Lords leader quits to return to business January 7, 2013 LORD Strathclyde, Leader of the House of Lords, resigned yesterday after 25 continuous years on the Conservative front bench. The hereditary peer, 52, said he took the surprise decision to quit the cabinet halfway through this parliament so he can pursue a second career in business before it is too late. “I started my life in [...]
Insurer Hardy accepts £143m offer from CNA Financial March 21, 2012 Lloyd’s of London insurer Hardy Underwriting said it had accepted a 280 pence per share cash takeover offer from US rival CNA Financial, valuing it at about £143m. “The Board believes that CNA’s offer represents the most attractive outcome for our shareholders and will enhance Hardy’s business,” Hardy Chairman David Mann said in a statement. [...]
Market shrugs off high street gloom as FTSE 100 hits four-year high January 9, 2013 LONDON’S FTSE 100 index soared to its highest level since May 2008 during yesterday’s trading, as bullish investors continued to drive the New Year rally. The blue chip index peaked at 6,112.27, led by strong banking and mining stocks and an optimistic outlook to the beginning of the US earnings season. The FTSE finally closed [...]
Insurers win as disaster claims halve in 2012 December 19, 2012 THE INSURANCE industry celebrated yesterday after Swiss Re said the total bill for natural catastrophe payouts in 2012 will be around $65bn (£40bn), down from last year’s near-record $120bn. Most of the total can be ascribed to the roughly $25bn cost of superstorm Sandy, which swept across the Caribbean and United States in late October. [...]
Stocks roar back January 24, 2013 UK STOCK markets turned a corner yesterday after blue chip firms spurred the FTSE to its highest level in nearly five years, giving London its best start to the trading year since 1989. The FTSE 100 list of Britain’s biggest companies surged past the 6,200 mark to its highest level since May 2008, capping off [...]
UK firms look to more upbeat 2013 economy January 2, 2013 BUSINESS expects the UK’s bumpy economic ride to stabilise into growth during 2013, according to two surveys out this morning. Company directors are far more optimistic than 12 months ago, according to a poll from the Institute of Directors (IoD). The number of directors who thought 2013 would be better than 2012 surged ahead of [...]
Wall street is back January 16, 2013 THE TOP US investment banks defied gloomy market conditions to rack up big jumps in profits last year, fourth quarter results showed yesterday, as central bank support and a renewed focus on cost control breathed new life into the troubled sector. A boom in debt underwriting alongside strong fixed income, currency and commodities client execution [...]
FTSE 100 flat after hitting multi-year highs January 25, 2013 The leading share index was flat in this morning’s trading, after the FTSE 100 hit its highest level in almost five years yesterday, giving London its best start to the trading year since 1989. The blue chip index surged past the 6,200 level, closing up just over one per cent at 6,264.91 last night. But [...]
Sandy batters Lloyd’s insurers with £286m hit December 18, 2012 SUPERSTORM Sandy has left members of the Lloyd’s of London insurance market with a bill of at least £286m, it was revealed yesterday. The enormous storm swept through the Caribbean and north-eastern US at the end of October, hitting New York and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The resulting damage is expected [...]
Top schools fuel house price hike January 24, 2013 AGOOD education can cost parents more than just tuition fees. Trends show that top performing schools drive house prices in their local neighbourhoods by nearly a third more than the national average. Little wonder, then, that developers are constructing luxury schemes in these sought-after areas. Wimbledon Hill Park is going down well with parents keen [...]