Betfair tanks after falling at first hurdle December 14, 2010 RACING certainty Betfair yesterday dismayed punters after reporting lower than expected half-year earnings. The online gambling firm had ridden a lucky streak since its £1.4bn flotation earlier this year. But its pre-tax profits dipped 18.9 per cent to £7.4m after taking account of one-off items including the cost of its IPO, down from £9.2m the [...]
Getting to know the real McCoy December 14, 2010 WE meet outside Ascot’s weighing room just after lunch. That’s my lunch, not AP’s, as he doesn’t really do lunch. That’s the sacrifice he and other jockeys make to maintain their racing weights. But, that’s where comparisons with other jockeys stop. With over 3,300 career winners to his name and 15 consecutive Jockey Championships, there [...]
Bookies’ favourite loses maiden race December 14, 2010 HORSERACING clichés at the ready: thoroughbred betting exchange Betfair has fallen at the first hurdle; the bookies’ favourite has failed to win its maiden race, after the jockey dropped his whip in the final furlong. Turning to another mammal, it’s hard to be anything but bearish on Betfair’s first half results. Core revenue might have [...]
OFT to probe UK’s private health sector December 14, 2010 THE UK’s lucrative £5.5bn private healthcare market is to come under scrutiny from market watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), it announced yesterday. The regulator has opened a consultation into whether the market for private hospitals and medical procedures offer customers enough choice and value, ahead of a full investigation in early 2011. As [...]
England must go for jugular. This isn’t over… yet December 14, 2010 I CAN’T think of a better Christmas present to everyone involved in English cricket than securing the Ashes; it would be absolutely fantastic. Victory in the third Test, which starts in the small hours of tonight, would guarantee we bring the urn back to these shores, and you can be sure that’s exactly what all [...]
Goldman Sachs hits back at accusations over Bear Stearns December 14, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs has hit back at allegations that its actions caused the collapse of two key mortgage hedge funds in 2007 at the onset of the financial crisis. In letters now published, Goldman told the US agency investigating the credit crunch it did not intend to force two funds run by Bear Stearns Asset Management [...]
Rio Tinto in $1bn Alcan expansion December 14, 2010 RIO TINTO plans to spend more than $1bn on two of its Canadian aluminum smelters, aiming to boost efficiency, cut costs and deliver on commitments made when it acquired Canada’s Alcan. The Anglo-Australian mining giant, which bought giant Canadian aluminum maker Alcan in 2007, said yesterday it will spend about $760m to complete the first [...]
UK tax breaks under review December 14, 2010 TAX breaks that encourage house “flipping” when selling could be ruled out as part of a government review. The Office of Tax Simplification has evaluated 13 tax reliefs in a provisional exercise to understand how to either scrap or simplify the UK’s 1,042 tax breaks. Capital gains tax relief on private homes “remains as valid [...]
BP set to sell Pakistan unit for $775m December 14, 2010 BP agreed to sell virtually all of its oil and gas assets in Pakistan to Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group for $775m (£491m) as it raises cash to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP said the Pakistan sale has brought to $21.8bn the amount that the firm has raised in recent months. [...]
King planned bailout fund six months before banking crisis December 14, 2010 THE governor of the Bank of England was so concerned about the global economy that he suggested the UK, US, Switzerland and Japan create an international bailout fund six months before the economic crisis hit its peak, a confidential US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks revealed yesterday. The cable dated 17 March 2008 details discussions [...]
