These Olympic Games are a chance to show the world what BA’s about February 21, 2012 Frank van der Post is the man making sure that British Airways gets a flying start as 2012’s airline partner Q. What was your brand’s primary reason for being involved with the Games? A. We’re a tier one sponsor for London 2012, and although we’ve sponsored British athletes before, it’s the first time we’ve been [...]
Our corporate reporting is broken: but new research says that it can be fixed February 21, 2012 Pressure mounts for substantial changes to company reports, as a survey uncovers ambiguous attitudes SOME debates, it seems, go unresolved for years despite their importance. The future of corporate reporting is one such issue. It is now more than five years since the leaders of the biggest six accounting firms declared that the reporting system [...]
Panamera GTS and BMW’s new-gen 3-series both score February 21, 2012 Porsche’s new Panamera shows that two more seats can still be sporty PORSCHE’s four-seat Panamera has sold surprisingly well. Though it’s pretty agile for such a large, heavy motor it’s never felt as sporty as it could have with a character that’s more luxury limousine than dynamic sportscar, even in its range-topping Turbo iteration. It’s [...]
CAR TALK February 21, 2012 FORD’S FIESTA-SIZED B-MAX Will Ford’s new B-MAX be the cleverest little car this year? The new Fiesta-sized MPV has its central body B-pillars incorporated into the doors so there’s a 1.5m long opening on either side of the car. Easy to get in and out of and you should be able to load large items [...]
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TIPPING February 20, 2012 THE pick of Tuesday night’s Champions League action sees an under pressure Chelsea side travel to one of the toughest grounds in European football, the Stadio San Paolo. Andre Villas-Boas was supposed to be the new Jose Mourinho but as yet, he’s been unable to get his Chelsea team anywhere near the heights that their [...]
Oil surges on Iranian fears February 20, 2012 OIL prices surged yesterday after a defiant Iran banned sales to Britain and France, amid growing fears over the country’s nuclear ambitions. Brent crude nudged over $121 a barrel – the highest level for eight months – as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Tehran to assess first hand the Islamic Republic’s controversial [...]
Talks over Greek deal drag into small hours February 20, 2012 TALKS over a Greek bailout spilled into the early hours of this morning as negotiators edged closer to a deal to cut Greek debt to a sustainable level. Japanese markets opened lower after hours of wrangling in Brussels were yet to produce a deal. Minister did agree on measures expected to reduce Greece’s debt to [...]
Laws: target high earners February 20, 2012 DAVID LAWS, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, has mounted pressure on the chancellor George Osborne to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 in next month’s Budget, saying it was time to signal the end of austerity on household budgets. Laws told BBC’s Newsnight yesterday that the Liberal Democrats would fund the move [...]
Cameron needs to refocus his efforts February 20, 2012 THE reformist credentials of this government are looking increasingly shaky. The only area where real change is taking place is education: Michael Gove, the secretary of state, and his uber-competent team, are pushing through a revolution, liberating state schools from local authority control, allowing new schools to be set up by outsiders, improving standards and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES US CORPORATES SHY TO OFFER GUIDANCE US companies are more uncertain about the future than at any point since the financial crisis, with just one in five of the country’s biggest corporations making any predictions as they published fourth-quarter results. TRANSOCEAN WILL NOT PROPOSE A DIVIDEND Shares in Transocean, the owner of the [...]