Warburg and Carlyle snap up rating agency December 22, 2014 ALTERNATIVE asset manager the Carlyle Group and US private equity firm Warburg Pincus yesterday agreed to acquire the world’s fourth largest credit rating agency, DBRS. The buyout pair completed a deal for the Toronto-based company in partnership with a consortium of Canadian-based individual investors, including DBRS founder, Walter Schroeder, and other members of the company’s [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Pretty Sagoo talks science, stress and Solvency II June 18, 2015 The whole pension thing was completely by accident,” says Pretty Sagoo, explaining how she ended up in banking, working with insurance and pension fund clients. In the language of the industry, her career has revolved around structuring and pricing deals, de-risking, swaps, hedges and the like. But Pretty doesn’t do jargon. “It just winds [...]
Quindell stock rocked as PwC probes figures December 8, 2014 TROUBLED insurance outsourcer Quindell witnessed its share price plummet 16 per cent yesterday morning after it announced it had hired PwC to carry out an independent review into its accounting practices. Quindell said in a statement it had appointed the Big Four accountant to review its “main accounting policies and expectations as to cash generation [...]
Quindell share price plummets as it hires PwC to carry out review into accounting December 8, 2014 Shares in embattled insurance outsourcer Quindell plunged as much as 16 per cent as the market opened this morning, after it announced it had hired accounting giant PwC to carry out an independent review into its accounting practices. The company, whose shares have lost more than 90 per cent in value since April, said the review [...]
Former Quindell chair slashes his share holdings December 10, 2014 SHARES of embattled insurance outsourcer Quindell lost over a quarter of their value yesterday after founder and former chairman Rob Terry sold off most of his remaining stock. Since April, when mysterious US short seller Gotham City Research published a note questioning its business and profits, shares in the company have lost more than 80 [...]
Black Friday UK 2014 vs 2013: Live graph reveals how insane this year’s frenzy is as more retailers get on board November 28, 2014 Is it us, or has Black Friday gone crazy this year? There have been reports of punch-ups at supermarkets and even someone breaking their wrist in the clamour to get hold of a cheap telly. And as if we didn't already need a reminder of the sheer American-ness of it all, Asda has laid on [...]
Black Friday 2014: These eight Vines will make you glad you stayed in the office November 28, 2014 Pandemonium has erupted as Black Friday reached fever pitch in a number of stores across the UK. This year the all-American import was bigger than ever with the likes of Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco getting involved. They slashed prices on everything from electricals like TVs, tablets and other gadgets to designer watches, clothing [...]
Sport Comment: Players turned pundits can earn a packet after football January 29, 2015 FOOTBALL pundits: don’t you just love them? Well, maybe you do, perhaps you don’t. They are there to curry debate, adding their professional perspective to TV and radio coverage of our great game. Only yesterday, we woke up to reports that former Spurs and England schemer Danny Murphy was facing a £2.5m tax bill. Now [...]
In charts: Spending on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Manic Monday to peak at £470k per minute November 26, 2014 Retailers including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Amazon and Currys PC World are gearing up for what are tipped to be some of the biggest shopping days of the year. The retailers have unveiled a whole range of deals on everything from electricals like TVs, tablets and other gadgets to designer watches, clothing and [...]
Quindell share price falls as chairman Rob Terry steps down November 18, 2014 Chairman Rob Terry and non-executive director Steve Scott are leaving Quindell with immediate effect, while Laurence Moorse will remain at the company for 12 months after the 2015 annual meeting, the company confirmed this morning. Quindell investors appeared flummoxed by the news, with shares rising as much as 15 per cent on opening, but [...]