HMV in £53m deal to sell Waterstone’s May 20, 2011 HMV has agreed a deal to offload its Waterstone’s book chain to a fund headed by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut for £53m. Mamut already owns six per cent of HMV which has been struggling as downloads have hit its CD business, while sales at online retailers like Amazon have also taken off. The sale to [...]
Mitsui to pay BP £678m oil spill claim May 20, 2011 MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co, and partner in BP’s doomed Macondo well has agreed to pay the UK oil major $1.1bn (£678m) towards the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. MOEX had a 10 per cent stake in the well and was liable for a commensurate portion of [...]
Next IMF boss shouldn’t be European May 20, 2011 FAR too much time and energy is being wasted on trying to work out who the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) new boss will be. The truth is that it is unlikely to matter that much: the individuals entrusted with the running of large transnational bureaucracies almost invariably find it impossible to break away from the [...]
Care: Cup can remove stain of Bloodgate May 19, 2011 HARLEQUINS vs STADE FRANCAIS HARLEQUINS scrum-half Danny Care believes his side’s presence in tonight’s Amlin Challenge Cup final completes the club’s rehabilitation following the dark days of the Bloodgate scandal. The London club were plunged into turmoil following the events of the 2009 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster in which the use of fake blood [...]
I wrote Quins off in the semi-final but won’t make that mistake again May 19, 2011 FEW, including myself, thought Harlequins would have enough to get past Munster in the semi-finals, especially at Thomond Park. Munster’s biggest mistake was probably underestimating them and Quins ran out worthy winners. Now they’ve given themselves an opportunity to win a major trophy. There are only three on offer each season so to end up [...]
RFU left red-faced by Woodward snub May 19, 2011 WORLD CUP winning former England boss Sir Clive Woodward has left the Rugby Football Union’s plans to appoint a performance director in disarray after withdrawing his candidacy for the job. Woodward, who was the clear favourite for a role that has provoked intense debate in recent weeks, released a statement yesterday ruling himself out of [...]
Blues and Blackpool to join Hammers May 19, 2011 THERE are any number of permutations heading into what promises to be a fascinating finale to the season but you get what you deserve after a 38-game campaign, and ultimately for the two teams who will join already demoted West Ham in the Championship next season there can be no excuses. BLACKBURN The record books [...]
O’Driscoll is still a doubt May 19, 2011 LEINSTER vs NORTHAMPTON IRELAND captain Brian O’Driscoll remains a doubt for Leinster’s Heineken Cup final against Northampton tomorrow. O’Driscoll sustained a knee injury against Ulster last weekend and was unable to take a full part in yesterday’s training session. Leinster coach Joe Schmidt said that O’Driscoll had only been able to run at “three-quarters pace” [...]
FA won’t vote for Blatter or Bin Hammam May 19, 2011 THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION has opted to abstain from the vote for the Fifa presidency. Sepp Blatter, seeking a fourth consecutive term of office, has been challenged by Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation. But the FA has decided not to cast a vote in light of the recent corruption allegations [...]
STAYING PUT: WENGER TO KEEP FABREGAS May 19, 2011 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger insists he is planning for captain Cesc Fabregas to remain at the club, despite speculation of a move to Barcelona. “I expect him to be here,” said Wenger, ahead of Sunday’s match at Fulham. “I will fight very hard to keep him here.” Fabregas is injured for the final game of [...]
