City poised to land Vieira as Veron shuns England return January 6, 2010 MANCHESTER City are on the brink of completing a loan deal for one former Premier League star in Patrick Vieira but have failed in a bid to sign another in Juan Sebastian Veron. Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that former Arsenal captain Vieira, 33, is on the brink of sealing a return to [...]
Collingwood could be key if England are to salvage draw January 6, 2010 LET’S give credit where’s it’s due, South Africa have played extremely well these last two days to take this stranglehold on the third Test. Graeme Smith, in particular, batted superbly in the second innings to take the game away from England, and after losing three wickets in the crucial final hour yesterday, the tourists have [...]
Australia conjure miracle to beat stunned Pakistan January 6, 2010 CAPTAIN Ricky Ponting hailed one of the most satisfying wins of his 141-Test career after his Australia side hit back to force an unlikely victory over Pakistan in the second Test in Sydney. The Aussies dismissed the tourists for just 139 on a dramatic fourth day with Pakistan needing a modest 176 to claim a [...]
£10m loss for Matrix Group January 6, 2010 MATRIX Group, the financial services giant, has revealed the effects of a torrid financial year that saw it swing from the black to a £10m loss. Pre-tax profits at the group, which has operations spanning corporate capital, private equity and property, fell from £27.6m in 2007/8 to a deficit of £9.6m last year. Turnover almost [...]
Iceland prepares referendum as credit status worries grow January 6, 2010 ICELAND is set to hold a referendum on 20 February on whether to repay Britain and the Netherlands more than £3bn their savers lost when Icelandic banks collapsed. The date was announced as ratings agency Standard & Poors placed Iceland on a “negative credit watch” and warned it could downgrade the country’s credit rating “by [...]
Murray and Robson edge Great Britain closer to Hopman final January 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray insists he will have enough practice before the Australian Open despite speeding to another victory in the Hopman Cup yesterday. Murray and 15-year-old Laura Robson took a step closer to the final as Great Britain beat Germany 2-1 in the group stage in Perth. The Scot needed just 57 minutes to win [...]
Watchdog accuses four ex-iSoft directors of misleading market January 6, 2010 THE FSA has started criminal proceedings against four former directors of iSoft, the healthcare software firm. iSoft founder Patrick Cryne is charged with making misleading statements to the stockmarket. Also charged are Tim Whiston, Stephen Graham and John Whelan. The allegations relate to accounting irregularities uncovered by Deloitte while the company was working on the [...]
Venter charged for ref remarks January 6, 2010 RUGBY UNION: Saracens boss Brendan Venter has been charged by the Rugby Football Union for questioning the integrity of referee David Rose. The RFU said Venter had committed “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game” by appearing to suggest after the Premiership leaders’ defeat to Leicester on Saturday that Rose had been influenced at [...]
M&S sales rise but Waitrose wins day January 6, 2010 MARKS & Spencer yesterday reported a rise in sales for the three months to Christmas but warned of a tough year ahead. The retailer saw like-for-like sales rise by 0.8 per cent with record takings on food on 23 December. Food sales overall were 0.4 per cent up on the previous year with general merchandise [...]
Ferguson takes charge of Posh January 6, 2010 FOOTBALL: Former Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson is aiming to join his father in the Premier League with Preston North End. The 37-year-old, son of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, was unveiled as Preston’s new boss yesterday after signing a three-year deal at Deepdale. “It’s a fantastic football club and I can’t wait to get [...]