Arsenal renew interest in £15m Michu December 16, 2013 ARSENAL have revived their interest in signing Swansea and Spain striker Michu as they look to boost their attacking options in January, it is understood. The Gunners considered a move for the 27-year-old in the summer, after he scored 22 goals in a sensational debut season in English football. He has only netted six times [...]
Drogba set for Stamford Bridge return as English sides drawn against familiar foes December 16, 2013 FORMER Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has revealed his joy after his new team Galatasaray were drawn against the Blues in the Champions League last 16. It is one of several reunions thrown up by the draw, which sees Arsenal face holders Bayern Munich in a repeat of last year’s tie and Manchester City, who boast [...]
Cue Card prepared for King George return December 16, 2013 Bill Esdaile pays a visit to Kempton hopeful’s stable CUE Card, a dual Cheltenham Festival winner and ante-post favourite for next week’s William Hill King George VI Chase, is certainly not alone at Venn Farm. The seven-year-old shares his small, picturesque Dorset stables with 67 other racehorses and 235 dairy cows under the watchful eye [...]
Gatland sticks with Wales til 2019 December 16, 2013 RUGBY UNION: Wales head coach Warren Gatland has signed a new contract until 2019 but will be allowed to take charge of the British and Irish Lions in 2017, as he did this year, if offered the job. Wales chief Roger Lewis said: “We will do everything we can to support as we did in [...]
Zola resigns as Watford manager December 16, 2013 FOOTBALL: Gianfranco Zola last night blamed “a variety of reasons” for his decision to resign as Watford manager. Zola, who leaves the club 13th in the Championship but had lost his last five home games, said: “I feel it’s in the best interests of the team somebody new is given the chance.”
Lloyd’s insurer gets £600m Japanese offer December 16, 2013 ONE OF Lloyd’s of London’s biggest insurers is on the verge of being snapped up by a Japanese insurance giant, in a deal worth around £600m. Canopius Group, which is majority owned by UK private equity firm Bregal Capital, is in talks with Sompo Japan Insurance about the deal, which could be agreed as early [...]
StanChart strips finance boss of risk role after Bank pressure December 15, 2013 STANDARD Chartered finance chief Richard Meddings has been stripped of his role overseeing the firm’s risk division following pressure from the Bank of England. The lender was forced to hand over responsibility for risk to chief executive Peter Sands after the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the central bank’s financial watchdog, expressed concerns over Meddings holding [...]
Mandela laid to rest December 15, 2013 NOW TAKE HIS LEGACY FORWARD, SAYS ZUMA SOUTH Africa buried Nelson Mandela yesterday, laying the country’s first black president to rest at his ancestral home in Qunu. Before the burial, 4,500 family, friends and dignitaries attended a state funeral service in a huge domed tent, its interior draped in black, in a field near the [...]
Japan’s M&A push December 15, 2013 Japanese insurers have been searching high and low for revenue growth amid an ageing society – and overseas acquisitions are proving a popular trick. Tokio Marine, Japan’s largest property-casualty insurer, bought a Lloyd’s of London insurer four years ago when it paid £440m to buy underwriter Kiln Group. It also agreed to pay $2.7bn for [...]
Heathrow protests gather pace over expansion plan December 15, 2013 PROTESTERS against a third runway at Heathrow airport are braced for action as transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin yesterday refused to rule out plans to expand the site. The government-backed Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, is publishing an interim report tomorrow that will provide a shortlist of locations for new runways, with a final [...]
