Carl Frampton interview: “In 20, 30 years’ time I don’t want people to forget who I was” August 23, 2016 In beating Leo Santa Cruz to become the featherweight champion of the world last month, Carl Frampton reclaimed the belt won by mentor, manager and fellow countryman Barry McGuigan in a now-legendary battle with Eusebio Pedroza 31 years ago. McGuigan’s achievement earned him the 1985 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, yet in a golden [...]
Here’s where Trump sits on the psychopath scale August 23, 2016 Is Donald Trump completely nuts? It's a question asked by a fair few people as the race to the White House heats up and the Trumpster's comments, on everything from immigration to his rival Hillary Clinton, elevate to ever more absurd levels for a Presidential candidate. Now academics at Oxford University have analysed Trump's tendencies toward the extreme, ranking him [...]
Silver’s performance has been stellar this year, but will loose monetary policy and industrial demand allow it to maintain its surge? August 23, 2016 As Team GB celebrates second place on the Rio medals table, silver has seldom looked so good. It would appear that investors agree. Since the start of the year, the price of gold has risen over 25 per cent, but silver has outpaced it, rising by more than 30 per cent. It’s now at $18.89 [...]
Wonga to get a new UK boss August 22, 2016 Payday lender Wonga is due to get a new UK top dog. Former Travelex executive Tommy Jordan is set to head up the business' UK operations, replacing Tara Kneafsey. Kneafsey was promoted earlier this year to lead the wider business. According to Sky News, which first reported the story, insiders have said Jordan, whose promotion is due to [...]
Commercial TV is poaching BBC Three’s younger viewers August 21, 2016 BBC Three's transition to online only in February has been good news for its commercial TV rivals. According to figures spanning March to May, the BBC's broadcast TV viewing dropped by eight per cent compared with the same period last year. The decline is particularly evident among the BBC Three core audience of 16-34 year-olds; viewing [...]
Digital disruption comes to TV production with new online “stock market” August 21, 2016 Watch out, TV production industry: digital disruption is coming. At least it will be if David Frank, the founder of independent TV production company RDF Media and former chief executive of international company Zodiak Media, is successful in his new venture. Three years after stepping down from his position at Zodiak, Frank along with his brother, [...]
JD Sports plans takeover of rival retailer Go Outdoors as Sports Direct flounders August 21, 2016 High street retailer JD Sports Fashion is exploring a takeover of Go Outdoors in a bid to expand its dominance in fitness clothing. According to Sky News, JD Sports is one of several bidders looking to make an offer for Go Outdoors, which is being sold in an auction run by KPMG. JD Sports – which [...]
Horse racing betting: All eyes on the heavens as Angel faces her biggest test August 18, 2016 York has been bathed in sunshine for the first few days of the Ebor Festival, but the weather forecast suggests that plenty of rain is now on its way. It’s just a question of how much will hit the Knavesmire and, more importantly, when it will arrive. Some forecasters are predicting early showers, while others are [...]
Show me the money: How to complete a fundraising round in a post-Brexit vote world August 17, 2016 In this post Brexit vote world, we’ve heard a lot about the forthcoming apocalypse but, thus far, the sky hasn’t fallen on our economic heads. Sure, sterling has taken a pounding against the mighty dollar (less so against the rather feeble euro) but it seems tourism may have surged as a result, Arm is under offer (though [...]
BT Sport could be bruised as Sky bending it like Beckham to woo football fans August 17, 2016 In past years, I’ve discussed BT Sport’s gradual journey from new challenger to a genuine force in televised sports. As the new football season starts, it’s a good time to look at how Sky Sports, its principal rival, has adapted its campaigns and messaging in an attempt to dissuade subscribers migrating to BT. Once again, [...]