Mission: Partially Successful December 22, 2011 Film MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4 Cert: 12A *** By Steve Dinneen International espionage isn’t a glamorous business. It largely consists of grubby encounters between council members expatriating mundane information about the state of local transport systems. The arrest in New York last year of Russian spy Anna Chapman – who went on to pose for Maxim [...]
The Artist is an unmitigated triumph December 22, 2011 Film THE ARTIST ***** CERT: PG BY STEVIE MARTIN It may be silent, it may be black and white and you may not have heard of the leads, but don’t leave this fantastically original offering from frenchman Michel Hazanavicius to the artsy types. Impressing at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, this is a [...]
WHAT’S ON THIS CHRISTMAS OUR GUIDE TO KEEPING BUSY UNTIL THE NEXT CITY A.M. December 22, 2011 Must-see shows • Slava’s Snowshow is the hottest ticket in town this Christmas. The Russian clowning show with a very big twist has been running for decades but it hasn’t been in London for 15 years. Children and adults alike will be moved and amused by the antics of the cheeky, silent actors with a [...]
Indulge in style with our guide to festive booze December 22, 2011 If you’re inclined to splash the cash when you imbibe or if only the finest and rarest liquids pass your lips, you’ll be pleased to know one of the oldest and most expensive spirits in the world has landed in London. The 153-year-old Cognac Croizet Cuvee Leonie 1858 will set you back a princely £2,500 [...]
US GDP revised down December 22, 2011 The US economy grew at a slower pace than previously estimated in the three months to the end of September. Revised figures from the US Commerce Department show GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.8 per cent in the period. That was down from the previous estimate of two per cent and first estimate [...]
S&P cuts Co-Op outlook December 22, 2011 Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook on mutually-owned conglomerate The Co-Operative Group to “negative” from “stable,” due to risks associated with the Co-Op’s planned purchase of some 630 Lloyds bank branches. Earlier this month, Lloyds said it had picked The Co-Op as its preferred bidder for 632 branches which it has been [...]
FTSE given lift by airline deal December 22, 2011 The FTSE 100 nudged up this morning led by BA owner International Airlines group (IAG) which announced a deal for Lufthansa’s bmi. Overall European shares started higher with the FTSEurofirst 300 index gaining around one per cent in early trade while global stocks, as measured by MSCI world equity index, were edged up 0.2 per [...]
UK growth rate revised upwards December 22, 2011 UK GDP growth has been revised up to 0.6 per cent from 0.5 per cent. The annual rate of growth remained unrevised at 0.5 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Analysts said Thursday’s figures did not change their view that the economy was set for a sharp slowdown due [...]
Daniel Stewart posts first half loss December 22, 2011 Daniel Stewart Securities , one of a clutch of small brokers operating in the City of London, posted a first-half loss as the European sovereign debt crisis led to deals drying up. The company made an underlying net loss of £143,799 for the six months ending 30 September – down from a profit of £190,572 [...]
Toyota sees record year in 2012 December 22, 2011 Toyota forecast a 20 per cent jump in global sales to a record 8.48m vehicles next year as it claws back from this year’s output losses caused by natural disasters in Japan and Thailand. Toyota overtook General Motors as the world’s top-selling automaker in 2008 but is set to lose that crown this year as [...]
