Lloyd's of London profits halve as catastrophes hit

Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, has reported a 50% fall in profits for the six months to the end of June.

Pre-tax profits came in at £628m compared with £1.32bn a year earlier.

Lord Levene, the Lloyd's chairman, described the period as the "costliest on record" following the Chilean earthquake and Gulf oil spill.

Julia Caesar reports.