The world’s largest goldminer sees blue skies ahead as demand soars November 24, 2010 Aaron Regent, the chief executive of the world’s biggest goldminer Barrick Gold, straightens his tie and smiles – it’s a good time to be in the gold business. Regent, a 44-year-old with a middle distance runner’s build, is sitting in a meeting room in the recently refurbished Savoy Hotel, and can be forgiven for feeling [...]
Things looking up for England down under November 23, 2010 AUSTRALIA v/s ENGLAND THE ASHES SERIES MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, SKY SPORTS 1 RITUAL humiliation. For so many years an England touring party in Australia suffered nothing else. The visit down under would be awaited with hope and expectation – hope of little and expectation of even less – as they were routinely outclassed by the rampant [...]
Sky Germany is accused of hiking figures November 23, 2010 SKY Deutschland, the German pay-TV firm which is 49.9 per cent owned by News Corp, faces censure after being accused of overstating its subscriber numbers and earnings. German media watchdog BaFin says the firm added 600,000 to its 3.6m subscribers in its official reports in 2007 and 2008. The broadcaster has already been caught inflating [...]
Church opposes Sky sale November 22, 2010 THE Church of England became embroiled in the row over News Corporation’s bid to take full control of BSkyB yesterday. The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester and former member of the House of Lords Select Committee on communications, said if the bid were successful News Corp would “dominate both the television and newspaper [...]
Bid ban may hit Sky News November 22, 2010 SKY News could suffer if the takeover of its owner BSkyB by News Corp is blocked, according to independent directors at the broadcaster. In a submission to media watchdog Ofcom, directors at Sky warned future investment in the news channel could be jeopardised if the takeover is vetoed. They argue that blocking the £7.8bn bid [...]
Glimpse the Big Five in Zambia’s beautiful (and quiet) savannah November 21, 2010 WE’RE sitting in the back of an open-topped jeep, manoeuvering our way over some rough terrain. The sherbet pink sun set around half an hour ago and already it is dark, the night sky inky black. Fannuel, our guide, has spotted something. He veers off the track and gingerly pulls up to the crest of [...]
Investing your love in bricks and mortar November 18, 2010 1 BUDGET Before you start the fun stuff – househunting – make sure you have covered the boring stuff: finances. Work out how much you can afford to put towards mortgage repayments each month, based on your joint net income, and joint outgoings. If, like Kate and William, you are thoroughly modern and are already [...]
Local bragging rights can go to the Gunners November 18, 2010 ARSENAL vs TOTTENHAM TOMORROW, 12.45PM, SKY SPORTS EVERYONE was writing off Arsenal’s title credentials when they lost at home against Newcastle a fortnight ago, but two consecutive away wins and some dropped points by their rivals have seen them close the gap on Chelsea to just two points. They are normally very strong at the [...]
Red Rose set to continue momentum November 18, 2010 ENGLAND vs SAMOA TOMORROW, 2.30PM, SKY SPORTS DARE we say that Martin Johnson’s grand plans to mould England into contenders for the 2011 World Cup are finally taking shape? The scintillating attacking display against the Aussies last weekend suggests so, but we must wait until after tomorrow’s match against Samoa to gauge if that was [...]
News Corp warns Cable over Sky deal November 17, 2010 NEWS Corp’s European boss James Murdoch has called on regulators to back his firm’s £7.8bn bid for BSkyB or risk losing its investment in the “world leader” digital TV operation. Business secretary Vince Cable has asked media regulator Ofcom to investigate whether the takeover would harm “media plurality”. The European Union could also launch a [...]