The lessons of politicians aren’t worth mulling over your breakfast Frosties January 10, 2013 TWO weeks into my New Year’s resolution and it’s already time to admit that it’s not going well. At least I can take some comfort in the knowledge that the coalition hasn’t lived up to its promises either, missing 70 election pledges according to its mid-term audit. When I fail to hit my weekly target [...]
The UK’s credit rating will fall victim to the failure to tweak RPI January 10, 2013 WHEN asked who your favourite chancellor is, it’s fashionable to reply William Gladstone. He is the man who helped construct the Victorian liberal state, based on free trade and small government. But while Gladstone was certainly brilliant, my own choice is Neville Chamberlain, who successfully steered Britain out of the 1930s Depression. It was a [...]
After clothing sales slumped at M&S, can the traditional high street retailer survive? January 10, 2013 YES Neil Saunders Retail can be seen as a game of two halves. Last year, spending through physical outlets grew by 0.2 per cent, whereas online retail spending grew by 13 per cent. But while the growth of online has put pressure on physical retailing, the situation is not all doom and gloom. Firstly, the [...]
Letters to the editor January 10, 2013 The cyber threat [Re: Technology alone can’t save businesses from the threat of cyber criminals, yesterday] I want to thank Tom Burton for his excellent article. I wonder if the secrecy culture with which the anti-cyber crime industry surrounds itself, for fear of educating the criminal, is not actually hurting its cause. Having worked in [...]
Who you gonna call? These guys January 10, 2013 FILM GANGSTER SQUAD Cert 15 **** What KIND of a name is Gangster Squad? It sounds like something a bunch of unimaginative children might have come up with. But Gangster Squad is the perfect name for this movie. Perfect. The eponymous squad are essentially a group of superheroes with badges, assembled to defeat an evil [...]
Les Misérables is one for afficionados of the musical only January 10, 2013 FILM LES MISÉRABLES Cert 12A ***** (fans of the stage musical) * (everybody else) I TELL you what, there ain’t half a lot of singing in Les Misérables. If you’re not au fait with musicals, it doesn’t go: acting, acting, acting, song, acting, acting, acting, song. It goes: song, song, song, song, song, song, song. [...]
Man United can overcome tough battle against the old enemy January 10, 2013 MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL Sunday 1.30pm LIVERPOOL may not be the force of old but when they play Manchester United it’s still the biggest clash in English football. United’s long standing servant Paul Scholes came out this week to maintain that, despite Manchester City’s emergence as a force, the Reds were still their greatest rivals. [...]
Hard to split the sides in crucial contest at Emirates Stadium January 10, 2013 ARSENAL vs MANCHESTER CITY Sunday 4.00pm BY THE time Manchester City kick off at Emirates Stadium they could be 10 points behind their biggest rivals Manchester United. Roberto Mancini overhauled an eight-point deficit last year and knows that keeping the gap at a manageable distance is crucial. The Gunners strung together a four-match winning streak [...]
Blue Square Bet winter carnival January 10, 2013 WE got off to a great start in the Blue Square Bet Sprint Series at Lingfield Park last week and it’s brilliant to see the second round split into two divisions again, with both first-round winners, Desert Strike and Putin, appearing in the second division tomorrow at 2.00pm. Our odds on both the leading jockey [...]
Negredo on Spurs radar as hopes fade over Damiao January 10, 2013 TOTTENHAM could turn to £15m Spain striker Alvaro Negredo after manager Andre Villas-Boas conceded defeat in the club’s long-running pursuit of Brazilian Leandro Damiao. Spurs have been tracking 23-year-old Damiao for more than two years and hoped to finally clinch his signing this month, but Villas-Boas admitted yesterday that his arrival was “extremely unlikely”. That [...]
