Ashes 2015: Betting preview July 2, 2015 Australia might be the Ashes holders although it is 14 years since the men from Down Under have won a series in England. Read more: Australia toil in final Ashes warm-up vs Essex They whitewashed their opponents on home soil last time out but their last three visits to these shores have all ended [...]
The artful dodger: Prolific forger Mark Landis gave all his counterfeit paintings away for free July 2, 2015 Mark Landis was 30-years-old and living alone in San Francisco when, on a whim, he decided to become a museum benefactor. “I had been seeing things on TV about wealthy philanthropists giving pictures away to museums in memory of people. I wanted to show my mother that I was doing well, I wanted to show [...]
It’s okay to forget the rings on your wedding day – just grab one of these extra special watches to celebrate instead July 2, 2015 Among the seemingly limitless array of judgment calls that wedding planning involves (I’ve been learning this first hand over the past few months), the choice of rings seems relatively straightforward. Life slips into a mysterious parallel reality where canapé volumes, seating arrangements and – God help us – the merits of different shades of the [...]
Summer watches: Don’t be fooled by these brightly coloured stunners; there’s some serious horological clout here July 2, 2015 Summer: that time when every magazine lightens its pages with vibrant yellows, azure blues and that indefinable shade of pink that only surfaces between June and August (somewhere between “old lady” coral and Legally Blonde fuchsia). I thought I’d join the club. My esteemed peers and I sometimes have a tendency to get bogged down [...]
David Cameron is heading for turbulence over Heathrow July 1, 2015 Sir Howard Davies did Prime Minister David Cameron no favours yesterday when he recommended building a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport, a proposal that Cameron had previously ruled out with “no ifs, no buts.” Davies’ conclusions shoved Cameron into yet another political firestorm, with pressure mounting last night from senior members of his own [...]
Carney brushes off fears of London bank exodus July 1, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney yesterday played down the risk of large banks leaving the UK due to harsh regulatory rules. Moving headquarters abroad will not allow banks to swerve new measures, Carney insisted while revealing the Bank’s latest Financial Stability Report. “If you’re a global bank, a global institution, it’s not like you can [...]
George Osborne under pressure to tweak bank levy in July Budget July 1, 2015 Self-fulfilling prophecy, wishful thinking, fantasy economics: call it what you will, but the prospect of George Osborne fulfilling the desires of Britain’s banks in next week’s Budget is, to say the least, remote. Misplaced expectations that the chancellor would announce a review – or even the abolition – of the bank levy in his [...]
Tsipras lashes out at lenders ahead of poll July 1, 2015 The Greek government’s standoff with its bailout providers descended deeper into farce yesterday after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras put a new offer on the table, only to insist later in the day that a referendum will go ahead on a previous offer made by its creditors. International stock markets jumped on reports that Tsipras was [...]
A $28.3bn ACE for Chubb makes it a global giant July 1, 2015 ZURICH-based insurance giant ACE will buy upmarket property insurer Chubb for $28.3bn (£18.1bn) so that it can gain access to higher premium revenue from its wealthy client base, as fierce competition has cut deeply into the industry’s profit margins. Chubb shares jumped to a record high of $129.31, above the offer price of $124.13, suggesting [...]
Power rangers run out of steam July 1, 2015 The UK’s top two tool hire firms have slumped after profit warnings. Michael Bow finds out why HOW DO companies underperform in a rising market? That’s the conundrum shareholders in the tool hire sector are asking after the UK’s two biggest hire companies issued profit warnings within days of each other. The country’s largest, Speedy [...]
