The ultimate risk-taker eyes growth February 24, 2013 Zurich’s boss tells James Waterson how car insurance can pay if there are no crashes MARTIN Senn seems unusually enthusiastic about the impending destruction of a large part of his business. But the mild-mannered chief executive of Zurich is excited about what a world without car crashes would mean for his company’s motor insurance operations. [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 10, 2012 Legal & General Property Rob Codling has been appointed senior asset manager within the property investment firm’s managed fund. He joins from Jones Lang LaSalle, where he was most recently an asset manager and transactions surveyor. BNY Mellon Edith Rigler has been appointed business strategy and market solutions manager for treasury services in Europe, Middle East [...]
Rapid responses December 11, 2012 The payday debate [Re: The poorest will suffer if we ignore the real evidence on payday loans, yesterday] This is the first honest, data-driven response to the payday loan industry debate I’ve seen. Unfortunately, screaming headlines about sky-high interest rates and vulnerable borrowers have led some to ignore the sad truth that many are far [...]
Welcome to the Punch: interview with Mark Strong | City A.M. March 31, 2013 HE last time I saw Mark Strong he was beating up an 11-year-old. The time before that, he was pulling off George Clooney’s fingernails. He’s played an assassin in Revolver, a traitor in Tristan & Isolde, an alien super villain in Green Lantern and the chilling Lord Blackman in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. He is [...]
Morgan Stanley swings into red after downgrade costs it $2.3bn October 18, 2012 US INVESTMENT bank Morgan Stanley reported a loss in the third quarter due to a multi-billion dollar accounting charge. However underlying profits improved, with bond trading revenues particularly strong. The bank lost $1.03bn in the three-month period, largely because of the $2.3bn charge which hit the bank after a downgrade. That represents a swing into [...]
Winterflood’s mysterious bash April 29, 2012 IT’S the end of April, which can only mean one thing: it’s Christmas party season for City stalwart Winterflood Securities. The market maker’s festive parties are famed for two things: the vast quantity of alcohol up for grabs, and the yearly theme, with guests being treated to royal wedding, James Bond and school disco knees-ups [...]
What did you make of punch taverns’ performance? October 24, 2012 SIMON FRENCH | PANMURE GORDON With Ebitda below our expectations and debt higher than we forecast, our confidence in a positive outcome for shareholders continues to diminish. As such we reduce our target price to 7p, reflecting the group’s balance sheet value of its investment in Matthew Clark of £44.5m. Hold. JAMES MARTIN | BARCLAYS [...]
All aboard the magnificent Orient Express August 19, 2012 ITALY’S in debt, you say? Well, I’m on the Orient Express headed straight to Venice – fiddling while Rome burns, you might say – and there’s no sign of the Italian economy crashing here. As if to prove my point, the flamboyant Massimo shows me another popular purchase from the train’s on-board shop. “These diamond [...]
FTSE retreats from half-year highs reached after Federal Reserve fillip September 17, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 retreated from half-year highs yesterday, in what strategists said was likely to be a profit-taking pause in a threemonth- long rally stimulated by global central banks. The benchmark share index has risen some 12 per cent since the start of June, propelled by expectations of central bank action that took effect in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Ackman plans listing for $4bn fund Pershing Square Capital, the $11bn hedge fund run by high-profile US activist investor Bill Ackman, is planning a $4bn public flotation for a new fund in January 2013. Ackman intends to float the vehicle, which has already been set up in Guernsey and is known as Pershing [...]