Swann flies home from India tour for ill daughter November 7, 2012 ENGLAND will be without at least three of their favoured four-man bowling attack in today’s final warm-up match before the Test series in India after spinner Graeme Swann flew home last night. The 33-year-old left the squad to be at the bedside of his ill daughter but is expected to return for the first Test [...]
Hodgson out for six weeks November 7, 2012 RUGBY UNION: Saracens have suffered a blow after in-form fly-half Charlie Hodgson was ruled out for six weeks with a fractured cheekbone. The sure-kicking former England No10, who has amassed 90 points this season, suffered the injury in Sunday’s 29-24 Aviva Premiership win over Wasps.
Olympic Stadium move delayed November 7, 2012 GENERAL: London’s Olympic Stadium will not reopen until at least late 2015, a year later than originally planned, the man in charge of deciding its future confirmed yesterday. London Legacy Development Corporation chief Denis Hone also revealed there had been no bid for tenancy from any American Football franchises, despite Mayor Boris Johnson holding talks [...]
Ice baths bad for you, say experts November 7, 2012 GENERAL: Taking an ice bath after exercise may do more harm than good, according to new research. Scientists from the University of Portsmouth found immersion in cold water was no more effective in stimulating recovery than light warm-down exercise, while plunging into ice could be dangerous. “Our results show they don’t work,” said lead author [...]
BDO and PKF in talks for audit merger deal November 7, 2012 BDO and PKF are in advanced talks to merge their UK operations, the accountancy and advisory firms revealed yesterday. A tie-up, which is expected to take place early next year, would give the group extra firepower to compete with Grant Thornton for mid-market audit and business advisory clients. The firms said the enlarged company would [...]
Ageas UK profits hit record high November 7, 2012 AGEAS UK, the British arm of the Belgian insurance giant, yesterday announced its best ever results as pre-tax profits jumped 36.4 per cent to £106.7m for the first nine months of this year. Total income crept up by less than one per cent but a strong underwriting performance allowed profits to surge. Barry Smith, chief [...]
First freezes its dividend due to rail uncertainty November 7, 2012 THE WEST Coast rail fiasco has prompted transport company FirstGroup to freeze its interim dividend and consider scrapping a planned rise next year. First, whose winning bid for the franchise was discarded by the government in September, said the resulting uncertainty means it will review its full year dividend in May. By then, First hopes [...]
How is firstgroup faring in a tough time for transport firms? November 7, 2012 GERT ZONNEVELD | PANMURE GORDON As expected the company is cautious in its outlook statement but is confident of achieving its goals to enhance performance and deliver improved growth and returns. The repositioning of the UK division clearly has significant execution risk. Rail is a big unknown. DOUGLAS MCNEILL | CHARLES STANLEY The second anniversary [...]
Mobile traffic drives up sales at Shop Direct November 7, 2012 SHOP DIRECT, the home-shopping group owned by the billionaire Barclay brothers, yesterday said sales through mobile devices such as the ipad and smart phones helped boost annual sales. The company behind Littlewoods, isme and very.co.uk reported that overall sales grew 0.4 per cent to £1.6bn in the year to 30 June. Online sales grew by [...]
CapCo tightens hold on West End November 7, 2012 CAPITAL & Counties (CapCo) said yesterday it has snapped up a further £60m worth of sites in London’s Covent Garden area as it steps up its expansion in the area. The group raised £149m in July to accelerate growth plans and has since bought properties on Wellington Street, Floral Street and Henrietta Street with offices, [...]
