Leinster too strong for Mallinder’s Saints May 19, 2011 LEINSTER vs NORTHAMPTON TOMORROW – 5PM, SKY SPORTS FEW, other than perhaps the most partisan Frenchman, would argue that the two most deserving sides will meet in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup Final. That story is told by the judges’ selections for the European Player of the Year: Leinster’s Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip and Isa Nacewa and [...]
BT profits up as pension deficit dives May 12, 2011 BT saw its full-year profits surge as bumper broadband additions helped push pre-tax profits up an eye-watering 71 per cent yesterday. Revenues fell four per cent to £20.1bn as chief executive Ian Livingston continues to spin the wheel of the telecoms super-tanker, with sales growth expected in 2013. Adjusted pre tax profits for the year [...]
MacKenzie makes online sports move May 12, 2011 TALKSPORT founder Kelvin MacKenzie is preparing to go head to head with the commercial radio business he sold to UTV Media for £92m in 2005 by launching an online sports TV channel, Sports Tonight. MacKenzie (pictured), who pitches the web TV channel as “Sky Sports News meets TalkSport”, is soft-launching the venture with an estimated [...]
RADIO SILENCE BY SKY BOSS ON MURDOCH BID May 11, 2011 INNOVATION was the theme for BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch at the Institute of Directors’ convention yesterday, where fellow speakers included McDonald’s chief executive Jill McDonald, chancellor George Osborne and shadow chancellor Ed Balls. “The most successful businesses are those that constantly seek to adapt and renew themselves,” said Darroch, as he charted the broadcaster’s [...]
Decision on Murdoch Sky bid is delayed May 9, 2011 RUPERT Murdoch will have to wait a little longer to get his hands on the rest of BSkyB. The decision to clear News Corp’s impending £7.5bn bid for the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own has been delayed for at least two weeks while details of the concession to spin-off Sky [...]
Ecclestone says Sky deal would be suicidal for Formula One May 8, 2011 FORMULA One boss Bernie Ecclestone has warned it would be “suicidal” for the sport to accept a move onto Sky as part of a potential News Corp takeover. Ecclestone has fiercely opposed the “friendly” approach to F1 owner CVC Partners by Rupert Murdoch and Italian investment firm Exor, which has a 30.5 per cent stake [...]
Glencore float helps Nat Rothschild climb the list May 8, 2011 CITY high flyers feature prominently in this year’s Sunday Times rich list, as the driver of Britain’s economy continues to grow the wealth of the finance sector’s super rich. There are now 180 financial multimillionaires in the list, up ten on last year. Banking dynasty heir Nat Rothschild has usurped the wealth of his father [...]
For Cheapflights, profits go with sky-high growth May 8, 2011 INTERNET businesses are rarely fast growing and profitable at the same time,” David Soskin tells me. He should know: he once headed up the media sector of ABN Amro’s corporate finance wing. But as Soskin proudly points out, this has never been the case for the flight price comparison website Cheapflights – the company he [...]
TRY WRITING LIKE A HUMAN, NOT A BUSINESS May 8, 2011 PEOPLE tend to speak differently depending on who they’re talking to. Ask any American tourist who comes out with a brogue he never knew he had while visiting Ireland for the first time. It’s born out of a good instinct: the desire to connect with those we speak to. When you talk like your conversation [...]
SIR TOM HUNTER TAKES TOP SCOTTISH HONOUR May 5, 2011 A VERY unusual thing happened earlier this week, according to motor racing legend Jackie Stewart: “A Scotsman did quite well.” Stewart was referring to the emotional moment when the Wizard of Wishaw John Higgins lifted the Snooker World Championship trophy for the fourth time on Monday night after narrowly beating newcomer Judd Trump. But he [...]