Trio of bidders go head to head in war for stake in broker Panmure Gordon May 14, 2009 HEDGE fund millionaire Bertrand des Pallieres went head to head with private equity firm BlueGem and a mystery bidder last night in the fight for a large stake in Panmure Gordon, one of the City’s oldest stockbrokers. Final proposals were due in by yesterday evening, in time for a board meeting at Panmure today to [...]
Top Catt tells Exiles: Savour the moment May 14, 2009 ENGLAND veteran Mike Catt has told his London Irish team-mates to savour every moment of their Twickenham experience tomorrow when they run out for the Premiership final against Leicester. The 37-year-old fly-half makes an emotional return to the home of English rugby as an assistant coach to Exiles chief Toby Booth. And he insists turning [...]
Russian plots Lloyd’s entry via Chaucer May 14, 2009 RUSSIAN billionaire Alex Knaster unveiled plans to buy his way into the Lloyd’s of London insurance market yesterday, saying he is interested in taking a 29.9 per cent stake in Chaucer Holdings. Chaucer chief executive Ewen Gilmour confirmed the interest and ongoing takeover discussions, from Knaster’s private equity firm Pamplona Capital, in an official statement [...]
Sony braces the market for further losses May 14, 2009 SONY Corporation forecast a second straight year of losses as the global recession battered demand for consumer electronics. But the Japanese company stopped short of taking any new aggressive steps to cut costs further. Sony, which competes with Samsung Electronics in LCD TVs and Canon in digital cameras, forecast an operating loss of 110 billion yen [...]
SPORT IN BRIEF May 14, 2009 Millwall clinch Wembley finalFOOTBALL: Millwall earned a place in the League One play-off final after holding Leeds United to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road, ensuring a 2-1 aggregate victory. One-nil down from the away leg, Jermaine Beckford missed a penalty for Leeds before Luciano Becchio netted to level the aggregate scores. But the Lions [...]
McGeechan quits Wasps but eyes consultancy role May 14, 2009 LIONS coach Ian McGeechan hasn’t ruled out the possibility of taking on a consultancy role at Wasps after confirming he had stepped down as director of rugby last night. The Scot has led the club to Premiership, Heineken Cup and Powergen Cup success since taking over four years ago, but could finish only seventh in [...]
Murray delighted with ‘big win’ over specialist Robredo May 14, 2009 WORLD No3 Andy Murray told of his delight after cruising past Tommy Robredo to reach the quarter-final of the Madrid Masters yesterday. Murray survived a tough start in the sweltering heat to come through 7-5, 6-1 and book a last eight clash with fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro. “I’m very happy with the result, [...]
Ratings firms slated in MPs’ crunch report May 14, 2009 CREDIT ratings agencies (CRAs) should bear some of the responsibility for financial instability, the Treasury committee said yesterday, as it revealed its report on corporate governance and remuneration at financial services firms in the wake of the credit crunch. The committee, led by Labour attack dog John McFall, said it was “deeply concerned by the [...]
Mentor Gooch is praised as Essex boys make a stand May 14, 2009 BATTING hero Alastair Cook heaped praise on team-mate Ravi Bopara after the Essex pair put the West Indies to the sword at the Riverside. Both men scored centuries but it was Bopara who stole the headlines after becoming only the fifth England batsman ever to score three successive Test tons. The pair put on 213 [...]
Briatore: F1 row must be solved ‘at all costs’ May 14, 2009 RENAULT boss Flavio Briatore insists a solution to the row over new rules for 2010 must be achieved “at all costs” when F1 chiefs meet for crisis talks in London today. Toyota, Red Bull, Ferrari and Renault have all vowed to quit the sport at the end of the season unless plans for a voluntary [...]
