SPORT IN BRIEF May 13, 2009 McIlroy: Ryder Cup unimportantGOLF: Northern Irish prodigy Rory McIlroy has dismissed the Ryder Cup as “an exhibition”, insisting it scarcely matters to him whether he makes the Europe team for next year’s event. “It’s not a huge goal of mine,” said the 20-year-old. “It’s an exhibition at the end of the day. In the big [...]
STRICTLY SPANGLES FOR LOVELLS LAWYERS May 13, 2009 ACTOR Tom Chambers had better watch out: he’s got competition, from the somewhat unlikely quarters of the lawyer gang at Lovells. I hear almost 300 of the firm’s staff packed the ballroom at the City Grange hotel on Wednesday last week for their own version of the Beeb’s hit show Strictly Come Dancing, raising over [...]
TAKING THE MICKEY May 13, 2009 Just a few weeks ago, enraged Panmure Gordon chief executive Tim Linacre told The Capitalist he’d rather see Mickey Mouse running the country as Prime Minister instead of Gordon Brown, after the government infuriated the City by raising the top tax band to 50 per cent. And yesterday, after Gary Keogh bagged his allocated five [...]
MELT DOWN May 13, 2009 Speaking of Gordon Brown, there’s got to come a point when you have to feel a bit sorry for the man. Not only has Opposition leader David Cameron put him to shame with a ruthless response to the MPs expenses scandal, but even puddings named after him are proving unpopular in the extreme. Searcys 40/30, [...]
Renault follow Ferrari with quit threat May 13, 2009 RENAULT have joined Ferrari in threatening to abandon F1 if controversial plans to introduce a voluntary budget cap are imposed next season. Several leading teams fear the optional nature of the £40m cap will create an unfair two-tier competition and damage the appeal of the sport. Ferrari, the oldest and most glamorous team, went public [...]
Test cricket has priority, says Strauss May 13, 2009 ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss last night hit back at West Indian counterpart Chris Gayle insisting Test cricket should remain the most important form of the game. Strauss sparked the row in the build-up to the first Test at Lord’s last week, criticising Gayle for joining his West Indies team-mates just two days before the series [...]
QUINLAN TO MISS LIONS TOUR May 13, 2009 MUNSTER flanker Alan Quinlan has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa after he was banned for 12 weeks for eye-gauging. The Irish international, 34, was cited for the incident involving Leinster’s Leo Cullen in the Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park on 2 May, and has been banned [...]
Intel to contest record fine May 13, 2009 INTEL president and chief executive Paul Otellini said yesterday that the company will appeal against the record fine of €1.06bn (£1bn) that has been imposed by the European Commission for illegal rebates and other practices it used to squeeze out its rival, AMD. “Intel takes exception to this decision. We believe the decision is wrong and [...]
The places in town not to be seen May 13, 2009 ARE you happy in your job? Of course you are. You are hardworking and – most importantly – loyal. But imagine if somebody did come along and try to headhunt you. You would be stupid not to agree to a meeting, just to have a chat and see how the land lies. A little bit [...]
Loss for Land Securities as sales mooted May 13, 2009 LAND Securities, Britain’s largest property company, reported a record £4.77bn loss yesterday, signalling the extent to which the UK property market has imploded. The firm saw the value of its investment portfolio plummet by 34.2 per cent to £7.93bn, amid what the company described as “unprecedented” market conditions. Chief executive Francis Salway said: “This has [...]
