Dour Black Cats are foiled again in dismal stalemate February 1, 2010 SHAKY Sunderland extended their recent dismal run to just one league win in 14 matches after sharing a dour goalless draw with Stoke at the Stadium of Light. Chances were few and far between at either end as Steve Bruce’s men were frustrated by a resilient Potters side. In fact, it was the visitors who [...]
Bank may call time on its QE programme January 31, 2010 THE Bank of England is this week expected to turn off the stimulus taps and bring its unprecedented £200bn quantitative easing programme to an end when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets later this week. The central bank has been injecting money into the UK economy from last March and has so far bought almost [...]
Longevity risk gets a new benchmark January 31, 2010 A NEW association has formed to transfer longevity and mortality-related risk to the capital markets in the same way that some of the world’s biggest perils, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, are protected against by shifting the risk to investors via catastrophe bonds. The Life and Longevity Markets Association (LLMA), made up of a consortium [...]
Black Cats eyeing Beattie January 31, 2010 SUNDERLAND are hoping to sign Stoke striker James Beattie in a deadline-day double swoop. Beattie has emerged as a target after deals for Tottenham’s Robbie Keane and Manchester City’s Benjani Mwaruwari fell through. The Black Cats also want Egypt full-back Ahmed Al-Muhammadi.
Benitez passes buck in row with Bruce over Jones loan January 25, 2010 LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez has rejected criticism from Sunderland manager Steve Bruce and focused his attention on reclaiming a place in the top four tonight. Bruce hit out at Benitez over their pursuit of Black Cats striker Kenwyne Jones last week, calling the Anfield club’s conduct “hugely disrespectful”. But the Spaniard yesterday insisted he had [...]
It’s time to hunker down in a cosy pub January 13, 2010 THE JERUSALEM TAVERN, CLERKENWELL Yes it’s a classic and an obvious choice, but there’s still no finer place to hunker down and enjoy a few pints of beer. And what beer it is. This Farringdon pub serves the full range of the very fine St Peter’s beers, including their Organic bitter, blackberry, nettle and gooseberry [...]
UK insurers flourishing following a benign 2009 January 11, 2010 BAD weather is normally bad news for insurers, as householders claim for snow, flood and wind-induced problems with their homes. However, despite roofs leaking and boilers breaking down all over the UK at the moment , the non-life insurance sector is actually looking pretty attractive for investors. The insurance sector is poised to deliver returns [...]
JANUARY SALES January 11, 2010 Bruce denies Kirkland bid SUNDERLAND boss Steve Bruce has laughed off suggestions he is about to bid £5m for Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland. Bruce admits he is a “big, big admirer” of the England keeper, who played under him at the DW Stadium before his switch to the Black Cats. “Talk of me bidding £5m [...]
BAA in airports victory December 21, 2009 BAA has won its appeal against an order to offload three of its seven UK airports – after the initial decision was ruled to have been subject to “apparent bias”. The Competition Commission ruled in March that the operator must sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports. But an appeal tribunal reversed the [...]
CITY A.M. TOASTS A NEW ERA IN ALLIANCE WITH INTERACTIVE INVESTOR December 14, 2009 IT WAS off to the iconic Gherkin building last night for one of the most exciting developments in the history of City A.M. – our newly-announced alliance with online financial services provider Interactive Investor. Guests at the party sipped champagne as they admired the view over the City, chatting about the partnership, under which we [...]