A report by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has waned that the pension age may have to rise to 70 by 2046 in order to deal with Britain’s debts. Current plans introduced by the coalition Government will see the state pension age lifted to 66 for both men and women by 2020. The pension age will then [...]
Capital One, renowned for its credit cards, is to purchase the US internet banking division of ING – the Dutch banking and insurance company. The deal will see Capital One pay $9 billion (£5.5 billion) in cash and shares – $6.2 billion in cash and the remainder in stock, in a move which will see [...]
Shares in troubled music, books and games retailer HMV have risen today after it emerged that it has secured a new refinancing deal with its lenders. The deal, worth £220 million, will see the taxpayer taking a stake in the company. The group’s main lenders are taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. [...]
Oil giant BP announced it has disposed of its 60% stake in Pan American Energy to Bridas Corporation in a deal worth $7 billion (£4.5 billion). The latest deal is part of the company’s asset selling plan, designed to fund the clean-up operation relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster – estimated to be [...]
Banking giant HSBC is in talks with South African insurer Old Mutual about acquiring a majority stake in Nedbank Group – South Africa’s fourth biggest bank. The media has speculated that the price could be around £4.5 billion for a 52% stake, in the latest in a series of assets Old Mutual has been forced [...]
Telecoms giant BT has avoided strike action after reaching an agreement on pay with the Communication Workers Union (CWU). Workers were threatening strike action after senior executives were awarded huge bonuses which angered staff. However, a new deal, which the union has described as “fantastic” for its members resulted in a 2.3% rise in BT’s [...]
Nationwide Building Society is to terminate its £20 million sponsorship deal of the England football team after 11 seasons. The announcement is a further blow to the England team and follows its early exit from the World Cup tournament. The Nationwide, which is Britain’s largest building society, said it submitted an offer to extend the [...]
Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins is to buy BSS Group in a deal worth £557.6 million. According to Travis Perkins, which also runs the Wickes home improvements chain, the deal will create the UK’s leading plumbing and heating distribution business. The deal, which should be finalised in the fourth quarter, is made up of cash and [...]
British insurance giant Prudential has abandoned its $35.5 billion (£24.6 billion) takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). Several Prudential shareholders said they would not approve the takeover unless the Pru trimmed between $3 billion and $5 billion from the original price. Pru attempted to renegotiate the deal and [...]
The world’s largest technology company by sales, Hewlett-Packard (HP), has today announced it is to reduce headcount by 9,000. The Palo Alto, California-based company said the job losses will be the result of productivity gains and automation, in order to provide “next-generation services” which will benefit clients. It said: “As a result of productivity gains [...]
British insurance giant Prudential has failed to renegotiate the price of its takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). The deal now looks set to collapse after AIA snubbed the lower price tag of $30.375 billion. It emerged last week that the Pru, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, [...]
It has been reported over the weekend that insurance giant Prudential may call off the deal with AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG), if the price is not right. It emerged last week that Prudential, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, was renegotiating with AIA after investors were said to [...]
Prudential, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, is in fresh talks with AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). Earlier this week, it was reported that as many as 20% of Pru’s UK investors will vote against the proposed takeover and, as a result, the insurance giant said it is in [...]
Prudential has today announced it has appointed Rob Devey to head up its integration of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG), which it acquired in a deal worth $35.5 billion (£23.3 billion) last month. Pru, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, said the deal provided it with the opportunity to [...]
The euro has started to recover after details of a loan package emerged over the weekend for debt-ridden Greece. The currency rose by more than 2 cents (1.5%) against the dollar, to $1.3672, while it also gained on the pound to 88.408p. Yesterday, finance ministers of the euro zone nations agreed to provide emergency loans [...]
Prudential, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, has today confirmed it is to buy AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG), in a deal worth $35.5 billion (£23.3 billion). In a stock market statement today, Pru said the deal provided it with the opportunity to create South East Asia’s leading insurer. [...]
Prudential, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, is understood to be in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). AIA is a key part of AIG with around 20 million customers and reports say the deal could cost about $30 billion (£19.6 billion). In order to finance [...]
The 10-year search and advertising deal between Microsoft and Yahoo has been approved today by both the US Department of Justice and the European Commission. Both companies said they plan to begin the tie-up in the next few days and the deal will be finalised by early 2012. The deal, which was agreed in July [...]
Swiss food giant Nestlé has declared itself out of the running for British confectioner Cadbury. Late last year, Nestlé was reported to be the latest company to make an offer for Cadbury after US food giant, Kraft, which is renowned for brands such as Kenco coffee and Oreo biscuits, approached Cadbury in September with an [...]
Swiss pharmaceuticals group, Novartis International, has started the New Year on a high with one of Europe’s largest ever takeovers. Novartis has agreed to take full control of Alcon, a leading maker of eye care products, in a deal worth $40 billion (£24.8 billion). Novartis bought 25% of eye care specialist Alcon, which is also [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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