Murray: I’ve shown I’m as good as Nadal July 2, 2008 British No1 Andy Murray insists he has what it takes to cause a huge upset and knock world No2 Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon today. Murray thrilled Centre Court with a five-set win over Richard Gasquet on Monday, but goes into his first Grand Slam quarter-final as the underdog, having lost his three previous matches [...]
Games fans lift HMV fortunes July 2, 2008 HMV, the UK’s leading music retailer, reported yesterday a 25 per cent jump in pre-tax profits. The company told investors its recovery is on track after the first year of its three-year turnaround plan. Strong video game sales helped pre-tax profits soar to £56.6m, up from £45.2m in 2007. Games and technology sales rose 7 [...]
Tanfield dives after profits warning July 2, 2008 Electric vehicle maker Tanfield crashed more than 80 per cent after warning its profits would be drastically hit by the economic slowdown. Stunned City investors questioned the management’s credibility after the Tyne and Wear-based company gave no hint of what was to come in a statement issued on Friday in response to its share price [...]
Six-star hotel in City July 2, 2008 Russian oligarch Vladimir Chernukhin is set to transform a landmark City building into London’s first six-star hotel. Chernukhin, a former Russian Deputy Finance Minister, was yesterday granted planning permission to redevelop the former Midland Bank headquarters – the imposing Grade 1 listed building situated on Poultry behind the Bank of England – into a luxury [...]
Four top UBS directors quit July 2, 2008 Swiss banking giant UBS yesterday started the process of rebuilding its reputation and placating shareholders by announcing major board changes. UBS, which has written down more than $37bn during the credit crunch, said four of its senior boards members – Stephan Haeringer, Rolf Meyer, Peter Spuhler and Lawrence Weinbach – would step down on 2 [...]
NHS told to refocus on quality of care July 1, 2008 The quality of a patient’s care will become the central focus of the National Health Service in England, with hospitals and careteams rewarded for achieving high standards. Patients will be given a new legal right to choose their GP practice and the kind of treatment they will receive under a draft NHS constitution, launched on [...]
Trinity warns on crumbling UK ad market July 1, 2008 Trinity Mirror Group shares plunged as much as 30 per cent after it issued a stark profits warning due to double-digit declines in advertising revenues. “We have seen a marked year on year decline in advertising revenues across our businesses during May and June and this is expected to continue for the remainder of the [...]
Smoking ban set to close 6,000 pubs July 1, 2008 More than 6,000 British pubs may be forced to close in the next five years thanks largely to the smoking ban, accountants and business advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) warned yesterday. A PwC report published a year after the introduction of the ban on lighting up in a public place reveals the devastating impact it is having [...]
Setanta’s £125m bet July 1, 2008 Setanta Sports has upped its multimillion-pound gamble to take on the dominant Sky Sports by paying a record £125m for the rights to the Scottish Premier League. The new four-year deal is the largest in Scottish football history and will go through to 2014. It is more than double the £54m Setanta paid for its [...]
UK mortgages crash July 1, 2008 House prices were yesterday forecast to plummet even further as mortgage approvals hit their lowest level since records began and below the level of the 1990s recession. Data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals for house purchases had plummeted to 42,000 in May from 58,000 in April. Mortgage approvals have now dropped [...]
