City sharpens knife for Pru’s chairman June 20, 2010 SEVERAL institutional shareholders are agitating for the resignation of Prudential chairman Harvey McGrath as pressure grows on the board over the aborted attempt to buy AIA in Asia for $35.5bn (£25bn). Fidelity, Legal & General, Schroders and F&C are understood to be among those demanding a change at the top of the FTSE 100 insurer, which [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 1, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph INVESTORS DEMAND ETHICS AUDIT New rules should be introduced that would increase the cost of capital for companies with controversial environmental and human rights records, according to one of Britain’s largest investors. Steve Waygood, chief of sustainability research at Aviva Investors, said: “If companies were forced to publish long-term data [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 1, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph INVESTORS DEMAND ETHICS AUDIT New rules should be introduced that would increase the cost of capital for companies with controversial environmental and human rights records, according to one of Britain’s largest investors. Steve Waygood, chief of sustainability research at Aviva Investors, said: “If companies were forced to publish long-term data [...]
Battle of the banks July 8, 2010 SOME OF the City’s most powerful names are gearing up for an almighty bidding battle over state-controlled banking assets including Northern Rock and parts of Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Levene and City grandee Sir David Walker will take on Richard Branson’s Virgin money in a fight to create a new nationwide [...]
Ennis: I can wait for world records April 28, 2010 WORLD champion Jessica Ennis insists she is thinking about herself and herself alone as she prepares to make her long-awaited outdoor return next month. The 24-year-old has enjoyed a golden start to 2010, claiming the world indoor pentathlon title in March to add to the world heptathlon crown she won last summer. Ennis is now [...]
European insurers line up to buy half-stake in Barclays Vie June 1, 2010 A QUEUE of European insurers is waiting in the wings to snap up half of Barclays’ French life insurance business, Barclays Vie, after the bank last week entered talks to offload a 50 per cent stake in the venture for around €65m (£54.2m). French groups CNP Assurances, Axa and La Mondiale are all thought to [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE RISK OF DEBT CONTAGION IS A REALITY? May 13, 2010 SIAN THOMAS | AVIVA “The contagion is likely to spread because most of Europe is dominated by one currency. Naturally this can be offset by addressing the problem with the necessary measures, but you hope the situation isn’t severe enough that it will affect other countries.” BILL COX | CAPAX GLOBAL “The situation in Greece [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 29, 2010 Aviva The insurance giant has appointed Tim Harris as its new deputy chief financial officer and chief capital officer. Harris is currently chief financial officer of Aviva’s European business. He has also been the group’s chief accountant and, before that, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Aviva has also appointed Richard Dewar, the chief financial officer at [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 26, 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers Bridget Jackson has joined the accountancy firm as director of corporate sustainability, leading the firm’s internal environmental, community and corporate sustainability strategy. Jackson has over twenty years of experience in international business and strategy consulting. She joins from management consulting firm Accenture. She will report directly to managing partner Richard Collier-Keywood. Resolution The investment [...]
Investing with a conscience has the potential for long-term rewards August 10, 2010 THE need for responsible investment has never been more relevant in the wake of the BP Deepwater disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and multinational oil companies’ controversial activities in the Canadian tar sands. Responsible investment has traditionally been seen as a domain for militant activists and students whereby stocks that do not meet certain [...]