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’Saudi fund eyes £700m UK real estate deal
An investment manager part-owned by the Saudi royal family is planning to invest a chunk of its assets in UK and US commercial property, according to Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, its chairman.For Jadwa Investment,
NAB buys Aviva’s Australia business
Aviva on Sunday night agreed to sell its Australian life and wealth management businesses to National Australia Bank for up to A$925m (£450m). The UK insurer, which put the business up for sale this year,
Bidders pitch for Australian Aviva arm
Bankers to Aviva have received first-round bids for the UK insurance group’s A$1bn ($778m) Australian life assurance business. The auction of Aviva’s Australian assets is now down to a handful of bidders,
Insurance reform hurts UK banks
A crackdown on a controversial form of insurance is costing some banks and insurers hundreds of millions of pounds this year, adding to the pressure on the financial services industry. Lloyds Banking Group,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Wolseley sells position in Stock Building Supply to Gores Group, via Chapter 11; £375m additional covenant headroom created – statement.
- Aviva announces restructured reattribution offer;
Aviva jumps 5% on capital strength
Aviva’s shares jumped almost 5% on Monday after an unexpected boost to the UK life and general insurer’s capital strength led investors to bet that any chance of a rights issue had been quashed. The company also reported better Q1 sales than expected.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Aviva worldwide sales up 5 per cent in quarter — statement.
- UBS names Alex Wilmot-Sitwell and Carsten Kengeter as co-CEOs for investment bank — statement.
CDS update: US banks worsen
The cost of protecting US banks against default rose sharply on Tuesday afternoon UK time as investors in both equity and credit markets showed renewed signs of skittishness over the durability of bank earnings and over the upcoming results of the US “stress tests”.
CDS update: Credit underperforms
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
Credit underperformed equity today in a mixed trading session. The Markit iTraxx Europe saw its rally curtailed as the index widened by 8bp to 189bp.
Aviva hates shorts
This is Philip Scott.
He’s the finance director of Aviva and does he not like short sellers.
From Tuesday’s Financial Times.
Mr Scott insisted the movements in Aviva’s share price were related to shorting.
Aviva(derci) rally
After a couple of sessions in the black, Aviva has resumed its downward slide.
In early morning trading, shares in the insurer are down 14 per cent, at 183p. Andrew Crean of Citigroup, seen by many as the best insurance analyst in the Square Mile,
Valuing insurers, part deux
JP Morgan is taking the contrarian stance to the new-fangled view that insurers should be valued on tangible net asset value (TNAV).
Here’s the bank’s explanation of the TNAV valuation phenomenon:
Valuation.
Valuing insurers
Few signs of a dead cat bounce in the insurance sector on Friday. Many of the big names remain in negative territory, including Aviva which plunged 33 per cent in the previous session.
Somewhat predictably,
UK’s Aviva sparks sector sell-off
Shares in UK life assurers plunged on Thursday amid fears that they will be the next casualties of the global financial crisis. The sell-off was sparked by a heavy loss last year for Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurer,
A rout at Aviva
Year-end numbers from Aviva were released on Thursday morning. They have gone down badly. Very very badly.
Shares in the insurance company fell 62p, or 22 per cent, to 222p mid-morning, with analysts and brokers muttering darkly about accounting smoke and balance sheet mirrors .
SELL: Insurers
This is a reader appeal.
FT Alphaville has been unable to locate the upside to investing in the insurance industry. Surely its somewhere… after all, the insurance sector has fared relatively well of late.
CDS report: Equities lead credit markets higher, Fitch downgrades Russia
European credit market indices tightened on Wednesday morning, taking their cue from firm performances in equity markets. The iTraxx Crossover index of junk rated companies was at 1050.4bp on Wednesday morning,
Aviva cuts £1bn pay-out
Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurer, is to cut a promised £1bn pay-out for more than 1m policyholders, blaming sharp falls in stock markets. The company said in July that policyholders would receive an average of £1,000 under a plan to free up surplus capital in its life fund,
Life assurers mull capital rule changes
A group of European insurance finance directors is poised to bow to pressure to rethink new financial reporting rules that could cut some life assurers’ profits and solvency capital. The CFO Forum is
Snap news
The latest on Thursday,
- Aviva says has strengthened protection against further falls in global equity markets with new hedges – statement
- Futures point to slight falls on Europe’s markets: DAX and CAC-40 seen down 0.3%-0.4%.
Aviva plans £1bn Norwich Union payout
Aviva, the world’s fifth largest insurance company, on Wednesday said it would make a £1bn cash payment from shareholder funds to 1m Norwich Union Life policyholders next year in a deal that will also generate a one-off embedded value profit of £225m for its shareholders.
Aviva to free up £5bn life funds surplus
Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurer, could announce as early as Wednesday a deal to free up about £5bn of surplus in its life funds, delivering windfalls to more than 1m policyholders. Aviva, which reports interim results Wednesday,
Aviva to exit ABN Amro venture
Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurer, is in talks to sell its 51% stake in a Dutch distribution joint venture with ABN Amro to Fortis, the Belgo-Dutch financial services group. The move was prompted by the €71bn acquisition of ABN by a consortium including Royal Bank of Scotland,
Snap news
The latest on Friday,
- Mitchells & Butlers said it is not in talks about an offer for the company, but is continuting discussion with private equity investors about a stake sale of up to 29.9 per cent – statement.
Snap news
The latest,
- Novartis has agreed to buy Nestle’s 25% stake in US eyecare company Alcon for $11bn, with a $28bn option to take a further 52 per cent after January 2010 – Reuters story, press release via Genen News.
If in doubt, blame CREDIT
Failed deal? Blame credit. Ailing high street sales? Blame credit. Lost your house? Blame credit.
Hellish traffic jams on your journey out of the capital for your Easter break? Blame credit.
Yes,
Aviva clears decks in global push
Aviva, the world’s fifth biggest insurer, is scrapping the brand names of its regional investment managers such as Morley Fund Management to create a new globally integrated asset management arm. Andrew Moss,