Ferguson expects United to thrive on plastic pitch October 20, 2009 MANCHESTER UNITED boss Sir Alex Ferguson insists he is not worried about playing CSKA Moscow tonight on an artificial surface. United are looking to maintain a perfect start to their Champions League campaign in the Russian capital, where they won the trophy against Chelsea in 2008. That match was played on grass but this evening’s [...]
Sven rejects Sweden role October 20, 2009 SVEN-GORAN Eriksson has turned his back on the chance to coach the Sweden national team in order to stay with League Two Notts County. Eriksson headed a five-man list of suitors for the job vacated by Lars Lagerback last week. But the 61-year-old has decided he wants to carry on in his role as director [...]
PHIL’S ABSENCE A PAIN IN THE NECK October 20, 2009 WASPS prop Phil Vickery has added to England’s list of casualties after becoming the latest player to be ruled out of the autumn internationals with injury. The former captain, 33, requires neck surgery and will be out for at least three months. The news comes just 24 hours after England lost fellow forward Andrew Sheridan [...]
SPORT IN BRIEF October 20, 2009 Leics close in on Hoggard CRICKET: Former England seamer Matthew Hoggard has been offered a three-year deal with Leicestershire after being released by Yorkshire last month.Hoggard, 32, held talks Leicestershire coach Tim Boon and chief executive David Smith on Monday, but is also weighing up interest from Kent. Smith, however, said: “We are in the [...]
Greggs outlines store expansion plans as baguette sales increase October 20, 2009 Baker Greggs yesterday detailed plans to open 600 more stores, create 6,000 jobs, and upgrade its supply chain at a cost of up to £300m as it posted a rise in third-quarter sales. The firm, which sells sausage rolls, cakes and bread to over 6m customers a week from about 1,400 outlets, said it intended [...]
Gap is widening between best and worst brands October 20, 2009 THINGS have picked up on the high street over the last month, but it’s not a case of a rising tide lifting all boats: the recession seems to have made the customer more discerning. Of the 25 high street retailers which BrandIndex measures daily, we’ve taken three of our top-ranked, and compared them with three [...]
Finance M&A to jump October 20, 2009 The European financial services market is set for a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, according to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers. In its European Financial Markets M&A Insights report, the accountancy firm said that the “steady as she goes” ethos that has been prevalent throughout 2009 will give way to a “restructuring-led wave of deal activity” as [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU HAVE ANY SYMPATHY WITH ROYAL MAIL WORKERS OVER THE IMPENDING STRIKE ACTION? October 20, 2009 JONATHAN POLIN SALANS“Any sympathy that the postal workers might have had, they have lost.The public are not going to sympathise with them if they are causing widespread disruption. But it won’t affect the City as much as you might think because of email, UPS and document exchange systems that are already in use across businesses.” [...]
Adecco buys rival for $1.3bn October 20, 2009 ADECCO, the world’s largest staffing company, is buying American rival MPS Group for $1.3bn (£790m), boosting its high-margin and more recession-resilient professional staffing business. Adecco also said it was launching a SFr900m (£540m) mandatory convertible bond to accommodate the cash deal. The MPS deal, plus the recent acquisition of Britain’s Spring Group, means close to [...]
Insolvencies for Q3 are falling October 20, 2009 THE number of companies with significant and critical financial problems has fallen both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, figures from the rescue, recovery and restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor showed yesterday. The figures show how HMRC’s Business Payment Support Service, which has seen more than 215,000 companies defer payment of £3.79bn in tax liabilities, are helping, it said. [...]
