FTSE 100 movers: Banks and miners weigh footsie down
30th Jan 2012 13:18
The banks were in the red as the euro crisis drags on, with Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) among the worst performers. Lloyds is rumoured to be shaking up its management structure, according to the Financial Times. Sources quoted by Reuters indicate that an announcement
Read moreAviva reduces eastern European presence
30th Jan 2012 12:30
Norwich-based insurance giant Aviva is to reduce its presence in eastern Europe as it continues with its strategy of focusing on markets where it has strength and scale. The company is to sell Aviva Czech Life, Aviva Hungary Life and Aviva Romania Life & Pensions to US life assurance firm MetLife.
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Segro, Aviva, European Goldfields
20th Dec 2011 07:25
The Times's Tempus column takes a look at the property investment company Segro. Segro is actually a real estate investment trust or REIT, the kind of company which looks to return lots of money to shareholders in dividends instead of focusing on capital growth. Yesterday it announced a joint ventu
Read moreSunday share tip round-up: 3i Infrastructure, Eros, Aviva
18th Dec 2011 15:24
Trouble in the eurozone is far from over and interest rates in the UK are likely to stay low for some time. Funds such as 3i Infrastructure have provided a way to secure a decent yield. The funds - of which there are many - tend to invest in a variety of mature assets that have reliable cash flows a
Read moreSector movers: Old Mutual boosts life insurers after Nordic sale
15th Dec 2011 15:01
Life insurance stocks were on the rise on Thursday afternoon, helped by FTSE 100 savings, investment and insurance group Old Mutual. Shares in Old Mutual roared higher on Thursday after announcing that it is to sell its Nordic business Skandia AB for £2.1bn in an effort to "reduce complexity" and p
Read moreAviva director offloads yet more shares, Sky boss sells too
9th Dec 2011 15:58
Leslie Van de Walle, a non-executive director at Aviva, has sold another £29,199-worth of shares in the firm. The director, who yesterday sold £42,659-worth of shares in the insurance giant, sold 9,000 shares at 324.43p each. Van de Walle, 55, joined the board in 2009 and is also the director of
Read moreAviva boss sells shares
8th Dec 2011 16:08
Leslie Van de Walle, a non-executive director at Aviva, has sold £42,659-worth of shares in the insurance giant. Van de Walle, 55, who joined the board in 2009 and is also the director of SIG, sold 12,826 shares at 332.60p each. Last month Aviva announced that it is to raise $400m in capital sec
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: QE3, French outlook, Euro risks
4th Dec 2011 17:54
Business leaders have today called for a further £50bn to be pumped into the UK economy as fears grow of a new year recession. Bank of England policymakers are widely expected to this week hold their programme of quantitative easing at £275bn. Interest rates are likely to be frozen for the 33rd mont
Read moreAviva raises $400m
18th Nov 2011 08:15
Aviva, the FTSE 100 insurance giant, is to raise $400m in capital securities. The securities, which despite their name, will operate almost exactly like bonds, will pay 8.25% and are due for repayment in 2041. An Aviva spokesman told Sharecast that this is the first time Aviva has entered the US r
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Updates broadly impress, Tate & Lyle jumps
3rd Nov 2011 16:03
Tate & Lyle jumped over 5% higher after reporting stronger-than-expected first half results with adjusted pre-tax profits of £180m. The sweeteners group said the numbers, which were 10% ahead of what analysts expected, came as a result of strong demand across a number of markets. Panmure Gordon rais
Read moreLondon midday: Back in the blue, Tate & Lyle leads the rise
3rd Nov 2011 12:10
The Footsie was back in the blue by midday after an up-and-down morning, as investors keep a close eye on developments in the Eurozone. However, dampening sentiment closer to home has been a study by National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) which suggested that the UK economic fa
Read moreAviva sees sales decline
3rd Nov 2011 09:39
The insurance giant Aviva has seen a decline in world-wide sales in the nine months to the end of September. As of the end of the third quarter, total sales stood at £30,597m down 5% on the same period of 2010. Not all the figures were as gloomy, however. The key "operating ratio" figure, which com
Read moreLondon open: Footsie heads lower as G20 heats up
3rd Nov 2011 09:08
BThe Footsie fell lower on Thursday morning, with investors keeping a cautious eye on developments in the Eurozone, as the G20 Summit begins to heat up in Cannes. GREEK ROWS ONGOING It's now make-or-break time for Greek prime minister George Papandreou, after German chancellor Angela Merkel and Fr
Read moreThursday preview: Insurers, Unilever, ECB
2nd Nov 2011 15:42
There are three big players in the insurance sector set to update the market on Wednesday: Aviva, Old Mutual, RSA Insurance. Aviva's interim figures got the thumbs-up from the market back in August, when the company said it is on track to deliver £400m of cost and efficiency savings by fiscal 2012.
Read moreBroker tips: G4S, Aviva, Bovis Homes
17th Oct 2011 12:54
Investec has labelled G4S's blockbuster £5.2bn acquisition of ISS as a "bold, strategic move" that looks to transform the group from a single service provider (security) to a multi-service facilities management provider. "Strategically this makes good sense to us, as a multi-service offering maximi
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