CITY SLAMS PLANS FOR WINDFALL TAX December 7, 2009 THELABOUR government is facing an increasingly furious City backlash over plans to slap a punishing windfall tax on bank bonuses, with senior figures warning that the policy could prove the last straw for the UK’s ability to retain senior banking talent. Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to unveil the tax bombshell at tomorrow’s Pre-Budget Report [...]
Hodgson in Zamora for England tip December 6, 2009 FULHAM manager Roy Hodgson tipped Bobby Zamora for a shock World Cup call-up after the forward hit back at his critics by downing Sunderland. Zamora, who has come under fire for his meagre strike rate, appeared to gesture at his own fans after nodding home in the seventh minute. It was only the former West [...]
What’s in the box? Not very much December 3, 2009 FilmTHE BOXCert: 12A WHAT would you do if a stranger with half a face offered you a box, and explained that if you pressed the button inside it you could win $1m but a stranger would die? Probably send him packing and check what you’d been drinking, but if you were Cameron Diaz and James [...]
Severn Trent profits rise as prices go up November 24, 2009 UTILITY Severn Trent saw its pre-tax profits surge yesterday, as a slump in consumption was offset by price rises. Profits went up by 51 per cent to £208.2m in the six months to September, beating analysts’ expectations. But Severn Trent still warned that demand was falling at a similar rate to last year. The group, [...]
CITY SPORT AWARDS TO GET LEASE OF NEW LIFE November 23, 2009 SPORT fanatics in the City could be forgiven for wondering when their favourite event of the year is due to come around, now that the party season has entered full swing. But I hear the ICAP Square Mile Sport Awards – which last year saw sporting stars such as cricketer Darren Gough, swimmer Mark Foster, [...]
THE TIPSTER November 11, 2009 DYED in the wool chartists may still be hanging onto the longer term downtrend in the S&P 500 and claiming that the 65 per cent recovery since March is just a bear market rally – or even a dead cat bounce. But reasons to be bearish on the US stock market are rapidly vanishing as [...]
Bent and Huddlestone get the nod from Capello November 8, 2009 IN-FORM Darren Bent has been handed a chance to fight for a World Cup place after being named in Fabio Capello’s England squad for next week’s friendly with Brazil. The Sunderland striker has been named in the 24-man party along with former Tottenham team-mate Tom Huddlestone and Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock as Capello looks to [...]
BALANCING ACT November 4, 2009 UK FINANCIAL Investments (UKFI) boss John Kingman yesterday warned the agency was “walking a tightrope” as it attempted to limit bonus payments while avoiding an exodus of talent at Britain’s bailed out banks. The public was “understandably angry” at fat cat bonus payments, said Kingman, the departing chief executive of the body managing the government’s [...]
NOMURA PREPARING FOR OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE VARSITY CLASH October 29, 2009 THE City’s rugby aficionados and former Oxbridge contingent are already gearing up for this year’s Varsity match, which is being sponsored for the second year running by Japanese bank Nomura. Nomura stepped in at the last minute to save the day after it rescued the European operations of failed bank Lehman Brothers, the event’s former [...]
Guzan the hero as Villa beat Black Cats October 27, 2009 RESERVE goalkeeper Brad Guzan saved four penalty kicks to help Aston Villa into the Carling Cup fifth round at the expense of Sunderland. The two sides were locked at 0-0 until American Guzan kept out Kenwyne Jones’ late penalty in normal time to force the extra half hour. He then saved three more penalties as [...]