Europe Intelligence Wire articles from August 2006

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from August 2006

Editorial - Next time you're paying your ratings agency, add a large tip!
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: Mark Geoghegan, editor, mark.geoghegan@incisivemedia.com. Dear Friend, It is foolish to try to achieve greatness, so it usually takes a special kind of fool to succeed at achieving something great....

News - Best affirms Axis, waits for Charman successor plan.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "A" of Bermudian (re)insurer Axis Specialty (Axis) and its operating affiliates. Concurrently, the agency...

News - AWAC grosses $344m from IPO.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Allied World Assurance Company Holdings (AWAC) has announced that Goldman Sachs, the book-running manager and representative of the underwriters of the company's 11 July 2006 initial public offering (IPO) of common...

News - Aon extends Mahoney contract.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Aon has extended the personal employment contract of Dennis Mahoney, the chairman and chief executive of its UK arm, to 2015. Greg Case, Aon's chief executive, commented: "I am very pleased that Dennis will be part...

News - Lloyd's may cut Central Fund contributions early.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) In a letter to market chief executives, Lloyd's director of finance and risk management Luke Savage has predicted that it may be able to cut the contribution to the Central Fund rate in 2008 from its current level of 1%...

News - Security Capital sets $500m IPO share terms.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Security Capital Assurance, the credit (re)insurer being spun off from Bermudian (re)insurer XL Insurance, has announced the terms of its impending New York Stock Exchange initial public offering (IPO) shares. The...

News - Guy Carp praises Lloyd's resilience.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Guy Carpenter has praised the strength, stability, resilience and adaptability of Lloyd's in its fourth annual report on the (re)insurance market. The report found that as a result of enhanced risk management and...

News - Cashman leaves Cooper Gay.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Michael Cashman, the chief executive of Cooper Gay & Cashman, is leaving the company. Cooper Gay & Cashman writes the US domestic treaty operation of Cooper Gay (Holdings). It was only created in July 2005. ...

News - Heritage reports float details.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The board of Heritage Underwriting Agency has officially announced its intention to float on AIM. As regards fundraising, the group will take the opportunity of the initial public offering (IPO) to raise new capital...

News - Heath pulls plug on JLT talks.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Heath Lambert Group has ended talks with Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT). Discussions had been taking place for a number of weeks with the view to JLT buying Heath Lambert. Group chief executive, Adrian Colosso,...

News - Asia hit by multiple catastrophes.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) At least 150 people are now known to have died in southern China from tropical storm Bilis. Torrential rain hit the area in the wake of the storm, bringing floods and landslides and forcing millions to flee their...

News - ABI to debunk compensation myth.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Independent research published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) claims to show that legal representation does not usually lead to higher or faster compensation. Its analysis of over 90 000 personal...

News - Insurers converting well to IFRS, claims survey.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Major global insurers have responded well to the enormous challenge in moving to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and many companies have gone beyond the minimum of disclosure required to comply, as...

News - Xchanging launches model wordings library.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Xchanging has announced the launch of Model Wordings Library (MWL), anticipated to be the London Market's first comprehensive, web-enabled wordings repository. MWL has been created for insurers and insurance...

News Focus - South Korea hit by Typhoon Ewiniar.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Typhoon Ewiniar has struck western South Korea, with heavy rains and strong winds bringing substantial damage across the country. The typhoon passed over to the East Sea on the early morning of 11 July but, contrary...

News Focus - Lloyd's climate-change debate falls short, says Ascot.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) A leading Lloyd's underwriter has criticised the market's opening debate on climate change for providing "little true weight" and only "predictable rhetoric". Matthew Washington, aggregate manager at Ascot...

News Focus - Swiss Re to cut 2000 jobs.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Swiss Re has confirmed that it will reduce its global workforce by up to 2000 positions through lay-offs and natural attrition in the wake of its final takeover of GE Insurance Solutions (GEIS). The process of...

News Focus - Fitch downgrades Swiss Re's ratings.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Fitch Ratings has downgraded its issuer default rating (IDR) and insurer financial strength (IFS) rating on Swiss Re to 'AA-' (AA minus) from 'AA+', and has removed the ratings from rating watch negative. ...

News Focus - SCOR buys Revios.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) French reinsurer SCOR has bought up Revios for EUR605m ($771m). It plans to combine Revios with SCOR Vie, creating SCOR Global Life and in the process becoming the fourth-largest life reinsurer in the world. Based in...

News Focus - Tower Group ends PXRE contracts.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Tower Group has announced that it has concluded, through commutation agreements, PXRE's participation under various reinsurance agreements with Tower Insurance Company of New York covering the 2001, 2002 and a portion of...

News Analysis - Why aren't more tempted to follow Kiln's lead?
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) As observers and analysts of the (re)insurance market, we often complained in the past that we didn't usually get much insight into the strategic thinking of the market's main players. Nowhere was this more true than in...

Rethink - Electronic trading finally dawns in London.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) August has arrived, and before we all vanish off on holidays to far-flung destinations, here is our monthly report on what is weighing on your mind at this time of year. This month's Rethink poll was carried out in...

Inside View - If you want to get ahead, learn from your bank.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: David Spiller is president and chief executive of Guy Carpenter. In October 2005, Standard & Poor's (S&P) Rating Services included a formal evaluation of insurer enterprise risk management (ERM) in its...

Inside View - ERM matters to your business - it is NOT just another gimmick!
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: Nick Golden is a partner at Donald Macdonald Partnership. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is not a new concept, but with all the attention it's receiving across reinsurance industry channels, many companies...

Interview - A bad wind rising?
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The opportunities created in the reinsurance industry will be 'extraordinary' if there is another bad wind season, according to Ed Noonan, chief executive of Validus Reinsurance. But the head of the 'class of 2005'...

Top 50 Reinsurers - Financial year 2005: a sudden, sharp pain out of a clear blue sky.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Welcome to our ranking of the top 50 reinsurers for the 2005 financial year. Many thanks to you if you sent in your company data to help complete this enormous annual undertaking. Every year, after Easter has come...

Top Five Reinsurers - The top five bananas.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Swiss Re It's been a busy year for Swiss Re, which has leapfrogged over Munich Re to become the frontrunner for 2006's Top 50 following its acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions (GEIS) in October 2005. The $6.8bn...

Top 50 Roundtable - Three wise executives.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) MG: Which classes of business are you building up the most, and which are you reducing? WZ: We consider our life and health reinsurance segment to be the rising star of the portfolio, generating profitable and...

Country Profile: Italy - Leaning toward growth.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Italy's property/casualty (P&C) insurance market is the fourth largest in Europe in terms of premium volume. In 2005, the industry wrote EUR36.3bn ($45.8bn), around 10% of the overall EU non-life insurance market. ...

Technical report: ART - How much art is in ART?
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The first major hurricane of the year in the Atlantic has yet to groan its way over the horizon, but reinsurers are already wondering how to pay for it. New options are available, but many of these remain to be tested....

Offsetting - Don't let offsetting drive you to ruin.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Although reinsurance by its very nature has a significant propensity for offsetting, the practice is by no means a stranger within insurance either. So it seems that in considering the practice of cash settlements within...

Legal - Good news for London Market brokers: You CAN offset claims for unpaid premiums.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) In recent years, the role of brokers has been closely scrutinised. Both the courts and regulators have commented - sometimes critically - on how brokers conduct their business. It is less common for brokers to be the...

Re-sume - The Underwriter's Tale.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Name: Peter Grove Nickname: Far too many and embarrassing to mention! Career background: A varied Lloyd's and London market career starting as a claims broker with Willis Faber, then an underwriter with Willis...

Re-sume - Diary.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) September 2006 9-12 NAIC 2006 Fall Meeting - Renaissance Grand, St Louis, Missouri, US; +1 (816) 783 8100; meetingsmail@naic.org; www.naic.org 9-14 Monte Carlo Rendezvous; Monte Carlo, Monaco; +377 (92) 16 60...

Re-sume - Recruitment moves.
August 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Colemont Insurance Brokers has appointed David Tyler as managing director of Colemont's aviation division. Mr Tyler comes to Colemont after numerous years of aviation insurance experience, having begun his career in...

Angry lines condemn GE's container security initiative.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Move is 'counterproductive' to standardisation, writes Justin Stares in Brussels THE US-based World Shipping Council has hit out at what it says is an attempt by IT giant General Electric to promote its own...

Woman missing from Royal Caribbean cruise.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the disappearance of a passenger from Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas last week. The incident comes only weeks after the cruise line settled its case with the wife of another...

Lebanon storage tank oil spill heads for Syria.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) TAR from a major oil spill fouling the coast of Lebanon has reached Syria, underlining fears that the pollution could spread to a wider area as continuing hostilities frustrate clean-up operations, writes Nigel Lowry in...

K Line cuts profit forecast on cost fears.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) JAPAN'S K Line has cut its net profit forecast by 12.5% to YEN21bn ($181.7m) for the six months to September, writes Keith Wallis in Hong Kong. Announcing the firm's revised earnings estimates last Friday, K Line...

Torm offloads bulk carriers for $63m.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Jerry Frank COPENHAGEN shipowner Torm has sold an older panamax bulk carrier trio for $63m as it considers purchase options on its modern chartered tonnage. The product tanker and dry bulk group...

Suezmax sisters join the Nordic American fleet.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Latest acquisitions to be plied on spot market, writes Tony Gray Suezmax specialist Nordic American Tanker Shipping has raised its spending in the past two weeks to almost $250m with a deal to buy another...

High prices help Eni raise profit to $6.7m.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: John McLaughlin ITALY'S Eni rode the wave of oil and gas prices, as well as rising production and greater European gas demand, to post €5.275m ($6.735m) first-half profits, 21.5% up on the first six...

South Korean ship exports rise.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) THE value of ship exports from South Korean shipyards has risen 15.4% in the first half of 2006, compared with the same period a year ago. This is largely due to a continuing shift to high value vessels, the Korea...

Business Briefing.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) TNT feeling healthy DUTCH express, mail and logistics operator TNT put in a healthy performance with operating income (ebit) up 10.7% to €342m ($436m) in the second quarter, writes Helen Hill in Amsterdam. ...

Green light for Med pollution alliance.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Autumn launch date for Osram after months of in-fighting and departure of some founding members, writes John McLaughlin MORE than a year after the announcement of an ambitious new pollution-fighting taskforce...

Heavy hurricane loss for Alabama-bound ISG.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Rajesh Joshi in New York AN EFFECTIVE write-off of $8.9m recorded during the second quarter sent International Shipholding Group tumbling to a heavy loss on the period, underscoring the enduring nature of the...

Cosco Corp shiprepair bet pays off with profit jump.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Marcus Hand in Singapore Cosco Corp's focus on shiprepair is paying dividends with a 36% jump in first half profits. Cosco Corp reported a first half net profit of S$88.6m (US$56.1), up 36% on the same...

Hellespont takes Pride in new panamax.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) HELLESPONT Hammonia has completed the naming of the 73,400 dwt Hellespont Pride, one of six tankers under construction for the company at New Century Shipbuilding in Jingjiang, China. The panamax product carrier, the...

Hong Kong tackles its dockyard skills crisis with shiprepair training incentive.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Candidates will be able to join scheme as students or skilled workers from other industries, writes Keith Wallis A SHIPREPAIR training incentive scheme will be launched today to encourage more people to join...

US to Asia waste paper freight rates face hike.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Janet Porter ELEVEN major container lines that operate services across the Pacific are seeking higher freight rates for waste paper exported from the US to Asia. Members of the the Westbound Transpacific...

CESAM chair.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) The new chairman of French marine and transport insurance service provider CESAM is Mr Patrick Le Cerf, secretary general of Groupama Transport, and not Alain Delcroix of Axa Corporate Solutions Assurance, as was stated...

Hardy and Advent to buy out names.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Move will help the successful syndicates take full control of their destinies and cut the costs of reporting, writes James Brewer TWO of the most profitable ventures at Lloyd's over the past three decades are...

Ostend blames faulty port scanners and UK's unpaid bill for rise in illegals.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Justin Stares in Brussels A SHARP increase in illegal immigrants entering the UK via Ostend port in Belgium has been put down to a faulty 'heartbeat' detector. The GBP40,000 ($74,600) machine, which...

Tanker Fixtures.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) CLEAN Middle East Gulf to Japan Rainier Spirit, 75,000t, W190, Sep 1. (Charterer not reported) Middle East Gulf to Japan Dl Iris, 75,000t, W190, Aug 24. (MCC) Vitino to US Atlantic coast British Excellence,...

Pacific panamax surge starts to stutter.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) DryTrade THE recent surge in the Pacific panamax market did not hold up last week with generally weaker sentiment, however there is the possibility things could pick-up again this week, writes Marcus Hand in...

Dry Bulk Fixtures.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) COAL Xingang to Sparrows Point vessel to be nominated, 45000t, $34.00 per tonne, fio 8000sc'8500sc, Aug 1-10. (Mittal Shipping Lond) Anangel Sailor (172,000 dwt, 15.1L(A), 2007-built) delivery Rotterdam Aug...

A cluster of attacks clouds optimism in unpredictable waters of Malacca Strait.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Two UN-chartered cargo vessels carrying supplies for tsunami victims are hit in broad daylight, writes Ben Kates THE holiday from piracy in the Malacca Strait may be over. This month's MIG Marine Piracy...

Brokers divided over direction of VLCC rates.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Marcus Hand in Singapore Tankers LOWER activity for very large crude carriers last week translated into a drop in rates but things could start to move upwards again this week. Last week saw...

Latvian Shipping Co looks beyond Russia market.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) PRAGMATISM has tempered ambition at the Latvian Shipping Co with management holding back from pinning the company's destiny on Russian oil, writes Jerry Frank. The Latvians have shown reticence as others have piled...

News from the sea.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Summertime , and across the UK and much of Europe, from the happy isles of the Peleponnese to the Baltic, there will be a public focus upon the sea. True, almost all this will be devoted to leisure and pleasure, and as...

Thunder Horse and Atlantis hit by delays.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) BP's GULF of Mexico projects hold one of the keys to the company's growth in production but two important projects are facing delays and cost overruns. In the first quarter of next year, BP expects both Thunder Horse...

ConocoPhillips targets J Block after 'big' find on Shoei well.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) FURTHER development of ConocoPhillips' J Block resources in the UK central North Sea is on the cards after its latest well, Shoei, found more reserves than expected, writes Martyn Wingrove . According to partner BG...

Latco and 3.Maj share moment of optimism for Baltic future.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: But despite the jovial atmosphere both Latvian owner and Croatian shipbuilder face uncertainties over the horizon, writes Jerry Frank THERE was a palpable sense of a New Europe with all its opportunities and...

BP targets deeper waters to boost oil output by 4%.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: British major focuses on new projects in bid to add to its proven reserves, writes Martyn Wingrove BRITISH oil major BP plans to develop 15 projects over the next three years and has another 26 under...

Keppel's $630m first half orders pushes rig deliveries into 2010.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Marcus Hand in Singapore KEPPEL Offshore and Marine is taking orders for oil rigs to be delivered in 2010, having bagged S$4.7bn (US$630m) worth of new orders so far this year. Keppel has now racked up...

East Area promise sees ExxonMobil boost production.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: US oil company is optimistic over shallow water oil project, writes Martyn Wingrove EXXONMOBIL will be ramping up its Nigerian oil production and exports this year after starting the shallow water East Area...

Energy Briefing.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Seabird adds vessel SEABIRD Exploration has acquired platform supply vessel Highland Patriot and will upgrade it for 2D seismic surveys under a $26m programme. The vessel will work for Petroleum Geo- Services from...

Full steam ahead for new North Sea fields.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) OIL company investment in the North Sea will lead to almost 90 new oil and gas fields coming on line by 2010, writes Martyn Wingrove. Oil majors and independents are looking to increase their hydrocarbon production...

Repair Roundup.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Cyprus A 26,000 tonne bulk carrier involved in a serious grounding required temporary repairs to enable it to arrive safely in an Antwerp dry dock. The damage (pictured right) was extensive with large sections...

Rolls-Royce Marine is group's top revenue area.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) ROLLS-ROYCE's marine activities led the way in terms of the engineering giant's revenue growth in the first half of 2006, writes Hugh O'Mahony. The aerospace, marine and energy group posted half year revenues of...

Gas Market Report.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) NORTH WEST EUROPE: Confusion reigns in the NWE market. With several large imports scheduled to arrive the market was appearing long, but it is now obvious that there is an abundance of product leaving the area and with...

Wired World.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Strait forecasting Info@SEA has launched a new internet-based service to deliver met-ocean data to the shipping industry, initially to improve shipping operations in the Malacca Strait. The product...

Multraship opts for combi-tugs.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Malaysian-built vessels will boast revolutionary Carousel towing system, writes Hugh O'Mahony DUTCH salvage and towage company Multraship has ordered two combi-tugs from Malaysian shipbuilder Nautica Nova...

DNVPS BUNKER QUALITY REPORT.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) BUNKER QUALITY REPORT U'F = unfilterable This Bunker Quality Report is based on samples analysed by DNV Petroleum Services and is an abstract from their more detailed fuel quality statistics publication which...

Ecdis standards finalised ahead of IMO deadline.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) REVISED performance standards for ship-borne electronic chart display and information systems (Ecdis) have been completed one year ahead of the deadline set by the International Maritime Organization, writes our Special...

Kelvin Hughes wins major SVDR contract.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) MARCAS, the Marine Contracting Association, has specified a single supplier to equip over 700 ships owned or operated by its members with simplified voyage data recorder equipment, writes Hugh O'Mahony. The...

World Briefing.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Israel prolongs war ISRAELI forces have destroyed an estimated two-thirds of Hizbollah's long-range missile capabilities, a senior government official said. Israel rejected mounting international pressure to end...

Last Word.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Crowd pleaser OVERCROWDING at Norsk Hydro's Ormen Lange gas project in mid-Norway has got so bad that the company has had to resort to hiring a tourist ship to house everyone. An unexpected rise in the number of...

P'I rules 'may bring trade to a halt'.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) THE Indian government's directive to the country's 12 major ports to ban from August 1 the entry of ships without proper protection and indemnity cover could result in a serious constriction of the country's ocean trade,...

Hansen Weekly Bunker Report.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Hansen Weekly Bunker Report July 25, 2005 Compiled for Lloyd's List by Egil Bjorn-Hansen, Oslo CONTINENT: Somewhat firmer. AFRICA'MIDDLE EAST: Firmer Prices FAR EAST : Market up on the back of...

Feeders rally to Bengal boom.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Operators rush to introduce extra vessels as seasonal demand stretches services beyond capacity, writes Shirish Nadkarni in Mumbai FEEDER operators running between Colombo and the eastern Indian ports of...

Krystallon tempts owners with high sulphur oil deal.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) SULPHUR scrubbing manufacturer Krystallon is trying to attract shipowners that want to reduce their sulphur emissions while still using high sulphur fuel oil by offering a finance deal combining installation with a...

Braemar appoints Malpas.
August 1, 2006... (From Lloyds List) SHIPBROKER Braemar Seascope has appointed Peter Malpas to the new position of Group Research Manager covering Asia and Australasia, writes Neville Smith. Mr Malpas will be based in Braemar's Perth office liaising...

ThinkEquity Partners LLC Announces 4th Annual Growth Conference.
August 1, 2006... (From Hugin) SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- July 31, 2006 -- ThinkEquity Partners LLC, a research-centric investment bank, announces its 4th Annual Growth Conference, a four-day event that will focus on a wide array of sectors and...