Team GB miss out on 2012 spot January 17, 2012 GYMNASTICS: Britain’s rhythmic gymnasts will not compete at the London Games after failing to meet the qualifying standard following the completion of yesterday’s test event at the 02 Arena. GB fell 0.273 marks short of the 45.223 target set by their governing body and their subsequent appeal to raise that score was refused. Coach Sarah [...]
Senna signs for Williams January 17, 2012 FORMULA ONE: Brazilian Bruno Senna has signed to drive for Williams in 2012 thereby joining the team for which his uncle Ayrton Senna was driving when he was killed in 1994. Senna impressed after being drafted in by the Renault team in the final races of last season. His only other experience of F1 came [...]
Higgins through to last eight January 17, 2012 SNOOKER: World number three John Higgins secured his place the quarter-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace, beating Matthew Stevens 6-2. Higgins amassed his highest break of 90 in the opening frame, only for Stevens to level. He went in 3-1 up at the break before the 2000 champion won the fifth frame. The 36-year-old [...]
Downgrades dismissed by bullish buyers January 17, 2012 HEALTHY European bond auctions and strong German confidence figures pushed buoyant markets upwards yesterday as traders shrugged off a series of downgrades. Stocks and the euro shot up on the unexpectedly good figures, countering the negative sentiment led by Friday’s downgrades of eight European sovereigns’ debt by Standard & Poor’s. Despite losing its triple-A rating [...]
EC starts legal action in row with Hungary January 17, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) launched legal proceedings against Hungary yesterday over the independence of its central bank, data protection authorities and judiciary. Hungary brought in legislation to increase the number of central bank directors and give politicians more control over their appointment at the beginning of the year, under its contentious new constitution. The commission [...]
Ruspetro IPO gets the nod January 17, 2012 THE Russian-based oil explorer Ruspetro became the first company in 2012 to get a London main market float off the ground yesterday as investors gave the thumbs-up to a $250m (£163m) fund-raising. Ruspetro priced the shares at 134p yesterday evening, towards the lower end of the range. But advisers said they were delighted with the [...]
Carnival flatlines as death toll rises January 17, 2012 SHARES in Carnival, the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, yesterday closed up only 1.6 per cent after suffering a 16.4 per cent fall on Monday. Details of the accident continued to emerge as divers found another five bodies, taking the death toll to 11, with 23 people still unaccounted for. The investigation [...]
Gold to reach $2,000 per oz January 17, 2012 GOLD may reach a record high above $2,000 an ounce in late 2012 or early 2013, but the precious metal is nearing the end of a decade-long run that has lifted prices by more than 600 per cent, metals consultancy GFMS said yesterday. Gold has been a top-performing asset since 2001 as portfolio diversification, concerns [...]
Visa Europe saw revenues jump above €1bn last year January 17, 2012 VISA EUROPE, which runs the biggest card payments system in the region, reported a 13 per cent rise in the number of transactions over its platform last year, accounting for a seventh of all consumer spending in Europe. The number of cards rose by 6.5 per cent to 445m and it processed 11.8bn transactions. The [...]
Essar Energy shares tumble after tax case January 17, 2012 ESSAR Energy lost more than a quarter of its market cap yesterday after the Indian courts overturned a 63bn rupee (£809m) tax ruling in its favour. In a move that took the markets by surprise, the Indian Supreme Court said Essar Oil, in which the London-listed firm owns an 87.1 per cent stake, will no [...]
