CITY VIEWS: DO YOU HAVE A SMARTPHONE? May 17, 2011 NIPON RAVEL | XCHANGING “Yes, my head’s always in it! I use it for both work and social purposes, and I also have a separate smartphone just for work.” PAM TREVETT | AVIVA “I’ve had one for a while now and I definitely wouldn’t survive without it. It’s great being able to combine work and [...]
Banks and commodities lift FTSE June 28, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked gains in Asia and on Wall Street this morning as fears of an economic meltdown in Greece were eased with France moving to give the country a reprieve. Banking and commodity sectors saw a lift as new life was breathed into global markets. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his country’s banks [...]
FTSE up but investors jittery over Greek crisis June 27, 2011 The FTSE 100 was up this morning but investors remained wary ahead of yet another chapter in the Greek financial crisis. Greek MPs are due to debate a fresh package of austerity measures later. The euro slipped as confidence in the eurozone continued to be sapped by Greece’s debt pile. Meanwhile France’s Christine Lagarde was [...]
Moody’s warns life insurers on sales as tax breaks end June 1, 2011 CUTBACKS on life insurers’ tax breaks in Europe are a threat to their competitiveness that is being compounded by ultra-low interest rates in the region, credit rating agency Moody’s said yesterday. European life insurers may see their sales volumes hurt if they fail to deliver better returns on life products than savings products offered by [...]
O’Driscoll is still a doubt May 19, 2011 LEINSTER vs NORTHAMPTON IRELAND captain Brian O’Driscoll remains a doubt for Leinster’s Heineken Cup final against Northampton tomorrow. O’Driscoll sustained a knee injury against Ulster last weekend and was unable to take a full part in yesterday’s training session. Leinster coach Joe Schmidt said that O’Driscoll had only been able to run at “three-quarters pace” [...]
Aviva plans £400m savings in two years November 2, 2010 INSURANCE company Aviva has announced plans for £400m in savings over the next two years, half of which will come from efficiency gains, and half from cost savings. It has also said that it will close its final salary pension scheme, which has 7,600 members, something that will save £50m a year. Several hundred jobs [...]
Aviva unveils £200m cost cutting programme November 2, 2010 Insurer Aviva unveiled £200m in planned cost cuts and said it was set for “strong profitable growth” this year after sales for the first nine months rose in line with expectations. Aviva, Britain’s second-biggest insurer, will take out £200m in costs and deliver another £200m in efficiency gains by the end of 2012, it said. [...]
Evercore buys Lexicon to up Europe stake June 8, 2011 US INVESTMENT banking adviser Evercore agreed to buy UK boutique advisory firm Lexicon Partners for a total £86m, it said yesterday, in a deal set to make millionaires of Lexicon’s founders. The deal will see Andrew Sibbald, Lexicon’s senior partner, 27 other partners and more than 70 employees share £38m in cash, equivalent to 44 [...]
Powell and Gay London bound March 31, 2011 ATHLETICS: Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell and the world’s fastest man of 2010, Tyson Gay, will go head-to-head at the Aviva London Grand Prix on 5-6 August after they do battle at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix on 10 July. “I have only run in Birmingham once before, but if it is like [...]
All the world buys into London July 10, 2011 Office Space CENTRAL London looks set to be the prime beneficiary of a renewed appetite for direct investment into UK commercial property. The capital already tops the league table of largest global property investment markets, netting close on £11bn in 2010, significantly more than closest rivals Tokyo, Paris and New York. And the prospects for [...]