Pity these fools – The A-team flops July 29, 2010 Film THE A-TEAM Cert: 12A Rhys Griffiths A quarter of a century years after the finale of the TV show, the A-Team blunders its way into the twenty-first century – and what should be a film providing two hours of nostalgic, action-packed fun falls short of even the simplest of tasks. Instead it’s lengthy and [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND July 29, 2010 FILM Karate kid Shame on you Jackie Chan. Remake with Jaden “son of Will and Jada” Smith as the kid. south of the border Oliver Stone’s documentary about South America’s left wing resurgence. beautiful kate Harrowing, incest-themed Australian drama, with Bryan Brown. DVD clash of the Titans Lame-brained Greek gods and goddesses adventure, with Sam [...]
More than a simple stopwatch July 29, 2010 A WATCH that tells the time is one thing. A watch that tells the time, the date, the temperature and has an alarm and stopwatch is – well, child’s play in the world of digital technology, but really rather impressive in a hand-made, hand-wound mechanical piece. It’s not for nothing that such features on mechanical [...]
SOCKS IN THE CITY July 29, 2010 WHY would you want to draw attention to a skinny, sometimes hairy piece of leg between your trousers and your shoes? Is it because you’re particularly fond of the knobble on your ankle and it warrants extra attention? Or that you feel that the five inches in question needs cheering up? After David Beckham’s appearance [...]
Tourbillon: the ultimate complication July 29, 2010 IF chronographs are at one end of the complications scale, at the other you find the tourbillon. Originally developed by the Abraham-Louis Breguet in the 18th century, it’s designed to lessen the effect of gravity and motion on the watch’s accuracy by mounting the escapement and balance wheel – which transform the inner workings into [...]
Mortgage approvals dip July 29, 2010 MORTGAGE approvals fell more than expected in June and lending was also weaker than forecast, Bank of England figures showed. The Bank of England said mortgage approvals – a gauge of house prices in the future – numbered 47,643 in June, falling from a downwardly revised 49,461 in May and below forecasts for a reading [...]
BT earnings up 6pc July 29, 2010 BT posted a six per cent rise in first-quarter adjusted core earnings, generated strong cash flow and reiterated its outlook after taking further costs out of the business. Britain’s biggest fixed-line telecoms provider said its group revenues were down four per cent to £5bn in line with forecasts, while core earnings were up six per [...]
Santander trading “steady” July 29, 2010 THE euro zone’s largest bank, Santander reported first-half profits in line with forecasts with thriving business in Latin America setting off sluggish income in home market Spain. Santander, which emerged as one of the best capitalized banks in Europe following stress tests, said first half net profit fell 1.6 per cent to 4.445bn euros (£3.7bn). [...]
BSkyB profit jumps thanks to HD customers July 29, 2010 SATELLITE TV group BSkyB has reported a sharp jump in annual profits, fuelled by customers siging up for high definition (HD) services. Profit for the year to the end of June wass £878m, That was almost treble the £259m the broadcaster made in the previous 12 months. Revenue jumped to £5.9bn, up more than ten [...]
Shell reports £2.9bn profit July 29, 2010 ROYAL Dutch Shell has said the group’s net profits rose 15 per cent to £2.9bn in the past three months. “This is a good performance from Shell, despite today’s challenging macro-economic conditions. We are on track for growth,” Shell’s chief executive Peter Voser said. The figures follow a record £11bn loss at rival BP where [...]
