Dynamic Wealth Management: Dynamic Wealth Management Headlines: Zurich Financ...

Dynamic Wealth Management: Dynamic Wealth Management Headlines: Zurich Financ...: ZURICH—Zurich Financial Services Ltd.’s profit climbed to $1.97 billion during the six months ended June 30, an increase of 20% compared wi...

Dynamic Wealth Management Headlines: Zurich Financial Services profits up 20% in first half

ZURICH—Zurich Financial Services Ltd.’s profit climbed to $1.97 billion during the six months ended June 30, an increase of 20% compared with the same period of 2010, the Swiss insurer reported Thursday.

Although Zurich suffered catastrophe-related losses during the first six months of this year, it benefited from a gain of $441 million before tax on the sale of shares in Beijing-based New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Zurich said it reduced its stake in the Beijing-based life insurer to 15% from 20% in February.

Zurich’s gross written general insurance premiums and policy fees rose 5% to $18.88 billion during the first six months of 2011, compared with the same period last year. In its global life unit, premiums and policy fees gained 1% year over year to $13.11 billion in the first half. Meanwhile Zurich’s Farmers Management Services unit saw revenues fall 2% year over year to $1.34 billion between January and June.

Dynamic Wealth Management: Dynamic Wealth Management News, Tips and Advice

Dynamic Wealth Management: Dynamic Wealth Management News, Tips and Advice: BHP Billiton will continue to source workers through external agencies despite a recent legal stoush over a rogue employment scam. The mini...

Dynamic Wealth Management News, Tips and Advice

BHP Billiton will continue to source workers through external agencies despite a recent legal stoush over a rogue employment scam.

The mining giant was forced to take legal action through an arm of the United Nations earlier this year to combat a scam that solicited workers for BHP Billiton without the company’s knowledge.

According to legal documents filed to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, European-based scammers approached potential employees of BHP Billiton and advised them that the company considered them suitable for employment.

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The approaches were made using the internet domain “bhp-plc.com” — an address strikingly similar to BHP Billiton’s trading name on the London Stock Exchange.

The culprits had no commercial relationship with BHP Billiton, and the company fears they may have issued “phoney employment contracts” that purport to be on behalf of BHP Billiton.

The scam sought to capitalise on an era of severe skills shortages in the resources sector, where most large mining companies — including BHP Billiton — rely on external agencies to help supply labour.

BHP Billiton believes the approaches were an attempt to scam unsuspecting victims of personal information, rather than an unauthorised attempt to supply labour in a freelance capacity.