Olympian Sotherton bows out May 27, 2012 British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, Olympic bronze medallist in 2004 and 2006 Commonwealth champion, announced her retirement from athletics yesterday after failing to recover from a back injury.
Hesjedal snatches Giro d’Italia May 27, 2012 Ryder Hesjedal re-wrote the record books yesterday, winning this year’s Giro d’Italia to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Tour. The triumph is also the first podium finish in a Grand Tour for his team Garmin. Hesjedal snatched victory from Joaquim Rodriguez on a thrilling final day, yet Rodriguez pipped the UK’s Mark [...]
US consumer sentiment at highest point in four years May 25, 2012 US consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than four years in May as Americans stayed optimistic about the job market, while higher income households expected to see bigger wage increases, according to a new survey. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 79.3 [...]
HSBC pay plan opposed by 10 per cent of shareholders May 25, 2012 HSBC’s pay plan for directors was opposed by 10.2 per cent of shareholders at the bank’s annual meeting today, less than the previous year as Europe’s biggest bank avoided the kind of shareholder backlash seen by competitors. HSBC said 86.3 per cent of votes cast were in favour of the resolution on remuneration while 13.7 [...]
Former Lloyds anti-fraud boss on £2.5m false expenses charge May 25, 2012 The former head of digital banking fraud and security at state-backed Lloyds bank has been charged with defrauding her employer by submitting £2.5m worth of false expense claims. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says it has authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Jessica Harper with one count of fraud by abuse of position. The CPS said [...]
Dixons on track to make £160m bond repayment May 25, 2012 Europe’s second-biggest electrical goods retailer, said it was well placed to make a crucial £160m bond repayment this year and had agreed a new 300 million pound banking facility. Shares in the firm, which trades as Currys and PC World in the UK, rose seven per cent after it said it was on course to [...]
Bargain hunters help lift FTSE May 25, 2012 The FTSE 100 nosed up this morning as bargain hunters snapped up stocks which have been hit in recent sessions. On Monday the blue chip index was at a six-month low but has clawed back ground since then. Gains in Asia and on Wall Street overnight also served to lift sentiment. Insurer Aviva was the [...]
InterContinental names Cescau as chairman May 25, 2012 Unilever veteran Patrick Cescau is to become the new chairman of the world’s biggest hotelier InterContinental Hotels Group at the beginning of next year following the retirement of the 67-year old David Webster. French born Cescau, aged 63, spent 35 years working for the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant culminating in his role as chief executive [...]
John Lewis sales boosted by TVs May 25, 2012 John Lewis, Britain’s biggest department store group, continued its run of double digit weekly sales increases, helped by wet weather, television sales boosted by the digital switchover and demand for Jubilee themed products. The employee-owned retailer has been growing sales even though official data this week said overall UK retail sales fell last month at [...]
Bankia shares suspended ahead of expected €15bn bailout request May 25, 2012 Shares in Spain’s fourth-biggest lender Bankia were suspended on the Madrid stock exchange on Friday, ahead of an evening announcement when the bank is expected to ask the state for a rescue of more than 15bn euros (£12bn). The government is in the process of nationalising Bankia, which holds some 10 per cent of the [...]
