Poquelin set to go one better than last year March 16, 2011 IT will be interesting to see how many of the 14 declared for this afternoon’s Ryanair Chase actually line-up come 2.40pm. Captain Cee Bee, Somersby and Rare Bob all look certain non-runners which means a maximum field of 11. As the ground continues to dry out, the most obvious starting point is last year’s winner [...]
Walsh and Nicholls to rule the World again March 16, 2011 THE Ladbrokes World Hurdle has been won by some brilliant horses in the past decade. Both Baracouda and Inglis Drever thrilled the crowds with their withering late runs, but this afternoon BIG BUCK’S has the potential to permanently etch his name into the Cheltenham history books. Andy Stewart’s eight-year-old has won all 10 of his [...]
Nuclear crisis rocks markets March 15, 2011 JAPAN’S Nikkei surged six per cent in the first hour of trading this morning after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) intervened for a third time pumping another 3.5 trillion yen (£26.8bn) in same-day funds into the financial system in a desperate bid to ease liquidity after Tokyo suffered its worst two-day drop in 24 years. [...]
Portugal hit by rating downgrade March 15, 2011 INTERNATIONAL ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Portugal’s sovereign debt rating and assigned it a negative outlook. Its rating of Portugal’s long-term government bonds is now A3, down from A1, following a review initiated last year. The downgrade was driven by subdued growth prospects in the country while it restructures its economy. Moody’s said Portugal’s continued [...]
Fed pledges to stick with QE March 15, 2011 AMERICA’S ultra loose monetary policy will continue, the Federal Reserve announced last night, despite admitting to strong inflationary pressures affecting prices. The US recovery is “on a firmer footing” than when it started the year, the Fed said, yet it unanimously voted to continue quantitative easing. Interest rates will stay at “exceptionally low levels,” the [...]
World weighs nuclear power amid concerns March 15, 2011 THE PROSPECT of a nuclear-free Europe was raised yesterday, after the EU official in charge of energy said stress tests needed to be undertaken. The development marks a dramatic turnaround for the European Union, whose member states have been at the forefront of a nuclear energy revival. Yet the unravelling nuclear crisis in Japan has [...]
Fear and loathing stalk the global financial markets March 15, 2011 EVERYTHING always seems to go wrong at the same time. Global investors are always extraordinarily naïve about geopolitics and natural disasters; they have suddenly awoken from their stupor and realised that the world is a much more dangerous place that they thought. The earthquake in Japan, a devastating catastrophe for that country, was the tipping [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES FEARS MOMENT PASSED FOR LIBYA INTERVENTION The UK and France have lost all hope of launching military action to halt Muammer Gaddafi’s attack on rebels in Libya, according to senior European officials who acknowledge the regime may be in a position to crush the uprising within weeks. CAMERON RULES OUT TORY RETREAT ON [...]
Radiation leak confirmed at Fukushima March 15, 2011 RADIATION leaked from one of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants yesterday, as Japanese authorities tried to settle squabbles over the handling of the unfolding crisis. A blaze at reactor 4 released radiation yesterday morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed, with levels spiking at 400 millisievert per hour near the reactor buildings. Last [...]
RADIATION LEAKS IN JAPAN March 15, 2011 Q.HOW MUCH RADIATION HAS BEEN RELEASED? A.The fire at Fukushima’s Daiichi reactor 4 is thought to have released the most radiation so far, with readings after the blaze showing 400 millisievert (mSv) per hour. For comparison, a chest X-ray will give a 0.2 mSv dose and the legal limit in the UK for nuclear workers [...]
