withdraw their money from the GARS fund that he controlled. As a [...]
Prolific Sarries pair keeping try rivalry friendly September 26, 2013 SARACENS star David Strettle insists he and fellow wing Chris Ashton are not competing for tries as they look to continue their free-scoring ways, and unbeaten start, at Harlequins tomorrow. Sarries have scored 117 points in their three Aviva Premiership wins from three with 30-year-old Strettle their most prolific, scoring four of the club’s 13 [...]