McGeechan hands Shaw Test chance June 25, 2009 THE BRITISH and Irish Lions face South Africa tomorrow in Pretoria, 4,500 feet above sea level – and head coach Ian McGeechan has told his players to set their expectations just as high. McGeechan’s beefed-up side head into the second Test at Loftus Versfeld trailing 1-0, after being overpowered in last weekend’s 26-21 defeat in [...]
A MULLIGAN IN LIFE June 25, 2009 FIVE-TIME major winner Seve Ballesteros yesterday hailed his recovery from a brain tumour as “a miracle”. On his first public appearance since life-saving surgery last year, the Spaniard compared his survival to a golfing rule – known as a mulligan – whereby a player is allowed to retake a shot. “Nine months ago my life [...]
KP optimistic over injury as Ashes looms June 25, 2009 ENGLAND batsman Kevin Pietersen yesterday eased fears he could miss the Ashes series, insisting he had made “huge improvements” in his recovery from an Achilles injury. But with just 12 days until the first Test with Australia in Cardiff Pietersen admitted he is still having difficulty running. The problem forced Pietersen to miss matches against [...]
BBC boss in expenses row June 25, 2009 Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, claimed £2,000 in expenses when he cut short a family holiday in the US to fly back to the UK and deal with the Andrew Sachs telephone furore, it emerged yesterday. The claim was published among hundreds released under the Freedom of Information Act. Thompson said the release [...]
Bernanke defiant over BoA deal June 25, 2009 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke last night denied that he had strongarmed Bank of America (BoA) into buying Merrill Lynch in a $50bn (£30.5bn) deal, in testimony before a congressional committee. BoA chief executive Kenneth Lewis has claimed that he was pressured into the deal by former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson, at Bernanke’s request. The [...]
Barclays’ Lehman deal probed June 25, 2009 A US bankruptcy judge has ruled that Lehman Brothers Holdings has the right to investigate the details of the sale of its broker-dealer unit to Barclays, to determine whether the UK bank got “too good of a deal”. Barclays snapped up the brokerage last year after Lehman filed for bankruptcy, but the company’s lawyers now [...]
NOT GUILTY, YOUR HONOUR June 25, 2009 TEXAS financier Allen Stanford pleaded “not guilty” to a $7bn (£4.3bn) fraud last night in a Texas court. Stanford could face life in prison if he is convicted of the alleged fraud, relating to his Antigua bank. A judge set the bail bond at $500,000.
UBS to raise 2.1bn as it warns of loss June 25, 2009 SWISS bank UBS, one of the world’s hardest-hit banks in the financial crisis, said yesterday it would raise about Sfr3.8bn (£2.1bn) of equity capital and warned it would fall to a net loss in the second quarter of 2009. UBS is offering about 293.3m new shares at a price of Sfr13.00 per share, a 6.9 [...]
Spain to offer banks bailout, Russia might June 25, 2009 THE SPANISH government is to establish a €90bn (£77bn) fund for its financial institutions, while Russia is pondering a similar rescue package for its own banks. Spain’s cabinet meets today and is likely to approve a proposal which will see lenders, including those who are not deemed to have capital shortfalls, given access to a [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS June 25, 2009 FILMYEAR ONE The star power of Jack Black and Michael Cera can’t save this brain-dead pre-history comedy. TENDERNESS Drama with the world’s least tender actor, Russell Crowe. DVDGRAN TORINO Clint Eastwood delivers a terrific sign-off on his acting career in this race drama. CHE – PARTS ONE AND TWO Tiresome biopic with Benicio Del Toro. [...]
