Zurich hit by Japan and NZ quake claims May 5, 2011 INSURER Zurich Financial Services has posted a 32 per cent drop in first-quarter profit from a year earlier, a bigger fall than analysts had expected, on big payouts from catastrophes in New Zealand and Japan. The disaster in Japan is one of the costliest natural catastrophes in the history of global insurers, having caused insured [...]
MAKING UP FOR NEGLECT NEEDS POLITICAL WILL May 2, 2011 FORECASTING the future behaviour of an economy is fraught with difficulties. There are many bodies making economic forecasts and sometimes those forecasts differ markedly. We use the monthly HM Treasury publication Forecasts for the UK Economy: a comparison of independent forecasts, as it compares 38 different forecasting bodies. The average GDP growth figure for 2010 [...]
Major Actelion investor backs board over activist April 18, 2011 ACTIVIST hedge fund Elliott Advisors suffered a setback in its battle with Swiss biotech company Actelion yesterday after a major shareholder backed the firm’s board. BB Biotech, which holds almost five per cent of Actelion’s shares, said it would back all the board’s proposals in the annual meeting on 5 May. It means about 15 [...]
The Swiss town that’s emerging from the shadows April 14, 2011 ANDERMATT – a sleeping beauty of a village, nestled in the Urseren valley in central Switzerland – is set to be awoken from its slumber and transformed into one of the Alps’ major year-round holiday destinations. The prince in question here is the self-described “town-developer” Samir Sawiris. He plans to revolutionise the town’s tourism industry [...]
A unique blend of Swiss refinement April 3, 2011 The well-heeled traveller automatically thinks of the imposing Dolder Grand when staying in Switzerland’s financial centre. He is wrong to do so. Filling nine lovingly restored, historic townhouses in the very heart of Zurich, the Widder Hotel is a deluxe little hotel in a quiet street just off Bahnhoffstrasse, the top class shopping street. The [...]
Zurich expects $500m in 2011 disaster claims March 31, 2011 Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services has said the five natural catastrophes to hit the Asia-Pacific region so far this year could cause claims of $500m (£310m). The losses are net of its reinsurance cover, where other companies insure the cover it provides to companies, and before tax. It follows three months of heavy claims losses [...]
Refresh, revive and get fit at a Swiss mountain retreat March 27, 2011 WHETHER it’s the ski season or the summer holidays, the Swiss Alps are crawling with tourists. If people aren’t whizzing down a snow-covered hillside in the winter, come summer they’re resolutely trudging up a well-marked, well-trodden path. But head to these same Alpine villages only a week or two out of season and you’ll have [...]
A truly relaaxing way to ski in snowy Switzerland March 6, 2011 WHEN you work in the City, free time is as rare as a penniless hedge fund manager, so you want to ensure that you choose the skiing trip that maximises your slope time and minimises your tedious travel time. Switzerland’s Laax resort, located 150km south of Zurich airport, promises to do exactly that – whisking [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 3, 2011 BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH Matthew Koder will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch as head of global corporate and investment banking for Asia Pacific in the summer. Koder will report to Brian Brille, president of Asia Pacific, and will be a member of the Global Corporate and Investment Banking Operating Committee. Koder has 20 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 3, 2011 BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH Matthew Koder will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch as head of global corporate and investment banking for Asia Pacific in the summer. Koder will report to Brian Brille, president of Asia Pacific, and will be a member of the Global Corporate and Investment Banking Operating Committee. Koder has 20 [...]