ECB ups bond-buying yet yields still rising November 7, 2011 YIELDS on Italian debt continued their upward surge yesterday, despite the European Central Bank (ECB) appearing to have boosted its bond purchase programme in a bid to control debt costs in struggling peripheral states. Yields on 10-year Italian debt reached a 14-year high of 6.67 per cent yesterday, with analysts again warning that the government’s [...]
Greek PM agrees to fall on sword November 6, 2011 THE unfurling Greek tragedy claimed its biggest scalp yet last night as Prime Minister George Papandreou finally agreed to stand down. A new government of national unity will now be formed, with Papandreou yielding control when the deal is finalised. The decision followed crisis talks last night with conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras and President [...]
Hoy claims track gold for Britain November 6, 2011 Britain’s Sir Chris Hoy won gold in the men’s sprint at the first leg of the World Track Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. The four-time Olympic champion beat Russia’s Denis Dmitriev 2-0 in the final. Team-mate Dani King took silver in the women’s omnium.
Anglo American to buy De Beers stake for £3bn November 4, 2011 Global miner Anglo American has agreed to buy the Oppenheimer family’s stake in diamond miner De Beers for $5.1bn (£3.1bn) in cash, taking its ownership of the diamond miner to up to 85 per cent, it said. Anglo has long been speculated to be considering a deal to increase its stake in unlisted De Beers, [...]
NATCHO, NATCHO MAN: Spurs sunk in Russia November 3, 2011 RUBIN KAZAN (1) vs TOTTENHAM (0) TOTTENHAM defender Sebastien Bassong apologised for his mistake which cost his side a vital Europa League point in the absence of his recovering manager Harry Redknapp. The Spurs chief returned home after being released from hospital last night following minor heart surgery on Wednesday. But Redknapp’s spirits would not [...]
Russia set to join the WTO November 2, 2011 Russia removed the last major hurdle to its 18-year-old bid to join the World Trade Organisation yesterday by agreeing to a compromise deal with Georgia, and it could now join the global trading club within months. WTO entry would make Russia’s $1.9 trillion economy, the biggest outside the 153-member club, more attractive to investors and [...]
Polymetal in debut day on London exchange November 2, 2011 RUSSIA’S fourth biggest gold miner Polymetal was yesterday officially admitted to the London Stock Exchange after switching from a Moscow listing. The move follows a £491m share placing that values the company at £3.55bn. The placing was priced at £9.20 – the bottom of the range that was set between £9.10 and £10. Sources said [...]
Heart surgery won’t force Harry into retirement, insists Bond November 2, 2011 TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp is recovering after minor heart surgery but he won’t be forced to consider early retirement, according to his assistant Kevin Bond. Redknapp was admitted to hospital on Tuesday with a cardiac problem and had two stents inserted to unblock coronary arteries on yesterday. Spurs have already announced that the 64-year-old will be [...]
Hugo Boss results defy the gloom November 2, 2011 HUGO BOSS, the German fashion house, posted a better-than-expected rise in third quarter profits yesterday, as the luxury sector continued to defy the effects of the global economic slowdown. The business, which is majority owned by the private equity firm Permira, reported a 30 per cent rise in bottom-line profit to €119.7m (£103.1m) in the [...]
Time to reach for the stars: Britain’s new space industry has the potential to blast off November 2, 2011 SIR RICHARD Branson opened the world’s first commercial spaceport last month. As his new venture Virgin Galactic recognises, space is an industry where the sky’s not the limit. For too long the domain of superpower rivalry between America’s Nasa and Russia’s Federal Space Agency, space is now giving way to the private sector, funded by [...]