Pink balls receive punishment March 29, 2010 CRICKET: Opening pair Michael Di Venuto (131) and Kyle Coetzer (123no) both made mincemeat of the revolutionary pink balls as Durham kicked off the start of the English cricket season with a run feast in Abu Dhabi. Taking on an MCC XI in the historic season opener, the county champions raced to 329-3 at the [...]
Ruiz plots Haye downfall March 29, 2010 BOXING: Veteran challenger John Ruiz is looking to out-punch David Haye in their WBA heavyweight showdown in Manchester on Saturday. Ruiz, 38, is preparing for an 11th world title fight and believes he needs to hit Haye at a rate of around 50 punches a round to dethrone the Londoner in his first title defence. [...]
Miners and Vodafone help FTSE 100 book gains as Carphone goes it alone March 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index ended 0.1 per cent higher yesterday as gains in miners on the back of firmer metals prices and a stronger Vodafone outpaced falls in banking stocks. The FTSE 100 closed 7.64 points higher at 5,710.66 after falling 0.4 per cent on Friday. The index has gained more than 12 per cent [...]
Commodities lift Wall Street ahead of Easter March 29, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as miners and energy companies advanced on dollar weakness as the quarter’s end approached. Exxon Mobil Corp was up 1.1 per cent to $67.30 and the S&P energy index rose 1.8 per cent. Boeing, up 2.1 per cent and Caterpillar up 1.7 per cent. They were both the Dow’s top boosts. [...]
Weaker dollar is behind the mining sector rally March 29, 2010 IT IS a sign of the optimism flooding the mining sector at the moment that Rio Tinto’s share price was able to rise yesterday even as a Chinese court jailed four of its staff for between seven and 14 years for taking bribes and stealing commercial secrets. The heavyweight miner was able to shrug off [...]
DEVIL IN THE DETAIL OF NON FARM DATA March 29, 2010 WITH Good Friday marking the start of the Easter holiday, investors could be forgiven for expecting the shortened week to lead to traders’ indifference and an “end-of-term” atmosphere. Yet this could be a crucial period for markets. The first quarter comes to an end on Wednesday, and with it the Fed’s $1.25 trillion mortgage-backed securities [...]
Despite market worries US insurers are in rude health after Obama bill March 29, 2010 PRESIDENT Barack Obama had his moment in the sun last week when his healthcare reform bill was signed into law. The crux of the reform is the requirement for all Americans to have health insurance by 2014, which will affect more than 30m people who are currently uninsured. The response to the bill in the [...]
The Tipster March 29, 2010 CONFECTIONER Thorntons is looking forward to the Easter weekend. After a couple of years of austerity amongst consumers, general sentiment does seem to be improving and Thorntons will be hoping for a bumper Easter season. The share price has enjoyed a bounce in recent weeks, but the consensus is that there’s still more sweetness to [...]
Greek tragedy will continue despite bailout and bond issue March 29, 2010 RIDING the wave of positive sentiment following the announcement of the EU’s support mechanism, the Greek Debt Management Agency yesterday sold €5bn of seven-year government bonds. As predicted, the response was poor and the yield very high, raising the chances that Greece will have to ask for help and Germany – despite its recent protests [...]
2010’S BEST COMMUTER BIKES March 29, 2010 Cannondale Bad Boy A sleek, edgy urban commuter bike that’s a great all-rounder and excellent value. £549.99 Trek 7.7 FX A fast, versatile road bike with plenty of advanced tech, including a saddle that pivots to ease your pedal stroke. £1,249 Brompton S2L If you need a folding bike, the two-speed Brompton remains the benchmark [...]
