SPORT IN BRIEF July 8, 2009 Poulter ignores Scottish jinxGOLF: England’s Ian Poulter says he won’t be listening to any “wives’ tales” when he tees off for the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond today. No player has ever won this event and gone on to take the Open Championship the following week, but Poulter, currently at a career high No16 [...]
Armstrong fails in bid to topple rival Cancellara July 8, 2009 LANCE ARMSTRONG just failed to reclaim the yellow jersey from Fabien Cancellara following the fifth stage of the Tour de France. The returning seven-time champion was given the same time as Cancellara for the 196.5km stage from Le Cap D’Adge to Perpignan, ensuring the Swiss star just stayed in front in the overall standings. Frenchman [...]
ZOKORA LEAVES THE LANE July 8, 2009 MIDFIELDER Didier Zokora yesterday left Tottenham for Sevilla in an £8m deal. The Ivory Coast international, who joined from Saint Etienne in 2006, made 134 appearances for Spurs but struggled to hold down a starting place after Harry Redknapp became manager in October. Zokora, 28, has signed a four-year contract with Sevilla, who said he [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 8, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES ARCELORMITTAL ATTEMPTS TO EASE DEBT BURDENArcelorMittal has started talks with its banks about making conditions for re-paying its $26bn (£16.2bn) of debt less onerous, in a bid to reduce financial pressure on the company as the global downturn continues. The world’s biggest steelmaker has taken this step as an insurance policy against its [...]
MPC’s Miles will quit FSA board role July 8, 2009 NEW Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member David Miles yesterday bowed to growing pressure over a possible conflict of interest with his post as non-executive director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and said he would resign from the city watchdog – eight months before he was due to stand down. Although Miles saw no conflicts [...]
Swiss state may sieze client data from UBS July 8, 2009 THE Swiss government yesterday vowed to prevent UBS from handing confidential client information to the US authorities, even if the bank is issued with an American court order next week. Bern, which is keen to maintain the country’s reputation for banking secrecy, said it could take the unusual step of confiscating the data on tens [...]
IBM UK pension scheme may close July 8, 2009 IBM said yesterday it might close its final salary pension scheme in the UK in order to become more competitive and make long-term pension costs more predictable. The IT giant started a 60-day consultation with about 5,000 members of its final salary scheme, representing a quarter of its staff in the UK. It is the [...]
Hedge funds outpace the FTSE July 8, 2009 The hedge fund industry comfortably outperformed equity markets in the first half, according to data released yesterday. The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index showed that the average fund was up and 11.74 per cent for the six months to 30 June , outpacing the FTSE 100 which was down around 4.2 per cent. The Hennessee index [...]
Segro offer for Brixton approved July 8, 2009 Industrial property giant Segro will today confirm it has received approval from the company’s board for the final terms of its takeover bid for rival Brixton Estates. The deal which will see the two companies swap 1.75 Segro shares for each Brixton share – is still subject to shareholder approval. Segro is also expected to [...]
Four Seasons’ fate to be decided July 8, 2009 Creditors of care home operator Four Seasons will meet today to discuss the company’s fate, in the wake of its failure to gather support for a debt restructuring. The company, which has £1.5bn in debt, cares for 15,000 people in its 400 homes. Lenders have agreed to four “stand still’ periods since it ran into [...]
