Plenty for markets to feast on as firms update investors July 19, 2009 REPORTING season is definitely upon us and this week offers up a cornucopia of corporate reports for the markets to devour. Dominos Pizza UK & Ireland serves up the first slice today and investors will be keen to hear whether the firm has continued to be a recession winner. It reported a nearly 10 per [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UK ATTORNEY GENERAL VOWS FRAUD CRACKDOWNBritain aims to become the most hostile country in the world to fraudsters, the government’s top law officer has pledged, in an eye-catching riposte to growing criticism about the lack of big financial crime cases being mounted. Baroness Scotland, attorney-general, said domestic investigation agencies would soon be giving [...]
OUT OF OFFICE BY ZOE STRIMPEL July 8, 2009 ARCADIA AT DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRETom Stoppard’s unforgettable 1993 drama wittily looks at life, mathematics and, well, everything. Set in a country house in both 1809-11 and 1989, it consistently and wittily catches at two ends of the same stick, be it Fermat’s Theorem or a paperweight. David Leveaux’s production is right on the money [...]
I’m no thug, claims eye-gouging Burger July 2, 2009 SOUTH AFRICA flanker Schalk Burger has refused to apologise for eye-gouging Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald in last weekend’s bruising second Test. Burger has been banned for eight weeks after being cited for the offence in the Springboks’ series-clinching 28-25 win in Pretoria. But, ahead of tomorrow’s third and final clash in Johannesburg, Burger defended his [...]
A 500 jamboree of wrinkle-busting in Paris September 7, 2009 LIKE most Londoners, I spend a good deal of time rushing to and fro between fume-filled streets, the skin-shrivellingly dry Underground and an air-conditioned office. My face is a receptacle of urban wear and tear – clogged pores, bouts of dryness, sudden patches of oiliness. Any chance to cleanse, exfoliate, pamper and smooth my visage [...]
Unstoppable flu pandemic will boost vaccine drugmakers June 15, 2009 AT the weekend, there was confirmation of Britain’s first swine flu victim, just three days after a decision on Thursday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to officially declare an influenza pandemic – the first since 1968. It might seem ghoulish to say so, but the prospect of a drawn-out battle against what WHO director-general [...]
Cost cutting at Signet makes its profits sparkle June 4, 2009 Top jewellery retailer Signet Jewellers reported a higher quarterly profit yesterday as cost-cutting offset weak jewellery sales. The company, which runs Ernest Jones and H Samuel in Britain, said its initiatives to improve operational efficiency also helped it gain market share in the quarter. Signet reported a net profit of $26.3m (£16.4m) for the first [...]
Nice ice baby August 12, 2009 ICE cream never used to be a gourmet dinner’s crowning glory. Yet London has become a capital for the stuff – from street vendors to high gastronomy. Take Michel Roux at Michelin-starred Le Gavroche, who makes all his ice cream fresh daily – this week that includes fresh mint and peanut butter. Or Justin Saunders [...]
Williams not ready to end Lions career June 22, 2009 BRITISH and Irish Lions winger Shane Williams has admitted that tonight’s game against the Emerging Springboks could be his last in a Lions shirt. Williams has failed to live up to his IRB player of the year accolade in South Africa and insists he needs a big performance if he is to force his way [...]
McGeechan hands Shaw Test chance June 25, 2009 THE BRITISH and Irish Lions face South Africa tomorrow in Pretoria, 4,500 feet above sea level – and head coach Ian McGeechan has told his players to set their expectations just as high. McGeechan’s beefed-up side head into the second Test at Loftus Versfeld trailing 1-0, after being overpowered in last weekend’s 26-21 defeat in [...]