Trott double ton sends message to Test selectors January 14, 2015 BATSMAN Jonathan Trott accelerated his claims for an international recall by striking a double century for England Lions as their first unofficial Test against South Africa A at Paarl ended in stalemate yesterday. Trott was at his obstinate best as he amassed an unbeaten 211, batting for almost 11 hours and racking up 17 fours [...]
Coventry hails Exiles’ ambition January 14, 2015 LONDON Irish head-coach-in-waiting Tom Coventry has revealed that the Premiership club’s ambitious plans convinced him to abandon his native New Zealand and replace Brian Smith. Coventry has agreed to join the Exiles in the summer, it was confirmed yesterday, after Smith was allowed to bring forward his planned departure on compassionate grounds. The 48-year-old is [...]
Broken collarbone places Dowsett hour-record bid in grave doubt January 14, 2015 BRITAIN’S Alex Dowsett has suffered a major blow in his bid to smash cycling’s hour record after the Commonwealth Games time trial champion sustained a fractured collarbone in training. The 26-year-old is scheduled to try and beat 51.852km, the benchmark set by Austria’s Matthias Brandle in October, at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Friday, 27 [...]
Murray seeded sixth for Australian Open January 14, 2015 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray will be seeded sixth for the Australian Open when the draw for the year’s first Major, which starts on Monday, takes place tonight. The three-time finalist is ranked behind top seed Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori. Compatriot Heather Watson is afforded no protection in the women’s [...]
Tullett Prebon share price jumps as UK broker settles $100m poaching case with US rival BGC Partners January 13, 2015 One of business’s longest running disputes over staff poaching finally ended yesterday after British inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon came out on top in its bitter five-year legal battle with US rival BGC Partners. Shares in the UK broker jumped eight per cent following news that the New York-based broker will pay Tullett $100m (£66m) to [...]
Woody Allen is headhunted by Amazon January 13, 2015 Amazon Studios yesterday announced it has signed deal with Woody Allen for the critically-acclaimed director to write and direct his first ever television series. Amazon has signed a half-hour series (named Untitled Woody Allen Project) for a whole season, with customers able to watch the episodes on Amazon’s prime instant video in the UK, US [...]
Policy hawks stand ground despite sinking inflation January 13, 2015 A drop in the inflation rate to 0.5 per cent has not been enough to reverse the positions of monetary policy hawks – economists favouring a hike in interest rates. “We think the economy is growing strongly enough to take a normalisation of monetary policy and we’re sticking by that,” James Sproule, chief economist at the [...]
UK joins US as economic growth engine of world January 13, 2015 Britain and the US are set to grow strongly, the World Bank said last night, defying the malaise which is overtaking the Eurozone and much of the developing world. Crashing oil prices should give those economies a cushion, which the analysts said should be used for crucial economic reforms to restore competitiveness and growth. Economists [...]
London Bus strikes: Unite union hints at more chaos for commuters January 13, 2015 Londoners face more commuting chaos over the coming weeks if the union representing bus drivers fails to get operators to come to the negotiating table. Members of the Unite union at 18 bus companies walked out for a 24-hour strike yesterday over pay and conditions, causing chaos for passengers. Transport for London (TfL) said about [...]
Germany closes budget deficit one year early January 13, 2015 ANGELA Merkel successfully eliminated Germany’s budget deficit in 2014, new figures showed yesterday, hitting the target a year ahead of plans. It is the first time the books have been balanced since 1969, and demonstrates the strength of the government and the economy in overcoming a challenge which haunts much of Europe. The country has [...]
