FLANNERY BANNED FOR SIX WEEKS February 17, 2010 ENGLAND received a boost yesterday when Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery was banned for six weeks for kicking France winger Alexis Palisson. Flannery, who pleaded guilty at a hearing, will miss Ireland’s three remaining Six Nations fixtures, including their visit to Twickenham on 27 February. His ban runs up until 29 March.
Gold shines as slide in price boosts sales February 17, 2010 Spot gold hit a one-month peak yesterday, supported by strong investment interest and news that South Africa is to levy royalties on minerals exports. Spot gold rose as high as $1,126.85 an ounce, its highest level since 20 January. This news came as the World Gold Council (WGC) said global annual demand for gold was [...]
Oil explorers hit as tensions with Argentina rise February 17, 2010 INVESTORS lost faith in oil firms planning to drill near the Falkland Islands after Argentina threatened to disrupt their activities in a revival of tensions with the UK after the Falklands War. Shares in firms including Falklands Oil & Gas, Rockhopper and Borders & Southern Petroleum slipped by 3.5 per cent, 0.4 per cent and [...]
Toyota adds brake system to calm fears February 17, 2010 TOYOTA will add a brake-override system to all future models worldwide in the wake of brake and accelerator defects that led to the recall of more than 8.5m vehicles. The system cuts engine power when the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time and Toyota hopes the move calms customer fears, particularly [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 17, 2010 MORRISON Barclays says Morrison has continued to take market share, has seen profit growth accelerate and has sharply increased its dividend. Yet it was the worst-performing stock in the sector during 2009. To some extent Morrison is seen as a “consensus Buy”, a worthy story but one which lacks triggers which might lead to a [...]
CITY BEAN COUNTERS GET STAR TREATMENT February 17, 2010 DULL accountants, hobnobbing the evening away with some of the world’s glitziest movie stars? Who’d have thought it? Yet that’s exactly what a gaggle of beancounters from Deloitte will do on Sunday evening at the annual BAFTA film awards – for which they’ve been engaged as official “scrutineers” for the past four years. This year’s [...]
Orange offers juicy concession February 17, 2010 Orange and T-Mobile hope to avoid an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into their proposed merger by offering to sell off part of the mobile spectrum. The European Commission are looking into the deal, which would create the UK’s largest mobile provider with £29.5m customers, and will decide by 1 March whether the OFT [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 17, 2010 HSBC Private Bank The bank has appointed Paul Forshaw as head of real estate fund management. Forshaw was previously part of a team responsible for real estate proprietary investment at failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, investing joint venture equity in the UK, US and emerging markets. Prior to that, he spent time at property groups Knight [...]
Hedge fund managers buy up financial holdings in a sign of industry recovery February 17, 2010 Prominent hedge fund managers voted with their wallets in the fourth quarter to declare the long financial crisis over, and made big bets on banks and other lenders to back that view. John Paulson, Edward Lampert and Carl Icahn were among those who raised their bets on financial stocks during the last three months of [...]
Atkins says trading is on track despite hard market February 17, 2010 ATKINS, the design and engineering consultancy group, said yesterday its year to date results are in line with expectations. It warned that market conditions remained turbulent and that it continues to adjust staffing levels in line with prospective demand. The design and engineering company has continued to undertake significant restructuring due to crumbling construction markets [...]
