Alex and Henrique close on Rs moves January 17, 2012 QPR have edged closer to making their first signings of the Mark Hughes era after agreeing fees for Chelsea defender Alex and young Brazilian striker Henrique. Alex, who is also Brazilian and surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge following the arrival of England centre-back Gary Cahill, is thought to have opened talks with Rangers. Brazil [...]
Millwall find goalscoring touch to set up Saints tie January 17, 2012 MILLWALL put Saturday’s drubbing at the hands of Birmingham firmly behind them last night with a 5-0 win at the New Den over London rivals Dagenham and Redbridge to set up an FA Cup fourth round tie at home against Championship leaders Southampton. Beaten 6-0 on home soil by Carling Cup holders Birmingham three days [...]
2012 ticket resale site returns but buyers wait January 17, 2012 LONDON 2012 ticket-holders can legally sell their unwanted seats once again after Olympics chiefs finally reopened a significantly scaled-down version of their crippled website yesterday. However, those wanting to buy the second-hand Games tickets are still not able to use the site, which buckled under the weight of unexpectedly high traffic just hours after being [...]
Team GB miss out on 2012 spot January 17, 2012 GYMNASTICS: Britain’s rhythmic gymnasts will not compete at the London Games after failing to meet the qualifying standard following the completion of yesterday’s test event at the 02 Arena. GB fell 0.273 marks short of the 45.223 target set by their governing body and their subsequent appeal to raise that score was refused. Coach Sarah [...]
Senna signs for Williams January 17, 2012 FORMULA ONE: Brazilian Bruno Senna has signed to drive for Williams in 2012 thereby joining the team for which his uncle Ayrton Senna was driving when he was killed in 1994. Senna impressed after being drafted in by the Renault team in the final races of last season. His only other experience of F1 came [...]
Higgins through to last eight January 17, 2012 SNOOKER: World number three John Higgins secured his place the quarter-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace, beating Matthew Stevens 6-2. Higgins amassed his highest break of 90 in the opening frame, only for Stevens to level. He went in 3-1 up at the break before the 2000 champion won the fifth frame. The 36-year-old [...]
Downgrades dismissed by bullish buyers January 17, 2012 HEALTHY European bond auctions and strong German confidence figures pushed buoyant markets upwards yesterday as traders shrugged off a series of downgrades. Stocks and the euro shot up on the unexpectedly good figures, countering the negative sentiment led by Friday’s downgrades of eight European sovereigns’ debt by Standard & Poor’s. Despite losing its triple-A rating [...]
EC starts legal action in row with Hungary January 17, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) launched legal proceedings against Hungary yesterday over the independence of its central bank, data protection authorities and judiciary. Hungary brought in legislation to increase the number of central bank directors and give politicians more control over their appointment at the beginning of the year, under its contentious new constitution. The commission [...]
Ruspetro IPO gets the nod January 17, 2012 THE Russian-based oil explorer Ruspetro became the first company in 2012 to get a London main market float off the ground yesterday as investors gave the thumbs-up to a $250m (£163m) fund-raising. Ruspetro priced the shares at 134p yesterday evening, towards the lower end of the range. But advisers said they were delighted with the [...]
Carnival flatlines as death toll rises January 17, 2012 SHARES in Carnival, the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, yesterday closed up only 1.6 per cent after suffering a 16.4 per cent fall on Monday. Details of the accident continued to emerge as divers found another five bodies, taking the death toll to 11, with 23 people still unaccounted for. The investigation [...]
