Signs of a solution in Greece send the FTSE edging higher February 9, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed modestly higher yesterday, supported by oil and banking stocks after BG Group reported strong results and Greece moved closer to securing a bailout package that will avert a chaotic default. The FTSE 100 closed 19.54 points or 0.3 per cent higher at 5,895.47 after hitting a six-month intraday high of [...]
Modest gains for Wall Street stocks February 9, 2012 US stocks rose modestly for a third straight day yesterday after Greece reached a deal to secure a financial bailout, but investors were cautious after weeks of gains. Tech shares, led by Apple, gave a lift to the Nasdaq index and were the session’s strongest sector. Skepticism that Greece would follow through on promised austerity [...]
Too many children are being taken into care: the Baby P witch hunters are to blame February 9, 2012 WHEN Sharon Shoesmith, the former director of Haringey Children’s Services, became the scapegoat for the death of Peter Connelly or “Baby P”, almost everyone joined the witch hunt. The media went for her with a viciousness that knew no bounds while Ed Balls, then Children’s Secretary, took the unprecedented step of ordering her dismissal (unfairly, [...]
We skirt around the issues with quota proposals February 9, 2012 SPEAKING at a summit in Sweden yesterday, the Prime Minister revisited the issue of women in business, saying that he wanted to “accelerate” the increase in women on the boards of top UK firms. Although he said he would not rule out quotas (though Downing Street subsequently did), David Cameron said he would prefer to [...]
Don’t allow politicians to read Dickens for us February 9, 2012 WHAT would Charles Dickens do? If he were alive today, support everyone’s favourite cause it seems. In the author’s bicentennial year, everyone wants a piece. Schools minister Nick Gibb announced this week, referring to shocking levels of student illiteracy, that there are “shadows of Dickens’s world in our own” and called for more ambition in [...]
RAPID RESPONSES February 9, 2012 Greek gamblers Despite yesterday’s progress, with Greece’s long list of missed deadlines, and its opposition to keeping spending cuts promises, do Greek officials feel Eurozone officials will not allow the country to default? Greece will get the chance to put that theory to the test on 20 March, when €14.5bn (£12.13bn) in bond payments will [...]
Give your home a dash of V-Day love February 9, 2012 PINK HEART PAPER DOILIES £3.95 www.dotcomgiftshop.com Incredibly simple and cheap way to make your table setting on Tuesday Valentine’s-ready: at under £4 for a set of 72, you can scatter them generously, then forget about them. STONEWARE DEEP-HEART DISH, LE CREUSET £42 www.lecreuset.co.uk Add some real heart to your Valentine’s dinner and future stews and [...]
FOCUS ON: WEYBRIDGE, SURREY February 9, 2012 WOODHALL Price: £7m A six bedroom fully restored period house with extra staff accommodation. The reception hall is finished with marble flooring and features an original oak staircase. Contact Savills Weybridge on 01932 838 000 or visit savills.co.uk FLOCKTON HOUSE Price: £485,000 A two bedroom apartment situated on the first floor of a gated development, [...]
PROPERTY NEWS February 9, 2012 REPOSSESSIONS TO RISE British mortgage repossessions hit their lowest since 2007 last year but are expected to rise in 2012 due to increasing unemployment, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. The CML said the number of home repossessions came in at 8,500 between October and December, down from 9,300 in the previous three-month [...]
Win the city parking war February 9, 2012 Anyone living in the capital with a car knows central London is a parking nightmare. Resident parking hardly alleviates the problem because many boroughs, like Westminster, offer limited spacing. Of course, you can always drive around hoping a space will miraculously present itself, but otherwise there is the prospect of a long walk from your [...]
