BT gambles on need for speed July 16, 2008 Telecoms firm BT yesterday announced it was suspending its shareholder buyback scheme to invest £1.5bn in faster broadband for 10m homes by 2012. The programme will be Britain’s largest ever investment in fibre optic cabling, which can deliver potential speeds up to 100Mbps, compared to the UK average of 4Mbps. But some analysts questioned whether [...]
Kazakhmys dismisses reverse takeover talk July 16, 2008 Copper mining giant Kazakhmys, which is in talks with fellow Russian miner Metalloinvest, has denied a deal would involve a reverse takeover. A reverse takeover would have involved privately owned Metalloinvest acquiring the FTSE 100 Kazakh miner and keeping the list on London’s benchmark index of leading shares. But yesterday Kazakhmys rejected this. One of [...]
Bush calls for quick action on bank plan July 16, 2008 US President George W Bush urged Congress to act quickly on the government’s plan to shore up housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday. Speaking at a White House press conference as share prices across the world gyrated wildly, the President said of the two mortgage giants: “We must ensure they can continue [...]
Lehman shines in a turbulent day for the banks July 16, 2008 Lehman Brothers was one of the few banks to show a healthy rise in its share price yesterday – but only because of suggestions that its management, peeved by recent share price falls, were considering a buyout bid. Shares in Lehman, which have fallen 80 per cent so far this year, rose 13 per cent [...]
Inflation could hit 6 per cent on fuel bill price hike July 16, 2008 Inflation could reach 6 per cent by the end of the year if an anticipated 30 per cent hike in energy bills hits consumers later this year, according to BNP Paribas economist Alan Clarke. His prediction comes after the official consumer price index inflation rate jumped to a record 3.8 per cent in the year [...]
Dwain court case delayed July 15, 2008 Great Britain’s squad for the Beijing Olympics was announced yesterday, but the sprinting line-up will not be named until Thursday, when Dwain Chambers’ case against a lifetime ban is heard in the High Court. Simeon Williamson was the only male 100m runner included in the draft squad, but Chambers and one other will join him [...]
Vialli: I back Lamps to be a hit at Inter July 15, 2008 Chelsea legend Gianluca Vialli believes Frank Lampard would cope with life in Italy should he opt to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Lampard is currently in the middle of a tug-of-war between signing a new deal at Chelsea or joining up with former boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. And Vialli, who made a name [...]
Flintoff gets the nod for Test return July 15, 2008 Andrew Flintoff is expected to make his England return at Headingley on Friday after being given the all-clear by medics. The all-rounder has not played a Test since the final Ashes match in Sydney in January 2007 after suffering an occurrence to his ankle injury. But the 30-year-old has performed well with both bat and [...]
It’s round one to England despite sleepy Lord’s opener July 15, 2008 Although the scoreboard will suggest the first Test petered out into a tame draw, I suspect England will be the team taking the more positives to Headingley for the start of the second Test on Friday. For the first time in quite a while we have seen England pile on almost 600 runs in their [...]
Develop your tactics to win in hard times July 15, 2008 When the going gets tough, the tough stick to their trading strategies, says Katie Hope Everybody harbours a secret desire to be an investment legend. The so-called “Sage of Omaha” Warren Buffett, George Soros, whom it is obligatory to refer to as “the man who broke the Bank of England” and even fictional red-braced trader [...]