Pietersen decision is Flower’s toughest yet September 13, 2012 THIS hasn’t been the easiest of summers for the England cricket team. A difficult Test series against South Africa resulting in the loss of the No1 ranking, the resignation and retirement of captain Andrew Strauss and the distraction of the Kevin Pietersen controversy. But one man to have emerged with great credit is Andy Flower. [...]
Sarries can win plaudits as well as trophies, says flanker Fraser September 13, 2012 SARACENS flanker Will Fraser insists they will prove their critics wrong this season, delighting and dominating in equal measure as they bid to reclaim the Aviva Premiership crown. Sarries, who face Leicester Tigers at Wembley tomorrow, reached the play-offs last season but came in for criticism for failing to excite – an accusation Flanker believes [...]
Heineken Cup successor will dazzle, say BT September 13, 2012 THE HEINEKEN Cup will be superseded by a “dazzling new European tournament” in two years’ time, says BT Vision chairman Marc Watson. English and French clubs’ breakaway plans gathered pace this week when BT Vision struck a £152m deal with Premiership Rugby that they say gives them the rights to show European games involving English [...]
Carroll comeback hopes hit September 13, 2012 WEST HAM manager Sam Allardyce has played down suggestions that on-loan striker Andy Carroll could return from injury as soon as next week. Carroll was ruled out until mid-October after tearing his hamstring on debut two weeks ago, but Allardyce said yesterday: “We have got no time on it really. He is improving well.”
Derbyshire and Yorkshire go up September 13, 2012 CRICKET: Derbyshire clinched an historic first promotion and Yorkshire ensured an instant return to Division One after Division Two rivals Kent lost to Glamorgan yesterday. Derbyshire will go up as champions if they beat Hampshire, who finished day three 142-6, a lead of 139, but if they slip up today Yorkshire could take the title [...]
Motorsport mourns Watkins September 13, 2012 FORMULA ONE: Professor Sid Watkins, who was credited with overhauling F1’s safety protocol during more than 30 years in the sport, has died, aged 84. The Whitechapel Hospital neurosurgeon, as trackside doctor, played a key role in saving the lives of Rubens Barrichello and Mika Hakkinen after crashes in the mid-1990s. “It was Sid Watkins [...]
Peacock calls on Diamond League September 13, 2012 PARALYMPICS: British T44 100m gold medallist Jonnie Peacock has called for more disability events to be added to top athletics meetings. “Incorporating Paralympic sport into the Diamond League and giving it air-time, that’s the aim,” said Peacock, who beat Oscar Pistorius at London 2012. “You wouldn’t sell 80,000 tickets every single day for every single [...]
Gold spikes as Fed turns on the taps September 13, 2012 THE FEDERAL Reserve launched a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) last night, with Ben Bernanke pledging to buy an extra $40bn (£24.8bn) of assets every month until the economy recovers and unemployment falls in earnest. The Fed will also keep extending the average maturity of its asset holdings through the rest of this year, [...]
Direct Line flotation risks only raising £1.5bn for RBS September 13, 2012 CITY banks advising on the initial public offering (IPO) of Direct Line Group, London’s largest share listing this year, have warned that they might only reach a valuation for the insurance group of £1.5bn, half what many have expected. According to banking sources, the syndicate analysts’ valuation range, which is a forerunner of the official [...]
Why Ben Bernanke’s decision to launch QE3 is a bad mistake September 13, 2012 SORRY, but this is not the way to run an economy. There was a case for quantitative easing (QE) at the start of the financial crisis, and conceivably more recently too, to prevent the money supply from collapsing, in the US, in the UK and elsewhere. But not today – and especially not in America. [...]