if you 'buy the rumor and sell the news, is all this rain a rumor?
these two shares are stuck between interims maybe worth a quick .10p short?

more rain forecast, or don't they pay out claims anymore?

A couple of weekend articles :-

What does Budget pensions revolution mean for insurance stocks in the long run?

Life insurers urge regulator to intervene in pensions shake-up

Hmmm :- LEGAL & GENERAL WINS LARGEST EVER UK BULK ANNUITY CONTRACT: £3BN TRANSACTION FOR ICI PENSION FUND

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - British life and pensions group Legal & General LGEN.L expects the size of the UK market for individual annuities to shrink by around three-quarters after 2015 when retirees will no longer be forced to buy them. The forecast, delivered in a speech to an investor conference in London on Wednesday by L&G Chief Executive Nigel Wilson follows a radical shakeup of the pensions system announced by finance minister George Osborne. L&G expects the market to shrink from 11.9 billion pounds ($19.64 billion) currently, to around 2.8 billion pounds. The reforms, due to be implemented in April next year, effectively scrap a system forcing most retirees to swap their pension savings for an annuity that pays out an income for life, giving them a choice in how they want to invest their savings. Wilson said L&G expects retirees to take more of their savings in cash and rely more on their property as a source of retirement income. "We certainly expect to see more cash being taken out, either singly for small pots or across several years, and we expect to see more use of the housing asset as pots get depleted more quickly," he said.

Tempting to short..... only reason why I'm not is it would overexpose my portfolio right now.

Wash your mouth out! :-)

Hey ironically I also hold these as equities for the yield, bought years ago just after the crash for well under £1, my son also has some in his trust fund. That's a separate issue though to a potential short play, you must have considered it yourself as a hedge....

Yes I did last week - not so sure now though.

2hr chart above indicates there going down, we already know we're looking at a potential fall in earnings moving forward. They're only 10% of the 240p high, I'd expect these to fall to at least 192p.. There in my top 5 plays right now, just need that all telling reversal candel..

I'll watch with interest! :-)

Today's press statements on potential FCA review

Legal & General Group Plc - Response to today's press statements on potential FCA review

Legal & General notes media speculation about the FCA's potential review of the charging basis for legacy back books. We expect further, official clarification from the FCA when it publishes its business plan, and in view of today's disorderly market we are requesting that the FCA bring forward the publication of the plan.

We have a strong and substantive commitment to treating our customers fairly and offering low-charging, good value products.

Legal & General does not outsource customer administration: our customers benefit from the continuity of a single product and service provider. Our operating practices ensure we provide good value to our customers, and we have operated a programme of ongoing product reviews for more than 10 years. We focus on high standards in governance: management of our with profits fund is subject to independent scrutiny from the With Profits Actuary and the With Profits Independent Person.

We therefore look forward with confidence to working with the FCA once it issues official guidance about the potential review.

End

Its a sell down 7%.

150p over the next few weeks wouldn't surprise me....

I shall now go and wash my mouth out before I get told off..

:-)

A bit of a cockup with the way the announcement was presented 1st thing - marginally better after some clarification.

1st Quarter Results 2014

LEGAL & GENERAL: NET CASH UP 21% WITH RECORD SALES



GROUP HIGHLIGHTS:

• NET CASH GENERATION UP 21% TO £301M (Q1 2013: £249M)

• OPERATIONAL CASH GENERATION UP 6% TO £297M (Q1 2013: £281M)


BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS:

• RECORD BULK PURCHASE ANNUITY PREMIUMS OF £3,045M (Q1 2013: £357M)

• ANNUITY ASSETS UP 15% TO £38.3BN (Q1 2013: £33.3BN)

• LGIM TOTAL AUM UP 5% TO £462.6BN (Q1 2013: £441.2BN)

• LGIM INTERNATIONAL AUM UP 21% TO £63.2BN (Q1 2013: £52.4BN)

• LGIM NET FLOWS OF £3.8BN (Q1 2013: £4.7BN)

• UK RETAIL PROTECTION SALES UP 56% TO £42M (Q1 2013: £27M)

• WORKPLACE AUA UP 32% TO £9.1BN (Q1 2013 £6.9BN)

• COFUNDS AUA UP 25% TO £65.6BN (Q1 2013 £52.3BN)

• US PROTECTION SALES UP 12% TO $38M (Q1 2013: $34M)

• £1.0BN OF DIRECT INVESTMENTS COMPLETED IN Q1

Deutsche Bank Buy 220.00 220.00 236.00 239.00 Retains

Barclays Capital Overweight 220.70 220.00 - 252.00 Reiterates

LEGAL & GENERAL COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF GIA BUSINESS - ADVISER ON $21BN OF ASSETS.

Legal & General Group Plc ("Legal & General") has today completed the acquisition of the business of Global Index Advisors, Inc ("GIA") following receipt of fund shareholder approval from the $16.0bn1 Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date Funds.

We have also received approval to advise a further $5.5bn1 of GIA's assets. This increases the assets included within the transaction to $21.5bn1 and primarily accounts for the increase in assets compared to the $15.6bn announced on 21 February 2014.

GIA was formed in 1994 to create and market index target date fund products in the US and is now a top 52 provider of these funds in the US. The target date fund market in the US is expected to double by 2017.

Legal & General has identified the international expansion of Legal & General Investment Management ("LGIM") as one of its five growth themes. This acquisition will provide scale and distribution in the $6 trillion US defined contribution ("DC") market3 as we build on LGIMA's existing Liability Driven Investment ("LDI") and active fixed income capabilities. LGIM's proforma international assets at 31 March 2014 have increased as a result of the acquisition from $106.8bn1 to $128.3bn1 underlining our strategic commitment to become a global provider of investment solutions.

The initial consideration of the transaction is $30.75m with deferred consideration of $1.5m payable over the period of 2 years from the date of completion and further payments of up to a maximum of $18.15m payable over 3 years from the date of completion, subject to performance and other conditions being met. The consideration is unchanged from our announcement on 21 February 2014.


Mark Zinkula, Chief Executive Officer, Legal & General Investment Management said:

"I'm delighted the acquisition has been completed and welcome Jim Lauder and his team to LGIM. This transaction now means LGIMA's proforma assets exceed $60bn1, placing us in an excellent position to grow our DC assets in the US market and accelerating LGIM's already strong international growth."

Berenberg Buy 230.80 229.30 250.00 265.00 Retains

L&G H1 2014 Results Part 1

DIVIDENDS UP 21%, NET CASH UP 13%

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
· NET CASH GENERATION UP 13% TO £567M (H1 2013: £500M)
· OPERATIONAL CASH GENERATION UP 8% TO £578M (H1 2013: £537M)
· OPERATING PROFIT UP 11% TO £636M (H1 2013: £571M)
· PROFIT AFTER TAX UP 9% TO £507M (H1 2013: £466M)
· EARNINGS PER SHARE UP 9% TO 8.51P (H1 2013: 7.82P)
· RETURN ON EQUITY 17.6% (H1 2013: 16.8%)
· INTERIM DIVIDEND UP 21% TO 2.90P PER SHARE (H1 2013: 2.40P)

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS:
· ANNUITY ASSETS UP 20% TO £38.5BN (H1 2013: £32.2BN)
· RECORD ANNUITY SALES OF £3.5BN (H1 2013: £1.4BN)
· LGIM AUM UP 7% TO £465.1BN (H1 2013: £433.0BN)
· LGIM TOTAL ASSETS1 UP 13% TO £653.7BN (H1 2013: £578.7BN)
· UK PROTECTION GWP UP 7% TO £743M (H1 2013: £692M)
· UK PROTECTION SALES UP 17% TO £123M (H1 2013: £105M)
· SAVINGS AUA UP 17% TO £117.8BN (H1 2013: £100.4BN)
· LGC NEW DIRECT INVESTMENT OF £1.6BN (H1 2013: £0.9BN)
· LGA SALES UP 11% TO $78M (H1 2013: $70M)

Deutsche Bank Buy 241.75 241.70 239.00 260.00 Retains

Goldman Sachs Neutral 238.40 238.40 220.00 235.00 Reiterates