Dragons will struggle against the Red Rose with weak front row February 2, 2011 ENGLAND vs WALES TOMORROW – 7.45PM BBC1 THE FIXTURE list committee have got it spot on this year. What better way to start the 2011 RBS 6 Nations than by sending England to Cardiff on a Friday night? Seventy-odd-thousand well-oiled Welshmen are capable of producing quite an atmosphere under the closed roof of the magnificent [...]
Prudential sees jump in profit November 10, 2010 Britain’s largest insurer Prudential reported a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter group sales, beating expectations and helped by a pick-up in demand from emerging markets such as Asia. Prudential rivals such as Aviva, faced with slow-growing home markets, have been trying to expand business in Asia where insurance penetration remains low, with under four [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD UNIVERSITIES BE ALLOWED TO CHARGE WHAT THEY WANT? October 11, 2010 DHUGAL ROBERTSON | AXE “No. If you are going to pay for university, then you should be provided with job opportunities at the end of your degree and not with a load of debt.” GABI MASON | TESTPLANT LTD “University fees should be capped. If they aren’t, we’ll end up with a large division of [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD UNIVERSITIES BE ALLOWED TO CHARGE WHAT THEY WANT? October 11, 2010 DHUGAL ROBERTSON | AXE “No. If you are going to pay for university, then you should be provided with job opportunities at the end of your degree and not with a load of debt.” GABI MASON | TESTPLANT LTD “University fees should be capped. If they aren’t, we’ll end up with a large division of [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT STEP IN TO PROTECT BRITISH COMPANIES FROM OVERSEAS TAKEOVERS? October 21, 2010 ANINDYA ROY AVIVA “It’s not a fundamentally bad idea to allow overseas companies to buy British ones. We live in a globalised world. The inflows are good for the economy, but there is a balance to be made to protect the national interest.” CHARLES OPPENHEIM LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY “I have mixed feelings. When you think of [...]
Peel Hunt staff buyout from KBC completes November 29, 2010 BROKER Peel Hunt has started life as an independent entity after completing a buyout by its staff. The buyout from former owner KBC, a Belgian bancassurance firm, was completed on Friday and values the company at £74m – a third of the £218m KBC bought it for in 2001. Peel Hunt’s employees own 75 per [...]
Aviva heads back into Asian insurance market April 9, 2010 AVIVA said it would re-enter the Asian general insurance market five years after offloading its non-life operations in the region. Britain’s second largest insurer has made the move into Singapore after rival Prudential spent £24 billion on the Asian operations of bailed-out American insurer AIG. Asia has one of the world’s quickest expanding financial services [...]
CITY VIEWS: WAS THE BANK OF ENGLAND RIGHT TO KEEP INTEREST RATES ON HOLD? October 7, 2010 ALEX WINSTANLEY | AVIVA “I am happy the Bank is keeping interest rates at the current level. We’re in a challenging period at the moment. I am confident with what the government is doing but we need to take stock and possibly look at what Europe is doing.” LAWRENCE CHIR | BLACKROCK “At the moment [...]
Holmes firmly behind track legacy plans September 20, 2010 LONDON’S Olympic Stadium will retain an athletics track after the 2012 Games, regardless of who moves in – and more people will benefit as a result, says Dame Kelly Holmes. The future of the Stratford Olympic Park’s centrepiece is still shrouded in uncertainty with less than two years to go until the first starter’s pistol [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE THE CUTS TO CHILD BENEFIT FAIR? October 5, 2010 SHAREENA RASHID | AVIVA INVESTORS “I don’t disagree with the changes, but I think the flaw in the plan is the limit on individuals rather than households. It’s sending out half a message to families who want to return to work, and works against single parents too.” KAMRAN MIRZA | INTERPRO EUROPE “I disagree with [...]