Colin Morton (born 1948) is a Canadian poet. (wikipedia)
They're good numbers, with both the UK and international figures a touch ahead of what people were expecting.
The emerging markets are where Europe was five to seven years ago.
These companies should, touch wood, have a guaranteed growth pool, because people will have to save more for their retirement.
Market confidence towards savings products seems to have returned. As a result, the life insurance sector is getting back on track after a couple of tough years.
I would be surprised if the stock does not react pretty strongly.
I would be surprised if someone was willing to pay at this price for the stock. I am pretty cynical, but I am loath to dismiss it completely.
As a shareholder you get nervous when companies say they are looking at the U.S., because historically, UK firms haven't made a good fist of it over there.
You can't argue with 29 percent growth in worldwide new business.
The life insurers are finding that some of the new products they sell are not making anywhere near the margins their older products used to make.
Overall it looks okay, with earnings in line with expectations. Barclaycard is as bad as people thought it would be and retail is better than thought.
