timesofmalta.com

Middlesea launches insurance for pets

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:53:00 +0200

The basic coverage offers compensation for the value of the animal in the event of accidental death or theft, reimbursement of veterinary care costs caused by an accident, the costs of the pet’s stay in a kennel or cattery when the owner is hospitalised, the cost of advertising the pet’s loss in the media and reward in case the pet is recovered, legal expenses and third party liability cover. The policy also offers some optional coverage. The customer can opt for coverage of veterinary expenses due to illness. With this cover, Middlesea will reimburse the reasonable expenses incurred for veterinary fees such as tests, surgery, anesthesia and hospitalisation in a vet clinic up to a maximum of €1,000 per policy period. Customers can also opt for cover whilst travelling with their pet outside Malta. Pets that can be insured under this insurance policy include domestic cats and dogs aged between 3 months and 9 years, which are registered and microchipped. For Vet cover due to sickness the pet needs to comply with a timetable of vaccinations.

6pm jumps 5% on new contract

Edward Rizzo — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:04:00 +0200

The share price of 6pm Holdings plc climbed five per cent higher during this morning’s session to a fresh four-year high of 63p after the company issued a press release revealing a new contract with St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust. The contract (for an unspecified value) relates to the delivery of an integrated electronic document management and paper management solution supported by radio frequency identity (RFID) tags. The press release explained that the new system will result in immediate savings with respect to the entire file management process whilst also releasing clinic staff from these administrative duties allowing them to dedicate more time with patients. New bids also emerged for International Hotel Investments plc helping the equity rise by 3.5 per cent to regain the 90c level on volumes of almost 32,600 shares. Similarly, GO plc edged 1.3 per cent higher to regain the €1.53 level across three trades totalling 2,000 shares. On the other hand, the shares of Bank of Valletta plc eased 0.2 per cent lower to €2.27,5 across 12 trades totalling 20,179 shares. RS2 Software plc’s equity also dropped by 0.8 per cent to the €1.26 level across 15,500 shares. This morning, the...

UK spied on G20 officials

Reuters — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:03:00 +0200

Britain intercepted phone calls and monitored computers used by officials taking part in two high-level international finance meetings in London in 2009, a British newspaper said on Sunday. The Guardian said some delegates from countries in the Group of 20 – which comprises top economies around the world – used internet cafes that had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their e-mails. The report was published hours before leaders of the G8 countries – all of which are in the G20 - started a two-day summit in Northern Ireland. The Guardian said it had seen classified documents that detailed secret monitoring by British intelligence officials at a G20 leaders summit and a finance ministers’ meeting in 2009 and suggested it had been sanctioned at a senior level by the government of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The aim of the monitoring appeared to have been to get an edge in the meetings and targets including South Africa and Turkey, the report said. A spokesman for Britain’s foreign ministry declined to comment. The Labour party, which held power in 2009, was not immediately available for comment.

Money market report for the week ending June 14

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:03:00 +0200

On Monday, June 10, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The auction was conducted on the following day and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €108.33 billion, €5.31 billion higher than the bid amount in the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 0.5 per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy. On Tuesday, June 11, the ECB conducted a special-term refinancing operation with a maturity of 28 days. This attracted bids of €3.59 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 0.50 per cent, also in accordance with the current ECB policy. Also, on Tuesday, June 11, the ECB conducted an auction for a seven-day fixed-term deposit intended to absorb €195 billion. This operation was designed to sterilise the effect of purchases made under the Securities Markets Programme that were settled but had not yet matured by the previous Friday, June 7. The auction was carried out at a variable rate, with euro area eligible counterparties allowed to place up to four bids at a maximum rate of 0.5 per cent. It...

Europe shares seen overcoming stimulus concerns, hitting new highs

Reuters — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:02:00 +0200

European shares are expected to rise six to seven per cent from now until end-year, taking concerns about any scaling back in aggressive monetary stimulus around the globe, Reuters polls showed yesterday. The consensus view from around 80 strategists found the pan-European STOXX 600 index will rise around six per cent from now to 310 points by end-year – a level last seen in mid-2008 – and then go on to hit 326 points by mid-2014. The eurozone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index was forecast to rise seven per cent from current levels to 2,900 points by the end of 2013 – last seen in mid-2011 – and then up to 3,010 points by middle of 2014. The European equity rally, which started in mid-2012 after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to protect the euro currency from the region’s debt crisis, has faded over the last three weeks. That’s happened because policymakers at the US Federal Reserve said they had discussed when the central bank might start to wind down the scale of the asset purchases that helped spur a world stock market rally. Despite this, those polled felt equities would continue to benefit as those stimulus measures and interest...

Daily currency report

Western Union Business Solutions — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:01:00 +0200

There was a subdued atmosphere across the trading floors as the focus continues to fall on the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement, due for release. Caution is driving position-taking with the US dollar still falling under pressure against its major rivals due to concerns over Ben Bernanke’s willingness to tighten policy before the end of the year; a move that would be considered too soon for many economists’ liking. In the UK, inflation figures for May are expected to show a minor increase of 0.1 per cent which would be down on the previous month’s figure of 0.2 per cent. However, the annualised figure is expected to show an uptick to 2.6 per cent from 2.4 per cent and if proved correct, could be sterling supportive. This may provide the pound with one final boost before the Bank of England minutes are released; a publication which may show policymakers to be more supportive towards quantitative easing than before. Elsewhere, German ZEW economic sentiment data for June is due, a data release which has a history of causing plenty of movement if it fails to meet expectations. The index is expected to show Europe’s largest economy in a better...

MSE Share Index reaches another 2-year high

Edward Rizzo — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:43:00 +0200

The MSE Share Index maintained its positive stint with the eleventh increase in the past 12 trading sessions. The local equity benchmark rose by a further 0.3 per cent during this morning’s session to reach a new two-year high of 3,440.620 points. New bids helped the share price of Bank of Valletta plc gain 0.7 per cent to a new seven-week high of €2.29 on volumes of just over 8,000 shares. The bank’s insurance associate, Middlesea Insurance plc, gained 1.1 per cent today to regain the 82c level across 4,535 shares. Similarly, International Hotel Investments plc hit a new seven-month high of 93c on the back of a 3.3 per cent increase during today’s session across 11,551 shares. Also in the tourism sector, Island Hotels Group Holdings plc edged 3.8 per cent higher to close at the 54c5 level. A total of 55,600 shares changed hands today in anticipation of the publication of the group’s results scheduled to be published on June 25. The latest addition to the local equity market, Tigné Mall plc, jumped five per cent to reach the 53c level on a single deal of 1,000 shares. On the other hand, the share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc succumbed to fresh selling pressure as the equity...

Tycoon’s ex-wife wins landmark UK divorce settlement battle

Paul Casciato, Reuters — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:06:00 +0200

The ex-wife of a Nigerian oil tycoon won a landmark divorce settlement battle in the UK’s Supreme Court in a closely watched case. Family law practitioners and wealth managers were watching to see how the court could issue a fair judgment without piercing the legal “corporate veil” which treats companies and their shareholders as separate entities. In a decision that will affect anyone seeking to protect personal assets by putting them into a corporate structure, Britain’s most senior judges upheld a ruling which awards Yasmin Prest a share in seven properties controlled by her husband’s company Petrodel Resources Ltd. The court ruled the property, initially represented as assets of the offshore company, was actually held in trust for her oil trading ex-husband Michael Prest from whom she was seeking the balance of a £17.5 million (€20.6 million) divorce settlement. “I’m delighted and relieved that the Supreme Court has ruled as it did,” Britain’s Press Association reported Yasmin Prest as saying after the judgment in the case Petrodel Resources. “None of this would have been necessary if Michael had been sensible and played fair.” Sandra Davies, head of Family Law at top British...

EU tax chief urges Swiss to end bank secrecy

Reuters — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:05:00 +0200

The EU official in charge of tax policy yesterday tried to persuade Switzerland to agree to surrender more information about clients of its big banking industry as part of a drive to combat tax evasion. Commissioner Algirdas Semeta’s meeting with Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf in Bern came as British Prime Minister David Cameron was due to put his aim of fighting tax evasion on the agenda of a G8 summit he is hosting. “It is widely accepted worldwide today that the era of bank secrecy is over,” Semeta told a news conference after the talks. “Switzerland can gain from a stronger tax agreement with the EU with automatic exchange of information at its core. It would be a clear signal from Switzerland that it supports fair play.” Switzerland, the world’s biggest offshore financial centre, with $2 trillion in assets under management, is under pressure from both the EU and the US to end bank secrecy as cash-strapped states seek to stop tax evasion. The issue has become even more heated in recent months as US authorities threaten to indict Swiss banks, a French minister quit over his Swiss account and Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness admitted evading taxes through a...

Buzz on Telecoms merger boosts European shares

Reuters — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:04:00 +0200

European shares recovered yesterday as talk of takeover activity in the telecoms sector helped stock markets claw back losses suffered last week. However, some traders expected European equities to be stuck in a relatively tight range in the near term while uncertainty persists over the future monetary policy of major central banks including the US Federal Reserve. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 0.7 per cent at 1,184.36 points, while the eurozone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose 1.3 per cent to end at 2,702.69 points. The STOXX Europe 600 Telecoms Index was the best-performing sector, jumping 1.6 per cent after speculation that AT&T was interested in Spain’s Telefonica. Telefonica said AT&T had not shown any interest. Telefonica rose 2.4 per cent while UK peer Vodafone, whose Verizon Wireless venture has also been subject to bid speculation, rose 1.5 per cent, with Telefonica and Vodafone together adding the most points to the FTSEurofirst 300. Despite the market recovery, Logic Investments’ strategy head Peter Rice said the rebound did not look wholly convincing, with the FTSEurofirst 300 still down some six per cent from a five-and-a-half-year peak of...

Britain’s Co-op Bank agrees to £1.5 bn ‘bail-in’ rescue plan

Matt Scuffham, Reuters — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:02:00 +0200

Britain’s Co-operative Group will force bondholders to help plug a £1.5 billion capital hole, avoiding a repeat of unpopular taxpayer-funded bailouts made during the financial crisis. Using a “bail-in” rescue model, bondholders will have to swap their debt for new bonds and equity in the bank, which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Co-op Group, Britain’s biggest customer-owned business, will also provide financial support for its banking unit, the Co-op said yesterday. Europe is pushing ahead with plans to implement a “bail-in” regime that would force bondholders and depositors, rather than taxpayers, to bear the cost of failed banks and the Co-op’s approach could become a blueprint for future rescues. “We have put in place a detailed and comprehensive solution to meet the current and longer-term capital requirements of the bank. In doing so we have agreed a plan to ensure its future,” said Co-op Group chief executive Euan Sutherland. Co-op Group, which runs supermarkets, pharmacies and funeral services, will retain a majority stake in the Co-op Bank, which has 4.7 million customers. Sources said bondholders are likely to end up with at least a quarter of the...

Daily currency report

Western Union Business Solutions — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:01:00 +0200

The pound will be hoping to continue on the back of progress made when the Bank of England steps into the spotlight. Minutes from Mervyn King’s last MPC meeting will be published with many eager to discover if the MPC is any closer to committing to injecting further stimulus ahead of Mark Carney’s inauguration on July 1. Trade balance figures are due from Europe with key manufacturing and housing data due from the US. These figures are likely to be generally overlooked, however, with the primary focus on the FOMC meeting which concludes soon. Sterling Sterling remains in a good position against its major rivals after a week which favoured position-buying into the UK currency, following the release of some strong economic indicators. Unemployment figures and industrial output data reflected strong performance and an economy showing signs of recovery. The week ahead could throw a few surprises into the mix with the Bank of England set to publish the minutes from this month’s meeting and May’s retail sales figures due. The latter is expected to show a vast improvement to 0.6 per cent growth after the previous month showed a surprise fall of -1.3 per cent. Anything below the...