Aviva takes £600m market turmoil hit

Turmoil on world stockmarkets has wiped £600m off the surplus capital of life and pensions company Aviva in less than a month.The group, which owns the Norwich Union brand, has seen its cushion of extra assets fall from £1.9bn on September 30 to £1.3bn on October 24 because of plunging share prices. Aviva said a further 20% fall in share prices would knock another £350m off its buffer, but claimed its capital position was strong.