Graduate jobs hope at Prudential - graduate jobs

The chances of graduate jobs being made available at insurer Prudential appear brighter after profits at the company beat forecasts.

The profits announcement along with news of a 5% dividend hike may have placated some investor anger following the collapse of the proposed takeover of Asia's AIA.

Chief executive Tidjane Thiam has faced a barrage of calls for his resignation after the failure of the 35.5 billion dollar (£22.6 billion) deal for the Asian business of nationalised US insurance giant AIG.

In other good news, the cost of the aborted venture was slightly lower than had been previously calculated, at £377 million.

People fresh out of university would do well to keep an eye out for graduate insurance jobs being advertised at the company.

Alongside the dividend hike, the Pru also posted operating profits of £1.68 billion - up 35% on an embedded value basis and ahead of City hopes - as Mr Thiam insisted the group had not taken its eye off the ball despite the fiasco.

"While the proposed AIA transaction was high profile and attracted a great deal of interest, the group continued to perform strongly," he said.