Hedge fund managers will be cheering tomorrow as the short-selling ban is lifted. It will mean insurance stocks such as Aviva, Brit, Highway, Legal & General, Tawa, RSA Insurance, Novae and Prudential could be shorted from Friday.
There is some consolation, though – regulators will still be watching and managers will have to disclose any net short position of 0.25% or more.
Shares in Advent Capital plunged 20.59% after news broke that losses from hurricanes Ike and Gustav had almost wiped out its nine-month profit. The Lloyd’s insurer produced net income of £26,000 for the first nine months of 2008, down from £7.8m for the same period in 2007.
Other AIM-listed insurers did not experience such a severe drop, with shares in Omega falling 1.59%.
It was a mixed week for LSE-listed insurers. Shares rose 12.15% at Hardy and 8.67% at Admiral, but fell 5.88% at Pru and 5.96% at Beazley.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
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