November 2007/3

UK corporate financier Sir Laurie Magnus said the British government needs to reduce Britain's corporation tax rate to around 20 percent to ensure the City retains its status as a world (re)insurance hub.

Investors approved of Kiln's decision last week to return £60mn of capital to shareholders - part financed by the sale of its 20 percent interest in US insurer WR Berkley's European operation.

London-based brokers Benfield Group and Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) saw their share prices drop at the back end of last week after being hit by weak equity markets.

American Financial Group, Inc (AFG) is to become a significant capital provider to the Lloyd's insurer Marketform Group Ltd, and its Syndicate 2468 in 2008, Insider Week can reveal.

In the first transaction of its kind following Germany's implementation of the EU Reinsurance Directive, Deutsche Rückversicherung AG (Deutsche Rück) transferred all of its run-off business to its UK-based subsidiary last week.

A messaging hub that claims it will make effective electronic trading a reality in the London market has been released by messaging specialists TriSystems.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has placed Bermudian life reinsurer Scottish Re on negative outlook after it revealed $102mn of realised capital losses in its third quarter results yesterday (11 November).

Bermudian Validus Holdings Ltd almost doubled third quarter profits from $69.7mn to $136.5mn year-on-year as it reported its first set of results reflecting the July acquisition of Talbot Underwriting.

European giant Swiss Re forced analysts to backtrack on their earnings forecasts after its net income came in well ahead of predictions.