Saints and Sarries at war over Soane March 31, 2010 PREMIERSHIP rivals Northampton and Saracens are at war over Soane Tonga’uiha after the Tongan international sensationally reneged on a deal to join Sarries for next season. The 28-year-old prop signed an agreement to join the Vicarage Road club back in January, but has now changed his mind and reopened contract negotiations with the Saints. But [...]
Sky will have to play defensively March 31, 2010 PERHAPS Sky should have remembered the advice of Marx brother Chico when it bet the house on premiership football rights back in 1992: “If you win today, you’ll only lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.” Having had the premium sports TV space to itself for the last eight years, the media regulator is [...]
Lords warn on trading rules March 31, 2010 POLITICIANS yesterday raised fears that European Union plans to regulate trading tools used by hedge funds and banks could create new institutions that are “too big to fail”. The European Commission proposes to tighten rules on over-the-counter derivatives by forcing more trades to be conducted through central clearing houses. Clearing houses provide stability because they [...]
Northern Rock head is making a small fortune March 31, 2010 THE head of nationalised bank Northern Rock was paid an astounding £1.3m in 2009, despite the group recording a loss of £257m last year. Gary Hoffman’s basic £700,000 salary was boosted by pension payments and the second tranche of a 1.2m compensation package for incentives lost when he left Barclays in 2008, according to the [...]
Alonso taken aback by his flying start March 31, 2010 COMBINING a two-time world champion with the most famous team in motor racing was always going to be a potent mix, but Fernando Alonso insists he is surprised by just how well he has begun life at Ferrari. The Spaniard leads the drivers’ standings after two races – a win in Bahrain followed by fourth [...]
BANK OF ENGLAND BOFFIN KNOCKS THE SPOTS OFF THE COMPETITION March 31, 2010 WHEN it comes to pepping up weighty speeches with witty references to popular culture, the boffins from the Bank of England aren’t exactly known for being trailblazers. But Andrew Haldane, the Bank’s executive director for financial stability, tore his peers’ stuffy image to shreds in a speech in Hong Kong this week by managing to [...]
Sports Direct pulls bid for Blacks Leisure March 31, 2010 SPORTS Direct yesterday said it would not bid for Blacks Leisure because it couldn’t be sure that suppliers would support such a move, ending an increasingly hostile takeover battle. Sports Direct, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club boss Mike Ashley, said it was aware certain key suppliers would not support a takeover and said that [...]
Pinewood strikes upbeat tone despite profit slump March 31, 2010 PINEWOOD Shepperton, whose studios provided the backdrop for films such as the Bond saga and recent release The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus yesterday insisted its prospects are strong despite posting a 24 per cent fall in profits for the year. The firm saw its pre-tax profit slip to £4.5m for the year to December, compared [...]
Barclays seals purchase of Citi credit card arm March 31, 2010 BARCLAYS has successfully completed its acquisition of rival Citibank’s Italian credit card business, allowing it to take control of the divison’s 197,000-odd credit card accounts and €234m (£208.3m) of assets. Barclays said yesterday that its path had been cleared to complete the deal, originally announced last month, following receipt of competition clearance and consultation with [...]
Durham on top as pink ball takes effect March 31, 2010 IAN BLACKWELL and Scott Borthwick both took three wickets as county champions Durham closed in on victory after day three of their floodlit county season opener with an MCC XI in Abu Dhabi. Durham declared their second innings on 228-6 thanks to an unbeaten stand of 125 between Callum Thorp (79no) and Kyle Coetzer (52no). This gave [...]
