SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND December 1, 2011 COMEDY 3 DEC DANIEL KITSON LIVE AT THE CHAPEL I’m loath to recommend Daniel Kitson’s night at Union Chapel. He’s the best comedian most people haven’t heard of, the guy you can wheel out in social situations to make yourself sound more interesting (“pfft, you like Michael McIntyre? You really need to check Kitson out”). [...]
Chelsea’s problems set to increase December 1, 2011 ANDRE Villas-Boas is a man under pressure. Following a decent start to the season, Chelsea have now lost three of their last four games across all competitions and their confidence appears to be shot to pieces. I haven’t seen such a disorganised Blues defence for years and Liverpool made them pay again on Tuesday night. [...]
Wishfull Thinking looks a Champion bet in the Tingle Creek December 1, 2011 NATIONAL Hunt racing fans are in for a real treat tomorrow with high quality televised action from both Sandown and Aintree, with two races over the historic National fences. Sizing Europe, the reigning Champion Chaser, is a warm order for the Sportingbet Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown (3.05pm) and is now as short as 13/8 [...]
BoE tells banks to beef up capital buffer December 1, 2011 Britain’s banks should build up their capital buffers even further to defend against an “exceptionally threatening” environment dominated by risks from the euro zone, the Bank of England said on Thursday. Banks need to maintain lending to the real economy, but should cut dividends and bonuses – and possibly even issue new shares – to [...]
FTSE falls on grim manufacturing data December 1, 2011 Investors’ sentiment dampened in London in early trading as negative factory figures from China put the brakes on yesterday’s market rises. The gains were fuelled by central banks moving to stimulate credit. China’s factory sector shrank in November for the first time in three years in the face of weakening demand both at home and [...]
UK manufacturing shrinks at fastest rate for two years December 1, 2011 Britain’s manufacturing sector shrank for a second successive month in November and at its fastest pace since June 2009 as output and orders fell on weak global demand, a survey showed on Thursday, raising the risk the UK economy could be heading for another recession. The decline in activity amid a worsening debt crisis in [...]
Greene King toasts profits rise December 1, 2011 British pubs and brewery group Greene King reported a higher first-half pre-tax profits, benefiting from an upturn in trading as consumers struggling to cope with economic pressures sought solace in their local pub. The 212-year-old Suffolk based firm, which has 2,410 pubs, said the consumer environment remained challenging with cost inflation rising ahead of wage [...]
BAT challenges plain pack cigarette laws December 1, 2011 British American Tobacco has become the second tobacco giant to launch legal action against Australian laws forcing tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging from next year, following the lead of Philip Morris. The laws, cleared by parliament, are being watched closely by governments considering similar moves in Europe, Canada and New Zealand. They [...]
Kingfisher beats forecasts December 1, 2011 Kingfisher beat forecasts with a 14 per cent rise in third-quarter earnings as market share gains and a drive to improve margins offset weak sales in Britain and slowing growth in France. The group, which runs British market leader B&Q as well as Castorama and Brico Depot in France and elsewhere, said on Thursday it [...]
Carillion warns over 4,500 jobs after solar subsidy cut December 1, 2011 British support services and construction group Carillion has warned 4,500 staff in Britain that they could lose their jobs due to the government’s decision to halve state subsidies for solar panel schemes, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. “We expect the government’s plans for much larger and earlier than expected cuts to feed-in tariffs (Fits) [...]
