Women’s role will be fund’s focus October 25, 2009 Cherie Blair, wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the ex-prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand will launch one of the first funds to focus its attentions on investing in firms with women executives. The Women’s Leadership Fund, which was initiated by Zurich-based group Naissance Capital, is seeking to invest up to $2bn [...]
Women’s role will be fund’s focus October 25, 2009 Cherie Blair, wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the ex-prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand will launch one of the first funds to focus its attentions on investing in firms with women executives. The Women’s Leadership Fund, which was initiated by Zurich-based group Naissance Capital, is seeking to invest up to $2bn [...]
Zurich loses 51,000 clients’ data October 22, 2009 Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services said it had called in auditors KPMG to investigate after details of 51,000 UK customers were lost at a data storage centre in South Africa. There is no sign so far the information has been misused by fraudsters, Zurich’s UK subsidiary said. KPMG will investigate the incident and will also [...]
AIG close to Nan Shan sale October 11, 2009 AIG is close to selling Nan Shan, its Taiwanese life assurance unit, for more than $2bn (£1.26bn). It is understood that the New York-based insurer could make an announcement regarding the sale as early as this week, with either financial conglomerate Chinatrust or Hong Kong-based investment fund Primus Financial the likely new owner. AIG is [...]
Dolder Grand Hotel &Spa October 11, 2009 PERCHED just outside Zurich, the Dolder was built in 1899 as an escape for the good citizens. In 2001, though, it was taken over and given a thoroughly modern makeover, opening in early 2008. The old, castle-style hotel still exists, but is now embraced by a slinky and utterly fabulous new building. The old part [...]
Switzerland ticks the boxes for bankers with a taste for nature October 1, 2009 EARLIER this year, the local governments of Geneva and Zug hosted an event called Make the Move at a Mayfair club, where they explained to hedge fund managers why they should move to Switzerland. The main reason they were willing to listen, of course, is the looming 50 per cent top rate of tax. Compare [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 30, 2009 ERNST & YOUNGThe accountancy firm has hired Luke Reeve as a director and Chris Lowe, pictured, as an associate director to beef up its capital markets advisory group in the face of the ongoing liquidity challenges faced by firms in the downturn. Reeve was previously head of private debt capital markets for the EMEA region [...]
CITY VIEWS: Is ba’s pledge to cut the aviation industry’s carbon emissions enough? or should we just fly less? September 22, 2009 IAN SEAKENS LLOYD’S OF LONDON“The aviation industry is doing the very least it can possibly get away with to combat carbon emissions. It’s a tough time for airlines, margins are squeezed, and this is the last thing companies want to be spending out on.” DON OKOLIE ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES“Willie Walsh’s pledge to cut emissions by [...]
Swiss Re says reinsurance prices rising September 7, 2009 SWISS Re, the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, yesterday said reinsurance prices were rising overall despite difficult times in the insurance market.The reinsurer also said it was well positioned for the January 2010 renewals season. “We are observing a broad upward trend in overall reinsurance pricing, although this varies significantly between different lines of business,” said Michel [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 7, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES ZURICH CHIEF BACKS EU SOLVENCY RULESThe head of Zurich Financial Services, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies, has broken ranks to criticise industry rivals for lobbying against European plans to increase insurers’ financial strength. James Schiro, Zurich chief executive, said the fierce industry “pushback” against proposed new solvency rules for insurers was [...]