If you want a good quality of life, Helsinki’s your city June 16, 2009 YESZOE STRIMPEL THAT London hasn’t made it into the top 50 places to live in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability survey doesn’t surprise me. These types of lists are compiled using utterly colourless criteria that bear little relation to what makes life worth living. Admittedly, Helsinki, Vienna and Zurich (all in the top 10) are [...]
The INSIDER June 16, 2009 Day two and Richard Hills, not everyone’s favourite jockey, may chalk up Group race success with INFIRAAD in the Jersey Stakes. LUSH LASHES won the Coronation Stakes last year and goes for the Group 2 Windsor Forest Stakes this year. Even with her Group 1 penalty she should take all the beating. The Royal Hunt [...]
Stoute mare is Heaven Sent in Windsor Forest June 16, 2009 When Ryan Moore booted HEAVEN SENT two lengths clear at the distance in this contest 12 months ago, the race looked all over bar the shouting. However, the daughter of Pivotal became a sitting target as she idled in front and was claimed late on by Sabana Perdida. It was an understandable manoeuvre for a [...]
BA turbulence as staff asked to work for free June 16, 2009 THERE was further turbulence at British Airways (BA) yesterday after the airline asked its 40,000-strong staff to work without pay, as the company “fights for survival”. The flag carrier is desperately seeking to cut costs, having made record losses of £401m for 2008. Airlines across the globe are struggling as they deal with a slump [...]
Tartan Bearer to prove he is too good in Prince of Wales’s Stakes June 16, 2009 The feature race on the second day of Royal Ascot is the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Sir Michael Stoute’s TARTAN BEARER looks the one to beat in the Group One contest. Last year’s Derby runner-up showed he was as good as ever when winning a tactical affair at Sandown last time when looking to [...]
Huge demand for gilts sale led by banks June 16, 2009 THE DEBT Management Office (DMO) raised a greater-than-expected £7bn in a syndicated sale of 25-year gilts yesterday, easing fears of a lack of investor enthusiasm for British government debt. The DMO took orders for £15.25bn worth of gilts, making the sale by far the most popular syndicated sale of sovereign debt in history. Yields on [...]
GLORY DAYS FOR ROYAL ASCOT CITY RACING SET June 16, 2009 IT WAS smiles all round for the property world’s keenest racegoers yesterday, as a group of City real estate heavyweights toasted a win (and a hefty £167,472 prize pot) for their horse Paco Boy in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot. I hear Parkwood Property Investments partner Derek Lucie-Smith, one of the owners, was in [...]
Bank of Japan sees recession easing June 16, 2009 THE RATE of deterioration in the Japanese economy has begun to slow, the country’s central bank said yesterday, signalling that the worst of its recession could be over. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) opted to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.1 per cent, but issued a more optimistic outlook based on increased production in the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2009 REED ELSEVIERPanmure Gordon retained its “buy” rating on Reed Elsevier after an update call with the company. It said that the shares have been disconcertingly weak recently but that this is understandable in view of the weak dollar. The broker leaves its core assumptions unchanged, forecasting earnings per share growth year-on-year. SERCOSerco’s shares have rallied [...]
China offers $10bn loan to its key allies June 16, 2009 CHINA will offer a $10bn (£6bn) credit loan to Russia and other key allies to help them through the financial crisis, Chinese President Hu Jintao said yesterday. Speaking at a summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Jintao said China would provide monetary aid to Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, who are all members [...]
