POLO COMES TO THE O2 AS PONIES AND PLAYERS LINE UP TO IMPRESS February 24, 2011 FOR the first time ever, polo ponies took to the floor at the O2 arena last night at the inaugural Gaucho International Polo event. Teams from England, South Africa, Argentina and Scotland (flying the flag for City A.M.) met in North Greenwich last night to bring a touch of the country to urban London, in [...]
Net migration to Britain rises by more than a fifth February 24, 2011 THE Conservatives’ election pledge to slash net migration from “hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands” faces an uphill battle, after official figures yesterday showed a 22 per cent rise in the number of people settling in the UK. Meanwhile, the number of people emigrating fell in 2010, by 15 per cent, according to the [...]
McCoy to land another Racing Post Chase with Fistral Beach February 24, 2011 THE first three horses to immediately catch my eye in tomorrow’s Racing Post Chase were Nacarat, Tatenen and FISTRAL BEACH. The first named of the trio finished second in this race 12 months ago, having won it back in 2009, while Tatenen is showing signs of a return to the form that saw him sent [...]
Durable goods orders up in US February 24, 2011 There was mixed news for US investment in durable goods order figures, released yesterday. Headline durable goods orders were up 2.7 per cent in January, yet the figure excluding volatile transport orders fell by 3.6 per cent on the previous month of December. “This should not worry us as consumer spending seems to be taking [...]
GDP revisions expected for UK February 24, 2011 An updated estimate of British GDP in the final three months of the year will be released by the Office for National Statistics today. Last month the ONS shocked economists by announcing a 0.5 per cent contraction in the economy, according to its first estimate.
England can make toast of French in Le Crunch February 24, 2011 ENGLAND Vs FRANCE Tomorrow – 5.00pm BBC1 MARC LIÈVREMONT does not like the English. The French coach admitted so this week, initiating the mind games ahead of ‘Le Crunch’ tomorrow. The fact is hardly surprising, given that it is the English that stand in the way of a Grand Slam for Les Bleus, while England [...]
American jobless claims drop February 24, 2011 New unemployment benefit claims in the US dropped to 391,000 in the week ending 19 February, while continuing jobless claims fell below 3.8m. “The continued improvement in this week’s report signals that the weather-related spikes in January did not alter the downward trend in claims, and we take this as evidence that the labour market [...]
US house price slump continues February 24, 2011 American house prices continued to falter in December, dropping 0.3 per cent on the previous month, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said yesterday. In the final three months of the year, prices were 0.8 per cent down, compared to the three months to September. “Lingering unemployment and elevated inventories of for-sale homes contributed to the [...]
BAT triggers buyback but shares drop February 24, 2011 BRITISH American Tobacco’s (BAT) resumption of its share buyback programme and an upbeat 2011 outlook yesterday failed to offset concerns about declining cigarette volumes. Shares in the London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, fell 1.5 per cent despite the £750m share buyback plan and BAT saying the worst of the [...]
Centrica profit rise fuelled by cold spell February 24, 2011 CENTRICA yesterday reported a sharp rise in full-year profit, boosted by higher power demand during the severe winter and as it added more residential customers. The energy company, which owns Britain’s biggest household energy supplier British Gas, reported an adjusted operating profit of £2.39bn, on sales marginally higher at £22.4bn Analysts expected an operating profit [...]
