Budget funnies: George’s Magna Cart-ha ha ha March 19, 2014 SO HE CAME wearing a blue tie and his newly slimmed-down physique (thanks to the 5:2 diet we hear) but George Osborne garnered most attention at yesterday’s Budget speech with a Magna Carta gag. While announcing plans to commemorate the famous script, Osborne took a swipe at Ed Miliband, pointing out how King John was a, “weak [...]
Iron Lady wins at book awards March 19, 2014 THE BUDGET was by no means the biggest event on the political calendar yesterday. Oh no, the Paddy Power sponsored Political Book of the Year Awards took place last night as well and a certain Iron Lady was the winning subject of the night. Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography by Charles Moore won the top gong, [...]
All’s well that ends Pharrell March 19, 2014 IT APPEARS choirmaster Gareth Malone and his financial songbirds from Citi, as featured in BBC’s The Choir, aren’t the only ones to find their voice in the City. A group of singers from law firm Norton Rose Fulbright have been revealed as the winners of ‘Office Choir of the Year’ beating off tough competition from BNP [...]
London, get your morning heads on & win a week of breakfast eats March 19, 2014 WE ALL know there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but we’ve decided free breakfast is very much in vogue. If you fancy a chance to win a week of breakfast hot pots from EAT, check out our mouth-watering back page ad (yes, on the back of City A.M. now). If you take a picture [...]
Ophir Energy’s shares slide on dry Gabon well March 19, 2014 OPHIR Energy plunged around 20 per cent in early trading yesterday, after the FTSE 250-listed oil and gas explorer said it had failed to find commercial volumes of oil and gas after drilling a well located off Gabon. “The Padouck Deep-1 result is disappointing but its failure appears to be prospect-specific and does not dampen [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Ophir Energy’s exploration update? March 19, 2014 DRAGAN TRAJKOV | ORIEL SECURITIES We are puzzled by the market reaction. Exploration is a numbers game and in order to systematically benefit from it, it is necessary to be patient. Ophir has a good exploration record at a low entry cost. BRIAN GALLAGHER | INVESTEC Sourcing has proved inconclusive and now is the primary [...]
New graphics chips range lifts Imagination March 19, 2014 IMAGINATION Technologies led the FTSE 250 yesterday morning after the British technology giant announced a “disruptive” new line of graphics processors for smartphones. Shares were also boosted by UBS, which said that Imagination was “down but not out” in a note that upgraded the stock from neutral to a buy. UBS analyst David Mulholland said: [...]
Flood uncertainty could hit premiums March 19, 2014 RATINGS agency Fitch has warned that uncertainty over the amount of money the government is going to spend on flood defences could mean increased risk to insurers and higher costs to policy-holders, in order to fund the industry’s Flood RE scheme.
Deficit down as UK’s recovery surges ahead March 19, 2014 BORROWING is falling faster than expected as the economic recovery picks up, the spending watchdog said yesterday, predicting the budget will be in surplus in 2018-19, Economic growth will accelerate to 2.7 per cent this year, up from 1.8 per cent in 2013, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said. The OBR also upgraded its [...]
Unemployment dives as recovery accelerates March 19, 2014 JOBLESSNESS dived again at the start of the year, official figures showed, giving the chancellor a boost as he unveiled his budget, and living standards are set to rise this year. Pay increased by 1.7 per cent in the year to January, almost as high as inflation at 1.9 per cent. Private sector pay is [...]
