Lancaster backs new-look centre combination to stoke Wales win February 4, 2015 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster has backed his untested centre combination to overcome their lack of international exposure and defy their more experienced opponents during tomorrow’s Six Nations opener against Wales. Lancaster has suffered chronic injury woe and Kyle Eastmond, Manu Tuilagi and Brad Barritt are all ruled out of the clash, so Bath’s Jonathan [...]
FA Cup: Upset fears allayed as late salvo saves Liverpool blushes February 4, 2015 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 LIVERPOOL 2 LIVERPOOL boss Brendan Rodgers was relieved to escape unscathed after Championship side Bolton were moments away from ruining his side’s pursuit of silverware in their FA Cup fourth-round replay last night. An exquisite injury-time winner from Philippe Coutinho added to Raheem Sterling’s late leveller after former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen [...]
Syriza facing biggest test since election as Yanis Varoufakis meets ECB chief Mario Draghi February 3, 2015 Greece’s maverick new finance minister faces his biggest challenge today as he heads to Frankfurt for potentially make-or-break negotiations with European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi. Yanis Varoufakis is expected to try to shore up Greece’s near term finances by requesting a ceiling on Greece’s short-term borrowing to be lifted. However, some observers believe [...]
Fortnum & Mason dancers prove it’s not tu-tu cold when love’s in the air February 3, 2015 Freezing temperatures and a dusting of snow weren’t enough to deter these dedicated dancers atop Fortnum & Mason’s entrance in their tribute to love. Fortnum & Mason's entrance Poet Greta Bellamacina gave the crowds below a dramatic poetry reading under the building’s historic clock as dancers Leilani Franco and Jo Moss jumped and pirouetted to [...]
Lay off the personal attacks on Ed Miliband, Chuka Umunna urges February 3, 2015 Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna pleaded with business leaders to lay off from making personal attacks on Labour leader Ed Miliband as the row between his party and business threatened to spiral out of control. Umunna said recent comments by the Boots chief Stefano Pessina, and then by Stuart Rose, the former chairman of [...]
Matthieu Pigasse: The Clash-loving Lazard banker advising Greece’s Syriza February 3, 2015 A punk rock-loving, video game-playing left-winger is not whom you’d expect to be chief executive at a major branch of a 166-year-old financial advisory and asset management firm. However, that sums up precisely Matthieu Pigasse, the CEO of Lazard France and a “self-marketed rock star of finance”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Pigasse is [...]
CD&R sells £370m stake in B&M discount chain February 3, 2015 THE NEW York-based private equity group CD&R last night launched a deal to sell up to 120m shares in B&M, the retail discount chain to raise around £370m. Sources suggested yesterday was the first time the group could dispose of shares since last year’s flotation. Shares in the group, which is run by the Arora [...]
Bankers want traders to pass exams first February 3, 2015 BANKS’ traders should have a basic level of qualifications before they are allowed to work, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) told chancellor George Osborne yesterday. The industry has been rocked by a series of trading scandals, with traders colluding to attempt to fiddle inter-bank interest rate benchmark Libor and foreign exchange benchmarks. “This is a [...]
Greeks – beware Italians bearing gifts February 3, 2015 GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (left) laughed after seeing Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (right) had bought him a tie yesterday. The new Greek government has a penchant for a tieless attire. Tsipras said he would wear it once Greece had struck a deal on its debt.
Interest paid on Nestle’s debt turns negative February 3, 2015 THE INTEREST on Nestle’s short-term euro-denominated bonds fell marginally into negative figures yesterday. It could mark the first time in history the yield on a corporate bond has turned negative. Corporate bond yields are being driven down by a combination of low policy rates and falling inflation. Ben Bennett, a credit strategist at investors Legal [...]
