Aviva

Industry commentators say Aviva could set its sights on arch-rival Prudential, which is still recovering from its failed $20bn takeover of AIG's Asian business.

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Aviva Investors has hired Justin Craib-Cox from M&G as a fund manager for its convertible bond team.

Prudential's largest shareholder, the Capital Group, is eying a potential break-up of the insurer as a radical alternative to its $35.5bn AIA acquisition.

Investors seeking growth opportunities in the UK equity market are becoming increasingly frustrated by talk of a double-dip recession, rising political uncertainty and bearish expectations.

The FTSE 100 opened higher Tuesday, tracking strength overnight on Wall Street, as Legal & General (L&G) beat profit forecasts and lifted its final dividend payout by a third.

After 12 turbulent months for equity markets, top industry managers believe the worse is now behind them regarding dividend cuts

Axa Ethical Distribution fund manager Richard Marwood has added to financial stocks this month and offloaded almost all traditional gilts on concerns of inflation.

At the start of 2009 markets were in freefall, there were concerns about financial and economic meltdown and the last place you wanted exposure to was smaller companies with their higher risk and greater exposure to the domestic economy.

Over the next few years we should see a sustained period of moderate global economic growth, albeit more subdued than previous economic recoveries.