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 [...]
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 [...]
‘Staycationers’, swine flu and recession dent Kuoni’s results August 20, 2009 LUXURY holiday and tour operator Kuoni yesterday provided fresh evidence on how economic turmoil and the swine flu pandemic have damaged the leisure sector. The Zurich-based firm said it swung to a first-half loss of SFr51m (£29m) compared with SFr26.5m profit in the same period a year ago due to adverse currency movements and rising [...]
Commerzbank to sell Swiss arm July 30, 2009 Germany’s Commerzbank has announced the sale of its Swiss private banking subsidiary to Vontobel for an undisclosed price. The sale of Zurich-based Commerzbank (Switzerland), which had assets under management of Sfr4.5bn (£2.53bn) as of the end of last year, follows its sale of the Swiss private banking arm of Dresdner Bank to Liechteinstein’s LGT. The [...]
Swiss Re falls into red as volatile markets damage bond portfolio August 5, 2009 ZURICH reinsurance giant Swiss Re posted a shock second-quarter net loss yesterday following heavy losses on its bond investments, and warned the difficult market conditions will continue to hurt. The firm said it made a net loss of Sfr381m (£212m), compared with a profit of Sfr564m for the same period a year earlier. The loss [...]
Old Mutual earnings dive as new business is hard to find August 5, 2009 OLD MUTUAL, the insurer listed jointly in the UK and South Africa, reported a bigger-than-expected drop in statutory profits yesterday, despite making improvements at its troubled US life business. South Africa’s largest insurer said its earnings were boosted by investment returns from its US bond portfolio, offsetting weakness in Europe and South African arm Nedbank. [...]
Old Mutual earnings dive as new business is hard to find August 5, 2009 OLD MUTUAL, the insurer listed jointly in the UK and South Africa, reported a bigger-than-expected drop in statutory profits yesterday, despite making improvements at its troubled US life business. South Africa’s largest insurer said its earnings were boosted by investment returns from its US bond portfolio, offsetting weakness in Europe and South African arm Nedbank. [...]
Pensioners face 10-week wait for savings June 29, 2009 SOME pension companies are forcing investors to wait as long as ten weeks before transfering their funds to an annuity provider, according to research from the Annuities Clearing House (ACH). The group has named and shamed “The Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly” groups over delays before releasing savings, showing Windsor Life, Winterthur Life [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 27, 2009 Henderson New StarAsset manager Henderson Global Investors has appointed Mark Carpenter, a director in its property division, as head of its Henderson New Star property funds, replacing Roger Dossett. Dossett, who was head of New Star’s property team before Henderson took over New Star in April, will leave Henderson later this year to pursue his [...]
Lufthansa wants quick deal July 2, 2009 LUFTHANSA could still win quick European Union regulatory approval for its planned takeover of Austrian Airlines if it makes concessions within days, the European Commission said yesterday. Speed is crucial for the deal because the German carrier can walk away if it does not get a green light by 31 July — much earlier than [...]