Chambers faces double trial July 10, 2008 Sprinter Dwain Chambers will discover his Olympic fate in the High Court next week – but only after he succeeds in a trial of a different kind in Birmingham tomorrow night. Chambers launched his bid to run in Beijing next month by formally challenging a British Olympic Association by-law which prevents athletes who have failed [...]
Hleb poised to seal £14m Barca switch July 10, 2008 Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb is set to complete his long-awaited move to Barcelona, after the two clubs reportedly agreed a fee of £14.3m. Hleb, who has been linked with a move from the Emirates all summer, is poised to sign a four-year deal with Barcelona after rejecting the chance to join Bayern Munich. Arsenal have [...]
Transfer free-for-all signal worrying times July 10, 2008 Whether it’s it’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid saga, Frank Lampard’s proposed move to Inter Milan or Emmanuel Adebayor’s exit from Arsenal there seems to be a worrying trend dominating the European transfer market at the moment. For some reason we now have a no holds barred situation where clubs are advertising their intended target through [...]
Credit crisis begins to take human toll July 10, 2008 It is not only bonuses that have come crashing down during the recent economic decline, but also the number of divorce papers hitting the doormat. Research commissioned for City law firm Mishcon de Reya revealed that while half the workers in the Square Mile had seen their bonuses cut by up to £40,000 this year, [...]
Upbeat 3i soothes investors’ nerves July 10, 2008 Publicly listed private equity company 3i yesterday soothed investors with an upbeat trading statement, reassuring them that it was still well placed for investment opportunities despite the credit crunch. Chief executive Philip Yea said the mid-market – 3i’s key market – had remained open over the first three months of the year, providing both investment [...]
Rose survives protest vote on double role July 10, 2008 Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose has kept his job after a planned shareholder revolt at the retailer’s annual meeting yesterday turned into no more than a whimper. Over 94 per cent of the grey-haired army that braved the rain to descend on the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank yesterday afternoon to [...]
Barratt close to securing debt deal July 10, 2008 Housebuilder Barratt Developments is today expected to reveal it has managed to renegotiate a refinancing package with its bankers. Barratt, which has £1.7bn debt and a market capitalisation of just £140m, has been negotiating with lenders to extend repayment of £400m debt due in April , as well as agree changes to its debt covenants [...]
CITY A.M. Shadow MPC votes for hold July 10, 2008 Once again City A.M.’s shadow MPC Committee has unanimously agreed to keep interest rates on hold at 5 per cent. It is the second month in a row the committee has been in agreement as all believe the MPC’s concern over rising prices will trump the slowdown in growth. This month the committee has a [...]
Consumers gloomier July 10, 2008 Consumer confidence fell for the sixth month in a row in June as the economic outlook continued to darken, although Britons showed little sign of curbing their spending. The Nationwide consumer confidence index hit an all time low last month, falling four points to 61 – the worst figure since the survey began in May [...]
Sorrell goes on war path over TNS bid July 10, 2008 German rival GfK says it will trump the £1.08bn offer from advertising giant WPP WPP yesterday launched a £1.08bn hostile bid for market research firm TNS, dismissing competing takeover plans from rival GfK as “flaky”. In a day of drama in the City, TNS and GfK withdrew their proposal for a friendly tie up after [...]
