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Sector movers: Results from Aviva and Friends Life spark surge among life insurers

Thu, 05th Mar 2015 14:18

Insurers Aviva and Friends Life Group (FLG) each jumped over 7% on Thursday as investors celebrated the companies' 2014 results ahead of the proposed merger, giving the life insurance sector a big boost in London.The impressive figures also helped to allay fears across the wider sector, showing that companies have been able to withstand sharp falls in annuity sales following the reforms announced at the time of the Autumn Budget.Insurance peers including Standard Life, Legal & General, Partnership Assurance Group, Prudential, Old Mutual and Phoenix were all putting in decent gains in afternoon trade.In spite of negative currency headwinds, changes to regulation and lower interest rates, Aviva managed to deliver a 6% rise in operating profits last year to £2.17bn, ahead of the consensus forecast of £2.15bn."These results show tangible progress, with all key metrics moving in the right direction," said chief executive Mark Wilson.Aviva's stock was up 7.2% at 570.5p, helping shares in smaller peer FLG up 7.1% to 435p, given that the latter is intrinsically linked to the former as part of their proposed share-exchange deal - Aviva has offered 0.74 new Aviva shares for each FLG share.At the same time, FLG itself impressed analysts with a stronger cash position, higher value of new business and a 38% surge in annual operating profits to £556m, well ahead of the City's £352m estimate due to a number of one-off items.Chief executive Andy Briggs said: "I have the utmost confidence in our standalone position, but I'm excited by the opportunity the Aviva deal offers to accelerate our proven, successful strategy."The combination of the two outfits, expected to create the largest life and pensions group in the UK, is predicted to complete some time in the second quarter. Top performing sectors so far todayLife Insurance 8,553.87 +3.23%Industrial Engineering 9,379.07 +3.13%Automobiles & Parts 8,552.64 +2.93%Tobacco 45,705.87 +1.89%Forestry & Paper 14,498.25 +1.82%Bottom performing sectors so far todayBanks 4,366.85 -0.91%Mining 14,573.00 -0.08%Construction & Materials 4,774.97 -0.06%
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11 Jul 2014 06:43

Friends Life Pledges Shareholder Return After Selling Lombard To Blackstone

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11 Jun 2014 15:26

FTSE 100 movers: Randgold tracks gold higher

Mining group Randgold Resources was a top performer on Wednesday, carried on the back of a recovering gold price. J Sainsbury was also higher after coming in slightly ahead of expectations with a 1.1% first-quarter fall in like-for-like (LFL) retail sales, excluding fuel. Outgoing Chief Executive

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5 Jun 2014 11:25

London midday: Investors show caution ahead of ECB, ASOS leads retailers lower

- Markets await ECB decision, Draghi with caution - BoE keeps policy unchanged - ASOS shares plummet after profit warning, retailers fall - Smith & Nephew jumps on continued M&A speculation techMARK 2,820.75 -0.07% FTSE 100 6,796.31 -0.33% FTSE 250 15,939.53 -0.29% UK stocks were in the red on Thu

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2 Jun 2014 08:58

London open: Chinese data gives UK mining stocks a boost

- Miners lead gains early on - China manufacturing PMI rises, but house prices weaken - Busy week ahead with ECB and US jobs in focus techMARK 2,819.95 +0.27% FTSE 100 6,856.96 +0.18% FTSE 250 16,086.39 +0.48% Rising mining stocks helped UK equity markets to gain on Monday morning, as risk appeti

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27 May 2014 13:51

DIRECTOR DEALINGS: Friends Life Divisional Chief Sells Shares

LONDON (Alliance News) - Friends Life Group Limited Tuesday said John Van Der Wielen, a divisional chief executive sold 10,000 shares at a price of GBP3.0571 each and 9,725 shares at GBP3.0680 each Friday. Following this transaction, Van Der Wielen now holds 34,791 shares. Shares in t

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27 May 2014 07:36

UK MORNING BRIEFING: Shares Higher With AVEVA Leading FTSE 250

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened higher Tuesday, catching up with gains made during the bank holiday Monday in Asia and Europe.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 is outperforming once again, led by AVEVA Group, which raised its total dividend and expressed confiden

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27 May 2014 06:29

PRESS: Blackstone In Joint Bid For Friends Life's Tax Arm - Sky News

LONDON (Alliance News) - Private equity firm Blackstone and US-based specialist insurer Philadelphia Financial will make a joint offer for Friends Life Group Ltd's tax planning arm, Sky News reported Friday. Earlier in May, Friends Life, the FTSE 100 financial services group, said discussio

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9 May 2014 15:08

FTSE 100 movers: Petrofac dives on profit warning

Shares in oilfield services firm Petrofac have sunk more than 15 per cent today after the company warned on profits, saying its bottom line in 2014 is likely to weaken due to lower-than-expected earnings from its IES division. The company, which had previous guided to 'flat to modest growth' in net

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9 May 2014 11:50

UK MIDDAY BRIEFING: IAG On Steady Path, Petrofac Dives

LONDON (Alliance News) - Oil and gas services company Petrofac Friday issued a profit warning after it said the planned development of the Greater Stella Area oil field in the North Sea would be delayed until next spring, it was hit by low output at a Romanian oil field, and w

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9 May 2014 11:35

London midday: Stocks pull back on earnings, Petrofac plummets

- Petrofac delivers profit warning, IAG and Friends Life fall - Stocks pull back from recent highs - Chinese inflation slows to 18-month low techMARK 2,789.07 -0.65% FTSE 100 6,817.83 -0.31% FTSE 250 15,908.47 -0.38% UK stocks retreated from a near 11-week high on Friday with a raft of disappointi

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9 May 2014 10:27

TOP NEWS: IGas Acquisition To Make It Biggest Gas Fracker In UK

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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IGas Energy PLC said it had an agreed deal to buy Dart Energy Ltd for GBP117.1 million in shares, a deal that will create a comp

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9 May 2014 08:31

London open: Petrofac leads fallers as stocks pull back from 11-week high

- Petrofac drops after profit warning - FTSE 100 pulls back from highest since Feb 24th - IAG impresses with first quarter, Friends Life falls techMARK 2,792.72 -0.52% FTSE 100 6,823.10 -0.24% FTSE 250 15,899.90 -0.43% UK stocks pulled back from its highest level in nearly 11 weeks on Friday morni

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9 May 2014 08:08

Friends Life To Miss 2014 Value Of New Business Target

LONDON (Alliance News) - Friends Life Group Ltd, formerly known as Resolution Ltd, Friday said it won't be able to meet its value of new business growth target in 2014, as a result of changes made to the annuities market in the UK's 2014 government budget. In a statement, the life and pensi

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9 May 2014 07:44

Friends Life warns of 2014 hit from Budget pension changes

Insurer Friends Life warned that measures in the UK government's Budget will hit its ability to achieve new business targets this year. Friends Life, formerly known as Resolution, said Chancellor George Osborne's decision to relax rules forcing people to buy annuities to fund their retirement would

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9 May 2014 07:29

UK MORNING BRIEFING: Petrofac Drops 15% On Profit Warning

LONDON (Alliance News) - Two profit warnings and continued worries about Ukraine and Russia have depressed UK share prices at the open Friday.

Both Petrofac and Drax Group issued profit warnings prior to the open. Petrofac is down 15% at the open, w

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