22-year-old girl bought Estate of $88 million

Former Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill listed his 6,744-sq-ft apartment at 15 Central Park West for an astonishing $88 million in November, promising to donate the proceeds of the sale to charity.Now comes news that Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the 22-year-old daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitriy Rybolovlev, is buying the condominium. Rybolovleva is currently studying at an undisclosed U.S. university and plans to stay in the apartment when visiting New York. According to a source familiar with the sale, she paid the full asking price of $88 million, setting a record for highest individual transaction in New York City history.Here is the official statement from her representatives:A company associated with Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of a...

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Spain looks safer than Italy as borrowing costs fall

A fan waves a Spain flag Spain saw solid demand for its bonds on Thursday, paying more than 2 percentage points less to borrow over 5-years than Italy a day earlier as budget cuts helped ease concerns it could be among the next to fall in the euro zone's debt crisis.But while the Treasury also paid much less to sell two 10-year bonds than a similar issue just a month ago, yields were still near euro-era highs amid doubts over leaders' ability to find a lasting solution to the bloc's debt crisis."A good auction ... they managed to sell quite a chunk. It won't help to calm these fears everyone in the market is having about funding in 2012, but Spain is considered a far more attractive credit than Italy," strategist at West LB, Michael Leister...

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Wall Street edges up on economy

Signs of strength in the labor market and manufacturing sector, as well as higher quarterly profit from FedEx, pushed U.S. stocks slightly higher on Thursday, but the mood was fragile as investors kept their eyes on Europe's festering debt crisis.The data signaled a continuation of the now familiar tug of war between optimism about the U.S. economy and fears that Europe's debt crisis could spark a global recession.Reflecting that struggle, indexes were off their highs of the morning and the Nasdaq bobbed around the breakeven mark, suggesting investors were hesitating before buying into the better-than-expected U.S. data.The world economic outlook is "quite gloomy" and will require action by all countries to head off an escalating crisis...

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Industrial output sees first drop since April

Industrial output declined in November for the first time in seven months as manufacturing activity slumped, countering recent signs of improvement in the economy.Production in the industrial sector eased 0.2 percent last month, the first drop since April, following a 0.7 percent gain in October. Analysts in a Reuters poll had been looking for a 0.2 percent rise.A measure of how fully firms are using available resources, capacity utilization, eased to 77.8 from 78.0.The pullback in factory activity was led by a 3.4 percent decrease in motor vehicles and parts. But even excluding that drag, manufacturing output was still down 0.2 percent.Mining production rose 0.1 percent, and there was a 0.2 percent rise for utiliti...

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JPMorgan Chase cleans up checking account fee list

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the biggest U.S. bank, and two large credit unions have taken the lead in cleaning up the banking industry's fee-laden fine print for checking accounts, an advocacy group said on Thursday.JPMorgan Chase, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union and the North Carolina State Employees' Credit Union have started presenting account fee schedules in simple, boxed tables of three pages or less, according to the Pew Health Group, the health and consumer-product safety arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.Fee disclosure documents for large banks typically run 111 pages and hide important fees from customers in technical fine print, according to an April report by Pew's Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project. Bank fees...

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U.S. leaps ahead, Europe debt woes touch Asia

U.S. jobless claims on Thursday fell to a 3-1/2-year low and a survey showed New York factories picked up speed this month, bucking gloomy economic trends set by Europe and Asia.Stock index futures added to gains after the Labor Department revealed initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 19,000 to 366,000 last week, the lowest level since May 2008.And a business survey of New York factories provided more evidence that the U.S. economy is weathering the festering sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which is starting to crimp growth in emerging trade partners like China.While the pace of decline in the euro zone's business economy unexpectedly slowed in December, surveys earlier on Thursday confirmed the region is almost certainly...

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Olympus ex-CEO attacks Japan investors as comeback bid struggles

Japan's Olympus Corp ex-CEO Michael Woodford The whistleblower in Japan's Olympus Corp scandal, ex-CEO Michael Woodford, blasted Japanese shareholders on Thursday for failing to stand up for him, amid signs that domestic and foreign investors are split over his campaign to be reinstated.Woodford, an Englishman who was a rare foreign CEO in Japan, went public with his concerns over crooked accounting at Olympus after his dismissal in October, leading to the uncovering of a $1.7 billion fraud that has left the company badly weakened.He is now lobbying shareholders of the maker of cameras and medical equipment to support his reinstatement and replace the disgraced board with a new team that he is assembling."We saw a shameful state of the...

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Small businesses hiring more online workers

When Casey McConnell started text messaging marketing company Qittle he took the traditional route of hiring onsite employees. But he soon realized it was more advantageous to hire workers online. “We found it was easy to find these specialists or people that we could hire for a certain amount,” said McConnell, the CEO of Qittle. “We didn’t have the extra overhead and we just got the project done. It’s really easy for us to ramp up our needs or pull back using contractors. If we had an internal staff it’s pretty hard to fluctuate like that.” Qittle’s preference to hire workers in the cloud is reflected in Elance’s recent survey that shows 83 percent of small businesses plan to hire half their workers online within the next 12 months. Only...

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Sony eyes Vita push, feels Fitch heat

Sony Corp, set to report a $1 billion loss this year, is banking on a big slate of new software to drive sales of its new PlayStation Vita handheld games device, even as Fitch downgraded the Japanese electronics giant to a notch above junk.Welshman Andrew House, who took the top job at Sony Computer Entertainment in September, must plot a much-needed success story for the Vita, negotiating a minefield of consumer gloom and competition from smartphones and tablet PCs such as Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad.Sony, which has forecast a fourth straight annual loss this year, launches the Vita in Japan this weekend.It hopes a package of 24 software titles at launch will help the gadget avoid the fate of rival Nintendo's 3DS, which flopped shortly...

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Daewoo signs deal to develop Israel's Tamar gas field

Daewoo International  South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it has agreed to develop Israel's Tamar natural gas field with Noble Energy Inc, Delek Group Ltd and Isramco Inc, and was eyeing vessel orders for the project.Under the deal, Daewoo will soon conduct an LNG-FPSO feasibility study, aiming to sign a final agreement by the end of next year, a statement from the shipbuilder said, without specifying the size of its stake in the development deal or the value.The statement said it aimed to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the field, which has estimated reserves of 240 billion cubic meters of natural gas, from the end of 2016 if all the processes for the final deal remained...

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European shares gain strenght

European shares rose on Tuesday, bouncing from a steep sell-off in the previous session and after Wall Street finished off its lows, though gains were set to be capped by worries over high euro zone and U.S. debt levels.At 0936 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 923.33 points, after falling 3.3 percent in the previous session to its lowest close in nearly seven weeks, on worries about high debt levels on both sides of the Atlantic and with Moody's warning on France.Stocks rose almost across the board, with those that suffered most in the previous session bouncing more. The STOXX Europe 600 Banking Index rose 0.6 percent. France's BNP Paribas rose 1.2 percent.But the banking sector has lost more than...

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Obama college loan plan aims at an old voting bloc

Seeking to shore up support among cash-strapped college graduates and students struggling with rising tuition costs, President Barack Obama is outlining a plan to allow millions of student loan recipients to lower their payments and consolidate their loans.Outside of mortgages, student loans are the No. 1 source of household debt. Young voters were an important bloc in Obama's 2008 campaign, and student loan debt is a common concern among Occupy Wall Street protesters.Obama's announcement, to take place Wednesday in Denver, comes the same day a new report is being released by the College Board. It shows average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose $631 this fall, or 8.3 percent, compared with a year ago. Nationally,...

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Attain Quick Finance by Using Debit Card

Do you have debit card in your name? If yes then you can use it under emergency circumstances which usually comes in the mid or near end of the month in your life without giving any prior notification. These loans allow you to obtain quick financial relief at urgent times against your debit card. This may help you to look after many unwanted cash commitments within due time.A debit card showcases that you regularly do financial transactions. In this way you can conveniently get out of unexpected monetary tantrums in an efficient manner. For availing debit card cash loans you need to be at least 18 years of age or above and you need to hold an active valid bank account along with a debit card in your name. Moreover, you also need to have stable...

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Uk Loans - Ensure Instant Money For a Stress Less Life

Tenants or non home owners often find it difficult to obtain a loan. A valuable property to secure as collateral is demanded by every lender to offer hassle free financial deal. If you are having financial problems and looking for the finest loan approach that suit your terms, here are loans UK for you. These loans are unsecured form of loan that is pertinent and appropriate financial option for tenants. The assistance of these loans let you grab instant money with no collateral assessment procedure.For the better and affordable financial aid, check out loans UK right away. These loans can be availed with the ease of online application method. You do not have to leave the comfort of your home or office. Make a careful online research and...

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Are Settlement Loans And Lawsuit Loans Legal?

Since I’m in the industry, obviously I have a lot of interest in articles being published about theis particular facet of litigation funding. I find it particularly interesting to read the numerous articles that are misleading. One can only surmise that many of these articles are published by those who would want to preclude having individuals obtain adequate lawsuit loans and settlement loans to assist them with the litigation process. A common reason that this would occur would be because the individuals do want do not want the injured plaintiff to have his/her “day-in-court.”As we begin this article, let me say that some jurisdictions make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain lawsuit funding (e.g., North Carolina). However,...

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Many Britons Find Driving Abroad Trying

Many Britons find driving abroad difficult to master and find themselves travelling on the wrong side of the road or going the wrong way up a one-way street and through no fault of their own find they are victims of car theft and vandalism. Driving AbroadSainsbury’s car insurance has found that over 2 million Britons abroad admit to driving on the wrong side of the road, causing havoc for themselves and other drivers. Over 500,000 claim to have been stopped for speeding whilst driving abroad and over 400,000have been involved in a motoring accident while overseas. Ben Tyte, Head of Car Insurance at Sainsbury’s Finance said: “Drivers taking their cars abroad need to prepare, not just because they’ll be driving on the other side of the road, but because laws differ from country to country. It...

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Significant scale change pleases Ageas chief

Barry Smith, chief executive of Ageas UK, has claimed the insurer is on track to break the 100% combined operating ratio (COR) barrier but warned again that he saw no real signs of commercial market hardening. Speaking after the company delivered £882m in income for the first half of 2011 and profit before tax of £35.4m, he told Insurance Age: "I'm really pleased. What is encouraging is we see a significant change both in terms of the scale of the business and the profitability. That is probably a comment on all aspects of what we do." Ageas Insurance reported a COR of 100.5% (H1 2010: 106.5%) but Mr Smith indicated he was confident of achieving a double digit figure soon. "If you take the quarter two combined ratio it was 97.2%," he said....

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Willis Europe Acquires Polish Insurance Broker BCU AMA

Willis Sets Sights on Growing Polish Employee Benefits and Construction Sectors with Acquisition of BCU AMA London, UK August 25, 2011 - Willis Europe B.V., a division of Willis Group Holdings plc (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, has acquired 100 percent of the shares of Polish insurance broker, Brokerskie Centrum Ubezpieczeniowe (AMA) Sp. Zoo. The deal, effective immediately, will further strengthen Willis' presence in the country, in particular in the burgeoning Employee Benefits and Construction sectors. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Major civil engineering projects are set to increase the growth of the Polish construction market by around 11 percent this year, while the IMF says that a rebound in employment growth...

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Phoenix Says First-Half Cashflow Climbed After Fund Mergers

Phoenix Group Holdings (PGH), the U.K.’s biggest manager of closed life insurance funds, said first-half cashflow climbed after it merged groups of policies and reduced costs to squeeze more money from its funds. Phoenix generated 496 million pounds ($813 million) of cash from its funds in the six months to June 30, up from 335 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based firm said in a statement today. That beat the 487 million-pound average estimate of four analysts surveyed by the company. The increased cashflow was due to a “series of management actions such as fund mergers, tax hedging and tax shelters,” Chief Executive Officer Clive Bannister said in a telephone interview. “There are clearly relatively arcane and technical processes...

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Aviva has launched its new online car insurance brand

Announced as part of its H1 2011 results, the new distribution channel forms part of Aviva's strategy to continue to grow its UK general insurance business. The new service will be available shortly on Gocompare.com and is already online at www.quotemehappy.com - with further price comparison sites planned for later this year. The new service offers fully comprehensive insurance only and is aimed at lower risk motorists who are aged between 21 and 75; have had no more than one at-fault claim in the past four years and own a car that is no more than 13 years old and is worth less than £40,000. Happy to serve themselves Steve Treloar, Aviva's retail director, said: "Quote me happy is an online-only insurance brand, specifically designed for...

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Admiral's share price falls despite posting record profits

MOTOR insurance group Admiral has seen its share price tumble, despite posting record half year results which saw revenues coming in at more than £1bn. The Cardiff-headquartered FTSE 100 business, which employs 4,330 across South Wales and is actively recruiting, saw turnover rise 53% to £1.1bn on the first half of 2010. Its board also announced a record interim dividend payment of 39.1p per share. Boosted by a rise in premiums across the sector – although they are now flattening – it also posted record half year pre-tax profits of £160.6m, up 27% on the first six months of 2010 However, a worsening in its combined ratio – a key indicator in the car insurance sector of profitability – impacted on its share price, which closed down on...

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UK bank insurance mis-selling complaints jump in H1

LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Complaints against controversial loan insurance by customers at two of Britain's top banks rose by 25-30 percent in the first half of this year from the previous six months and may rise further in the current period. Barclays on Wednesday said there had been a 25 percent rise in complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) policies. Lloyds Banking Group, the biggest PPI provider, has said complaints rose 30 percent. Banks face a bill of over 6 billion pounds ($9.8 billion) to compensate customers who were wrongly sold the controversial loan insurance, after the industry lost a legal fight in April. Analysts are now watching the pace of complaints to assess the final scale of compensation. There are about...

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Prudential Financial approved for China Life Insurance

(Reuters) - U.S. financial group Prudential Financial (PRU.N) has received regulatory approval to set up a life insurance venture in China with a unit of Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group, accessing the country's 1 trillion yuan ($156 billion) life insurance market. Prudential Financial and Shanghai Fosun Industrial Technology Development Co would set up the venture within the next 12 months, with Prudential's stake capped at 50 percent, in line with regulations, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on its website. So far, 28 foreign companies, including HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L)(0005.HK), Axa SA (AXAF.PA) and Allianz (ALVG.DE) have entered China's fast-growing, but competitive life insurance market, which...

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HACKERS BREAK IN CITIGROUP INC.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hackers stole account  details of much more than 360,000 of Citigroup Inc.’s U.S. credit card customers in a current data breach, the bank mentioned Wednesday, virtually double the number at first believed. …..item 1)…..Yahoo! News beta….Citigroup says 360,000 affected by hackers By KELVIN CHAN – AP Organization Writer | AP – 1 hr 45 mins ago……Thursday June 16, 2011 beta.news.yahoo.com/citigroup-says-360-000-impacted-hacke… HONG KONG (AP) — Hackers stole account info of more than 360,000 of Citigroup Inc.’s U.S. credit card buyers in a current data breach, the bank mentioned Wednesday, virtually double the range at first believed. Citi stated final week that about 1 % of its credit card buyers had account data hacked...

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No guesswork, get the facts on retirement planning

IF YOU are over 30, you may recall a time when a regular loaf of bread cost less than $3; when thousands of dollars could buy property; and 'billion' was an abstract monetary concept for most people. To say then that money in 2011 isn't what it used to be, is to state the obvious. The economists among us will quickly point to the factors at play, beginning with inflation and its degenerative effect on the cash you have in hand, or in the bank. Simply defined, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time. Housewives understand its power to increase the food bill and, by extension, shrink their purchasing power. Nowadays, financial planners develop formulae to estimate the impact inflation will...

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Spain Approves Pension Bill in Bid to Woo Investors

The Spanish government agreed to raise the retirement age in a renewed bid to restore investor confidence after a 20 billion-euro ($27 billion) plan to shore up savings banks failed to tame the nation’s borrowing costs. Four months after Spanish workers disrupted transport and broadcasts in a general strike aimed partly at the pension plan, the Cabinet approved a bill to increase the retirement age to 67 from 65, Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told reporters in Madrid today. The government, unions and employers reached an agreement earlier today after late-night talks on the bill and changes to wage-bargaining. Spain’s worst economic crisis in six decades and a jobless rate of 20 percent have quickened the pace at which the...

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