Beckham tips red-hot Rooney to scoop top gongs February 17, 2010 FORMER Manchester United darling David Beckham is backing Old Trafford’s latest hero, Wayne Rooney, to achieve world domination. Beckham, who is on loan at AC Milan, was reminded of Rooney’s talent on Wednesday night when the striker scored twice in United’s 3-2 win over the Italians. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the 24-year-old’s current form [...]
Rexam slips into the red in downturn February 17, 2010 CAN maker Rexam slipped into the red last year as hard-pressed consumers cut spending on drinks, although it said cost-cutting should help it improve performance in 2010. Rexam, whose customers include Coca-Cola, Pepsi and SABMiller, said it made a pre-tax loss of £59m in the year to 31 December, compared with profits of £240m last year. [...]
League shouldn’t tamper with rules February 17, 2010 WHEN it comes to the plans to introduce a play-off for the fourth Champions League place, I’m with David Moyes and Rafael Benitez. They are both against plans for the teams who finish from fourth to seventh in the Premier League battling it out for the lucrative spot – and so am I. Firstly, it [...]
Thorntons revels in sweet profit figures February 17, 2010 THORNTONS reported a 25 per cent rise in first half profits yesterday – with the company hoping its new ice cream lines will boost summer figures. Pre-tax profits jumped to £9.1m in the 28 weeks to 9 January as the group managed to shift most of its Christmas stock. Thorntons’ chocolates are sold through supermarkets [...]
Johnno slams Wilko critics February 17, 2010 ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson last night hit back at critics of Jonny Wilkinson, insisting the record-breaking fly-half is being made a scapegoat for side’s inconsistent form. Wilkinson came under fire after missing three penalties in England’s nervy Six Nations win over Italy on Sunday, with some suggesting Toby Flood should take over for next weekend’s [...]
WESTFIELD PULLING IN THE CROWDS February 17, 2010 SALES at Westfield shopping centre were up 11 per cent last month, it was revealed yesterday, lifting some of the gloom that has dogged the wider retail market. The mall in West London’s Shepherd’s Bush also saw spending in the run-up to to crucial Christmas trading period soar 18 per cent compared with the equivalent [...]
Burberry to close design plant with a loss of 300 jobs February 17, 2010 BURBERRY is cutting back on its loss-making Spanish operations with 300 jobs to be axed. The company will stop designing and selling exclusive collections for Spain after Autumn/Winter 2010. A facility in Barcelona, which is responsible for the Spanish collections, wil be closed. Burberry said that this would result in a one-off charge, but that [...]
Vonn revels in golden dream February 17, 2010 ON a treacherous piste named Franz’s Run, American Lindsey Vonn summoned the daredevil spirit of the legendary Klammer to secure the Olympic women’s downhill title. Just a week ago Vonn, the dominant force in World Cup racing, announced in front of a packed media conference that a shin injury could have ended her Games before [...]
Mulberry says profits to rise with boost from Alexa bag February 17, 2010 LUXURY brand Mulberry has predicted that it is on the way to smashing profit forecasts for the year as its “Alexa” range helped to boost sales. The handbags, named after and designed for TV presenter Alexa Chung have been a hit since their launch last month. “It is clearly very helpful for sales when someone [...]
Kiewetter makes his mark as Lions embarrass England February 17, 2010 BATTING sensation Craig Kieswetter gave a timely nudge to the England selectors after inflicting an embarrassing defeat on Andy Flower’s senior side. The South African-born wicket-keeper/batsman smashed 81 off just 66 balls to help a second string Lions side to a surprise five-wicket victory over the England first XI in a Twenty20 warm-up match in [...]
