Final salary schemes on the way out June 4, 2009 PENSIONS analysts sounded the death knell for final salary pension schemes yesterday, after supermarket chain WM Morrison became the third major company in a week to end its scheme. The retailer’s decision to bring the curtain down on the scheme follows similar moves by Barclays, which transferred 18,000 staff to a hybrid scheme and energy [...]
NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST June 4, 2009 ART: Abstract America The Saatchi Gallery is hosting a display of the best of contemporary abstract art from emerging artists across the Atlantic. THEATRE: All’s Well That Ends Well The National Theatre’s acclaimed version of Shakespeare’s comedy, directed by Marianne Elliott. FILM: Spartacus A new showing for Stanley Kubrick’s historical epic, with Kirk Douglas as [...]
Dow rallies as oil keeps on climbing June 4, 2009 US MARKETS booked gains yesterday as the financial sector rebounded and energy and materials stocks became the subject of renewed buying activity. Oil prices were a major contributor, with crude futures closing up $2.69 at $68.81 per barrel – a seven-month closing high helped by Goldman Sach’s decision to boost its target price for the [...]
EXHIBITIONS June 4, 2009 TRACEY EMINWhite CubeWE have a slightly different Tracey Emin here from the one who thrust her unmade bed into Tate Britain a few years ago. Mature, Royal Academician Emin is hardly settling back with her pipe and slippers, but this is a show that puts the emphasis back on her skills of draftsmanship. Not that [...]
Law’s puckish interpretation of Hamlet is a palpable hit June 4, 2009 HAMLETWyndhams TheatreTHE second major celebrity to lift Yorrick’s skull this year, Jude Law has more at stake than David Tennant, after too many mediocre films and bad tabloid headlines. Luckily, in making the opening night without slipping a disc he’s already outdone the Timelord – and as it happens, he carries off Hamlet rather well. [...]
Large cap index flat as lack of direction stalls progress June 4, 2009 Gains in energy stocks, pharmaceuticals and banks outweighed losses in miners yesterday, leaving the FTSE 100 0.1 per cent, or 3.52 points, higher at 4,386.94. “The market’s evenly balanced. It’s discounting good news so although it may go higher over the next few weeks, it is slightly overvalued,” said Graham Secker, equity strategist at Morgan [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS June 4, 2009 FILMANYTHING FOR HER Highly-praised French thriller starring Diane Kruger. SUGAR Superior baseball movie from the makers of 2007 indie hit Half Nelson. THE HIDE Intriguing, two-handed mini-drama, starring In The Loop’s Alex MacQueen. DVDVALKYRIE Tom Cruise and a host of British thesps fail as military plotters against Hitler. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON Brad [...]
The robots are back, and this time they’re noisy June 4, 2009 TERMINATOR SALVATIONCert: 12ADESPITE the hi-tech sci-fi and bone-crunching, metal limb-crushing action sequences, the excitement of the first two Terminator movies came from the simple thrill of the chase. The execrable T3 pretty much did for that element, and it’s hardly been revived for the fourth instalment (though a chase sequence does account for the film’s [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE RECESSION IS BEGINNING TO EASE? June 4, 2009 PAUL MCNALLY BRIT INSURANCE“I haven’t really noticed the recession, full stop. The pubs are full, the restaurants are busy. People say the housing and stock markets are down but that isn’t relevant unless you’re buying or selling, so elements of the crisis have been overblown.” ANNA KINGSMILL-VELLACOTT AKV“My gut feeling is that confidence is beginning [...]
Acer’s deal with Google is bad news for Microsoft June 4, 2009 ACER’S announcement that it will start selling a laptop pre-loaded with Google’s Android operating system will come as a blow to Microsoft. For the last quarter of a century, the firm founded by Bill Gates has dominated the operating software space with a monopoly that has earned awe and anger in equal measure. But Google’s [...]
