Individual banks buck dreary session as volumes stay thin August 4, 2010 LONDON equities ended flat yesterday as better-than-expected US services and private sector employment figures offset weaker retail shares that fell on concerns of a decline in consumer demand. The choppy session witnessed weaker banks, with the STOXX Europe 600 banking index down 0.4 per cent. Standard Chartered fell 5.2 per cent despite forecast-beating earnings, as [...]
Retail earnings give hope to Wall Street August 4, 2010 US stocks rose in thin trade yesterday as retailers’ earnings and a report showing a slight improvement in private employment boosted optimism ahead of Friday’s payrolls report. Priceline.com soared 22 per cent to $281.30 on its stronger-than-expected quarterly results and outlook, suggesting consumers are opening their wallets to spend on travel. Traders also noted many [...]
When relocation becomes a nightmare August 4, 2010 ON the first day of my new job my new employer has told me that they want me to move to Birmingham. This was never mentioned in the interviews and I assumed I would be staying in London. I don’t want to move. I am single, and I feel that if I had a family [...]
Head gear for the holidays August 4, 2010 DENON AH-C560R £99.99 www.denon.co.uk It would take some particularly good in-ear buds to make me pick them instead of over-head headphones – normally I find them uncomfortable, I fret about what damage they’re doing to my hearing, and they fall out. But Denon’s new AH-C560R phones (catchy name, guys) have come as close as any [...]
NICK BOOTHTECH TALK August 4, 2010 I’VE seen the future of British youth – it’s half man, half desk. Why? They can’t relate to anything unless it’s writ large on a glowing screen at chair level. But now the school PCs and whiteboards have been powered off, could we entice our next generation humans into the garden of real-life high definition? [...]
OUT OF OFFICE August 4, 2010 LAST CHANCE: AFTER THE DANCE Anyone who’s been riveted by Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance in the BBC’s updated version of Sherlock Holmes should check out his tremendous starring role in After the Dance at the National Theatre, which ends next week. In the revival of Terence Rattigan’s 1939 play, Cumberbatch plays a rich, dissolute, part-time historian [...]
Buyers pull their weight in Liverpool tug-of-war August 4, 2010 THE battle to take over the keys of Liverpool FC was thrown into confusion last night after a contrasting day of counter claims and denials from potential buyers. Chinese businessman Kenny Huang began the day in pole position after admitting on Monday he had been locked in talks with the club’s major creditors, Royal Bank [...]
We’ll go bust if we lose in court, say Portsmouth August 4, 2010 PORTSMOUTH say they could go out of business if they lose their court case against the tax authorities today. HM Revenue & Customs are challenging a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to allow the club to come out of administration, claiming it is owed £13m more than the £24m stated by the club’s administrators. And Portsmouth’s [...]
Euro heartache for Celtic despite second-leg win August 4, 2010 CELTIC crashed out of the Champions League at the first hurdle for a second year running despite rallying to a 2-1 second-leg victory over Braga at Parkhead. With the comfort of an imposing 3-0 lead from the first leg, the Portuguese side clicked into cruise control when Paulo Cesar glanced in a neat first-half header. [...]
Blackburn hold talks of takeover August 4, 2010 BLACKBURN ROVERS are the latest Premier League to hold talks over a possible takeover. Chairman John Williams revealed yesterday the club are in discussions with a number of interested parties about taking charge at Ewood Park. Rovers currently owned by the trustees of the late Jack Walker and has debts of around £20m, but Indian [...]