Sterling’s slump due entirely to polls March 16, 2010 POLITICS seems to have become just about the only influence on the pound in recent weeks – or so says a fascinating research note by Adam Cole of RBC Capital Markets. He plots sterling’s trade-weighted value against the Tory lead over Labour in a poll-of-polls. The trend is clear: the shrinking Tory lead is almost [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EX-EMPLOYEE SUES SOCGEN FOR џ12M Societe Genrale, France’s second-largest bank, is being sued for more than џ12.5m (£11.3m) by its former head of European fixed income after his contract was terminated at the start of the credit crunch. The High Court heard yesterday that Raphael Geys, its London-based former managing director of European [...]
CHELTENHAM BRINGS THE CITY OUT IN FORCE March 16, 2010 TO Gloucestershire yesterday for the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, the favourite corporate entertainment jolly of the year for many a self-respecting racegoer. Bucking the austere trend of recent years, this year’s Festival has already seen a roaring trade in City schmoozing, with the long list of companies taking private suites including HSBC, BlackRock, [...]
Facebook trumps Google March 16, 2010 FACEBOOK has overtaken the search giant Google to become the most visited website in America. The social-networking website, founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, had the most hits in the US for the week ending 13 March this year, according to online analyst Hitwise. It received 7.07 per cent of all internet traffic. Google was [...]
Sorry Chelsea dumped out as Jose gets the last laugh March 16, 2010 CHELSEA (0) v/s INTER MILAN (1) JOSE MOURINHO last night insisted he was the “happiest person on earth” after his Inter Milan side subjected his former club Chelsea to a crushing Champions League exit. The Portuguese boss was greeted with warm applause from Chelsea fans as he stepped out onto the Stamford Bridge pitch for [...]
Lib Dem conference boost dies March 16, 2010 Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg receives a blow this morning as YouGov’s poll for The Sun reveals a two per cent slide in support for his party to 19 per cent. The Conservatives and Labour are unchanged on 37 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. The figures suggest the effects of Clegg’s rallying speech [...]
Volcker to defend Fed powers March 16, 2010 Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker will tell a congressional hearing today the central bank should not be stripped of its powers to supervise banks. According to Bloomberg News, Volcker will argue: “Monetary policy and concerns about the structure and condition of banks and the financial system more generally are inextricably intertwined.” Volcker joins current chairman [...]
Woods announces anticipated return at Masters March 16, 2010 WORLD No1 Tiger Woods has finally ended speculation about his future after announcing his much-anticipated return to golf at next month’s US Masters. Woods, who has not played competitively since 15 November, will tee off at Augusta on 5-11 April without taking on any warm-up events. The 14-time major winner announced he was taking time [...]
BA and unions agree a deal over pensions March 16, 2010 BRITISH Airways and trade unions came to an agreement yesterday on plans to reduce the airline’s £3.7bn pension deficit. The proposals will see staff given the chance to either receive lower benefits and keep their current levels of contribution or opt out to pay 4.5 per cent extra to maintain their current pensions benefit. The [...]
Binocular back to best in Hurdle win March 16, 2010 BINOCULAR completed a fairytale turnaround in fortunes to win the Champion Hurdle, the big race on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival. Just last month the Nicky Henderson-trained six-year-old was on the brink of being withdrawn from the race after a string of disappointing performances. But, following some encouraging last-minute preparations last week, jockey [...]
