Foster’s error grants Avram cup delight January 11, 2011 WEST HAM UNITED 2 VS BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 UNDER-FIRE West Ham boss Avram Grant blamed the incessant speculation surrounding his future for damaging the team after his 10 men rose above their Premier League travails to take a significant step towards the Carling Cup final. A goalkeeping howler from Ben Foster gifted Carlton Cole the [...]
Clubs dodge Twitter foul-ups January 11, 2011 LONDON’S leading clubs are warning their players about the perils of using Twitter as the Football Association begins to clamp down on social media. Premier League stars are increasingly bypassing press officers and their own representatives to engage with fans on Twitter, with Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas a regular on the micro-blogging site. However, the [...]
Fears over government loan targets January 11, 2011 THERE were growing fears over government plans to boost bank lending last night, after Santander said it might not participate in any deal as critics warned overly-ambitious targets could backfire. The government is locked in talks with Britain’s five biggest banks over plans to impose business lending targets for this year, as part of a [...]
Public spending rise sees UK fall down freedom rankings January 11, 2011 BRITONS face increasing restrictions on their financial and businesses freedoms, according to an international survey released today. Last year the UK dropped out of the top 10 most economically free countries, and has plummeted a further five places in today’s report. The UK is now ranked 16 in the world, below countries such as Canada, [...]
Lloyds insurers hit as disaster costs balloon January 11, 2011 FOUR Lloyds insurers saw their profit forecasts slashed by RBS analysts yesterday due to ballooning losses from natural disasters. Chaucer, Catlin, Hiscox and Lancashire saw their full-year pre-tax profit estimates cut by up to a fifth due to losses from the earthquake that devastated Christchurch in New Zealand last September. And insurers, already hit by [...]
Colly: We’ll show no mercy in quest for Twenty20 record January 11, 2011 ENGLAND Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood will be hoping to maintain this winter’s record-breaking theme Down Under when his side renew hostilities with Australia today. Collingwood, who led his side to victory in the World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean last year, knows a victory against Australia in Adelaide would set a world record for consecutive [...]
Wenger’s hand forced by new Vermaelen blow January 11, 2011 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger admits he will have to strengthen his defensive options in the transfer window after Thomas Vermaelen suffered a fresh blow in his attempts to recover from an Achilles injury. The Belgium international has not featured for Arsenal since the end of August, despite Wenger’s initial prognosis claiming the 25-year-old would be sidelined [...]
LBO loans up on last year January 11, 2011 LOANS issued for leveraged buyouts (LBOs) reached a global volume of $89.3bn (£57.4bn) in 2010, indicating the first annual increase since before the downturn. The rise in volume could indicate the return of debt-financed buyouts of firms by investors, as the volume reached nearly five times the amount recorded in 2009 of $18.2bn – the [...]
England star Lawes set to miss Six Nations campaign January 11, 2011 ENGLAND lock Courtney Lawes has been ruled out of the entire Six Nations campaign as a result of the knee ligament injury he suffered playing for Northampton against Leicester last Saturday. The 21-year-old’s performances across the autumn campaign cemented his place in the plans of England manager Martin Johnson, who will make a choice between [...]
Pakistan spot-fix trio verdict delay January 11, 2011 PAKISTAN trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif will have to wait until 5 February for the verdict in the spot-fixing case against them after a ruling was deferred. The International Cricket Council’s three-man tribunal in Doha spent six days hearing allegations that the Pakistan players deliberately bowled no-balls in the fourth Test against [...]
