Cockerill plays it cool against in-form Bath May 13, 2010 LEICESTER head coach Richard Cockerill admits his table-topping Tigers can expect a tough battle with in-form Bath when the two giants of English rugby lock horns in Sunday’s Guinness Premiership semi-final. The Tigers go into the game on the back of losing their unbeaten home record to Saracens, and know they will have to be [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF May 13, 2010 Paulie questions Khan power BOXING: Paulie Malignaggi has questioned Amir Khan’s reputation as a big puncher as he goes in search of his WBA light-welterweight belt in New York. Khan, 23, boasts 16 knockouts in his 22-1 record, but New Yorker Malignaggi, used the Bolton fighter’s points victory over Gairy St Clair in 2008 to [...]
UK trade deficit widens May 13, 2010 THE UK’s trade deficit with the rest of the world widened in March, according to official figures. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found the gap rose to £3.7bn in March from £2.2bn in February. The ONS said the swings in the gap had been made worse by January’s bad weather which had [...]
BT profits on the up as broadband plans unveiled May 13, 2010 COMMUNICATIONS giant BT today unveiled plans to roll out super-fast broadband to two-thirds of UK homes by 2015 as it celebrated its return to profitability. The FTSE 100 group revealed group profits of £1bn for the year to 31 March – up from a £244m loss last year – after a significant improvement in its [...]
Ash cloud chaos costs Thomas Cook £70m May 13, 2010 THE chaos to air travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud knocked £70m off Thomas Cook’s profits. But the travel operator said its first half loss narrowed despite the setback. Thomas Cook reported a pre-tax loss for the half year to March 31 of £252.2m compared with £309m the year before. Northern European airspace was [...]
Tullett talks end with no deal May 13, 2010 INTERDEALER broker Tullett Prebon has said that talks with a possible buyer for the company had terminated. In March the firm revealed it was in preliminary negotiations that might lead to an offer, boosting its shares. That potential suitor has not been identified. The company said in a statement: “These discussions have been constructive, however, [...]
Sainsbury’s profit rises to £610m May 13, 2010 SAINSBURY’S made a pre-tax profit of £610m over the year to 20 March. The figure represents a 17.5 per cent improvement on the company’s figures last year. Like-for-like sales – excluding fuel – were up 4.3 per cent. Meanwhile total sales were up 5.1 per cent to £21.4m with new shops and a boost in [...]
Cameron and Clegg promise new order May 12, 2010 POLITICAL EDITOR ■ New government will hike capital gains tax, hitting private equity and buy-to-let ■ FSA given stay of execution after Tories and Lib Dems broker compromise deal ■ George Osborne will chair commission to examine break up of big banks PRIME Minister David Cameron hailed an “historic and seismic shift in politics” yesterday, [...]
Cameron appoints his coalition cabinet May 12, 2010 1. DAVID CAMERON Prime Minister Tory leader becomes PM, as well as First Lord to the Treasury 2. NICK CLEGG Deputy Prime Minister Liberal Democrat leader is Deputy PM, overseeing political reform 3. GEORGE OSBORNE Chancellor Former shadow chancellor is moving in to Number 11 4. WILLIAM HAGUE Foreign Secretary A former Tory leader, Hague [...]
Great stuff on the deficit; less good for UK businesses May 12, 2010 WE are only just into day three of the new government and already powerful themes are beginning to emerge. The policies announced yesterday can be divided into three categories: those that will address the crippling budget deficit and will therefore help stave off an immediate fiscal, sterling and gilts crisis; those that will boost competitiveness [...]
