Unhappy Carvalho ready to ditch Blues June 3, 2009 CHELSEA defender Ricardo Carvalho has opened the door to a reunion with former boss Jose Mourinho by admitting he is ready to leave Stamford Bridge. The Portugal centre-back, 31, said he had endured the worst year of his life last season, making just four league starts since the turn of the year due to injury [...]
Chelsea deny record 74m Kaka swoop June 3, 2009 AC MILAN superstar Kaka will announce his future on Monday, the Italian club said last night, as Chelsea denied trying to gazump Real Madrid with a world record £74m bid. Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi said he would discuss Kaka’s future with him after the weekend, although the Brazilian is thought to be close to a [...]
What credit crunch? Football clubs set to go on defying the downturn June 3, 2009 LUCRATIVE broadcast deals have fuelled huge revenue increases in the Premier League as football continues to prove resistant to the economic downturn, according to a report published today. Total revenue for the 20 top flight clubs rose 26 per cent to £1.9bn for the 2007-08 season. That figure is expected to reach £2bn for the [...]
IS THIS BUYOUT A SOUND MOVE? June 3, 2009 RAKSHIT RANJAN NOBLE“Following the analyst meeting we are more positive on the quality of Fortis Corporate Insurance’s portfolio and Amlin’s ability to generate its desired synergies and returns from it. However, we do believe that there will be a drag on the share price in the short term due to a potential reduction in the [...]
CITY EYE June 3, 2009 CONSTRUCTION on the Heron Tower on Bishopsgate has now reached the 17th floor. The 46-storey tower, due to be completed in 2011, will eventually house 3,000 City workers, all of whom will be personally greeted by name by a Hall Call system as they swipe their entry cards at the beginning of each day.
VETERAN BAR OWNER HANGS UP CITY APRON June 3, 2009 AFTER a lengthy 48-year spell in the City, it’s finally time to say goodbye to ship broker-turned-restaurateur David Hughes, who’s often been described one of the friendliest bar owners in the world. Hughes first came to the City in 1961, aged 15, working as a ship broker at the Baltic Exchange on St Mary Axe, [...]
Amlin snaps up Fortis arm in expansion June 3, 2009 AMLIN, the insurer that trades on the Lloyd’s of London market, said yesterday it wants to raise £76m from markets to fund a buyout of a non-life insurance arm of part-nationalised Dutch bank Fortis. The group said it has struck a €350m (£303m) deal to buy Fortis Corporate Insurance (FCI) from the Dutch government, which [...]
Dana not ripe for the picking June 3, 2009 OIL explorer Dana Petroleum said yesterday “it wasn’t for sale,” and that it was focusing on increasing production, even as rivals target each other in a market that analysts say is ripe for mergers and acquisitons. Dana said its forecasting output will go up by nine per cent, having risen 29 per cent last year. [...]
Rio exploration spend to halve June 3, 2009 MINING GIANT Rio Tinto is halving its exploration spending this year, but is taking advantage of the downturn to buy cheap assets in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rio’s exploration chief Eric Finlayson said yesterday. The group, which is grappling with massive debt, has put expensive drilling operations on hold until conditions in [...]
Sir Alan purges boardroom ahead of the final June 3, 2009 THERE were no gimmicks this week. No flash location, no cryptic clues, no splitting into teams. All the would-be Apprentices had to do was answer a few questions. Unfortunately those asking the questions were Sir Alan’s infamous attack dogs, who arrived in a series of increasingly ostentatious sports cars (you could be forgiven for thinking [...]