Every start is precious for Kellock after Azzurri axe February 25, 2010 SECOND-ROW Alastair Kellock will be hoping history does not repeat itself when his Scotland side face Italy tomorrow – even though they rallied to a record win. The Glasgow Warrior was making his first international start in two years against the Azzurri at Murrayfield 12 months ago – and helped them record a biggest ever [...]
Virgin results smash all expectations February 25, 2010 Virgin Media posted expectation beating results yesterday as earnings soared 15 per cent to £366m. Total revenue rose 3.3 per cent to £980m, driven by 6.1 per cent growth in its cable business. The firm added a staggering 40,600 new subscribers to its services and the average customer spent 5.8 per cent more than in [...]
Telecom Italia delays 2009 results February 25, 2010 Telecom Italia has delayed approving its 2009 results due to a probe into a money-laundering racket involving its Sparkle unit and broadband group Fastweb that could amount to more than €2bn (£1.8bn). Europe’s No.5 telecoms operator said it estimated virtually flat core profits, but had not approved the figures after authorities seized €300m from Sparkle [...]
Correction: Jo Bamford February 25, 2010 We printed a picture of Jo Bamford in yesterday’s edition. We incorrectly said that Bamford donated £400,000 to the Conservative party in the final quarter of 2009. Bamford did not make a donation to the Conservative party. We said he was chief executive of JCB, which he is not. The picture we printed of David [...]
NAPF attacks Darling over pension tax plan February 25, 2010 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling’s plans to reduce tax relief on the pension contributions of high earners will do “enormous harm” to company pension schemes, according to one of the country’s most influential pensions groups. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) yesterday called on the government, which will set out more of their plans in next [...]
We’ve not under-performed insist British Olympic chiefs February 25, 2010 BRITISH Olympic Association officials have defended the performance of their team in Vancouver after admitting they would miss the three medal target set by UK Sport. Chief executive Andy Hunt was keen to accentuate the positive, underlining his point with statistics. While skeleton gold for Amy Williams represents an improvement on Shelley Rudman’s solitary silver [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THE GOVERNMENT’S PLANS TO REDUCE TAX RELIEF ON HIGH EARNERS PENSIONS AFFECT RETIREMENT AGE? February 25, 2010 JASON NASH | BERRYMANS LACE MAWER “It will likely prolong retirement because pensions are currently so badly funded. The pension funds have suffered so much recently that implementing a new tax will now add to the age with which people retire. But maybe less so for the high earners.” AZAM ZAKA | EPROSPECTS “It won’t [...]
Hays profits fall by 97pc as market continues to suffer February 25, 2010 RECRUITMENT giant Hays saw its profits plummet by 97 per cent for the half year after the continued slump in the recruitment market took its toll. Hays saw profits before tax fall to £3.4m for the six-month period ending 31 December 2009, marking a significant drop from the previous year when profits came in at [...]
Minichiello horror as British pair crash out February 25, 2010 DEVASTATED Nicola Minichiello spoke of her heartache after crashing out of the bobsleigh to cap a disappointing night for Great Britain’s medal hopefuls. Minichiello’s medal dreams were dashed when she lost control of the sled on the third run, causing it to flip over and trap her and partner Gillian Cooke inside. The pair were [...]
UK transport companies in profits slide February 25, 2010 TWO of the UK’s leading transport companies have recorded pre-tax profit falls after difficulties with their rail arms. National Express and Go Ahead have blamed the losses on a lack of government subsidies for their rail franchises. National Express returned its East Coast Main Line contract to the government in November but could not prevent [...]
