England to be low scorers against Andorra September 5, 2008 England are a best priced 1/50 with Ladbrokes to see off a side ranked 186th in the FIFA World rankings. Incidentally, the “hosts” can be backed at a massive 80/1 with Boylesports to win the game and the draw is a top priced 30/1 with Betdaq. Andorra have avoided defeat in only three of their [...]
Jon Moulton: why making money is my hobby as well as my profession September 5, 2008 The City’s most outspoken private equity chief talks to Katie Hope about the credit crunch At a time when most of the financial services sector is in despair over how bad the economic crisis is, Jon Moulton can barely contain his glee. He estimates the credit crunch will go on for “at least two years” [...]
Why equities have further to fall before they eventually recover September 5, 2008 Despite a strong August, investors must remain very cautious, warns Abigail Townsend For the City’s dwindling band of optimists, August was a surprisingly good month. After hefty falls for most of the summer, the FTSE 100 rallied from lows of below 5,100 in early July to close at 5,362 yesterday, a 5.14 per cent gain [...]
Brown needs to improve or quit, says former Home Secretary Clarke September 5, 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown should stand down as party leader if he cannot improve his government’s performance in the coming months, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke said yesterday. Clarke said Labour was heading for “disaster” at the next election if it did not change course. In a rare outbreak of dissent within the party, Clarke [...]
Met chief denies he is to be sacked September 5, 2008 Sir Ian Blair denied rumours he will be axed as Metropolitan Police chief in a statement given yesterday outside Scotland Yard’s headquarters. Newspaper reports said ministers and other police chiefs were secretly planning to remove Blair, who has been dogged by controversy since taking over as chief in February 2005. The first action would be [...]
Boeing’s largest union votes to strike over pay and health benefits September 5, 2008 The largest union of American plane maker Boeing has rejected a new contract over pay and conditions, giving the management 48 hours to improve the deal or face a damaging strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in Seattle last night that 80 per cent of the voters opposed the contract and [...]
Aviva cuts final payout for Norwich Union policy holders by 10 per cent September 5, 2008 Norwich Union, part of giant British insurance group Aviva, will slash its final policy payout by 10 per cent, in a move that will affect 2.4m policyholders. Norwich said yesterday its terminal bonuses would be cut by as much as 10 per cent after its funds were hit by faltering stock markets, commercial property and [...]
Resolution will not bid for UK insurer September 5, 2008 Clive Cowdery’s Resolution is not interested in a bid for the insurer Friends Provident, a company spokesman said yesterday. Shares in Friends Provident rose yesterday on reports that it was on a “wish list” of companies in Resolution’s sights. But a Resolution spokesman said today there was no truth in the rumours. He said: “There [...]
BNP Paribas to exploit credit crunch with new distressed finance group September 5, 2008 French bank BNP Paribas is to create a distressed finance group to take advantage of the credit crunch and snap up assets at discount prices, it said yesterday. The new unit will be led by Alain Dib, formerly the co-head of European high-yield markets. The bank plans to expand its distressed trading operations by providing [...]
Rates left on hold as MPC split looms September 5, 2008 Bets were rising yesterday that the Bank of England meeting to determine the direction of interest rates was one of the most fraught on record. In the end the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to leave rates on hold at five per cent, but with members Danny Blanchflower and Charlie Bean going head to head [...]
