the INSIDER January 28, 2010 Legs eleven, black eleven, left wing (eleven), one less than a dozen (eleven) has always been my number but I’m going to have to swap it for seven. SEVEN IS MY NUMBER might be an obvious choice seeing as he has won five out of his last six racecourse visits but looking at Oddschecker the [...]
Arsenal should have the edge in Emirates thriller January 28, 2010 ARSENAL VS MANCHESTER UNITED SUNDAY – 4.00PM, SKY SPORTS 1 THE next few weeks are absolutely crucial for Arsenal in their battle to win the Premier League title for the first time since 2004/05. They were disappointing at Stoke last weekend and although they hit the woodwork twice at Villa Park on Wednesday night, they [...]
Mel is back in his gritty comfort zone January 28, 2010 Film EDGE OF DARKNESS Cert: 15 FOR those old enough to remember, Edge of Darkness was originally a critically acclaimed BBC thriller broadcast in the mid-80s. Its director, Martin Campbell, went on to Hollywood success – including making the best Bond film of recent times, Casino Royale – and he’s now brought his old TV [...]
HD boosts BSkyB profits January 27, 2010 BSkyB has announced it made an operating profit of £401m in the six months to December – up 3 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. The company added 172,000 new subscribers in the second quarter, growing its customer base to 9.7m – but short of its 10m target. The group posted first-half revenues of [...]
BSkyB wins £200m case against EDS January 26, 2010 RUPERT Murdoch’s satellite broadcaster BSkyB has won a five-year legal wrangle with Electronic Data Systems over an ill-fated IT project. In a decision that could see EDS forced to pay out more than £200m, a judge said EDS lied to Sky to secure a contract to work on the company’s overhaul of its customer service [...]
A hotel that’s fit for a king January 24, 2010 ON walking into the lobby of Paris’ George V you can tell it’s a grande dame, but it has a twist which makes it immediately memorable. There’s the immaculately designed wrought-iron door frame, 17th century tapestries adorning the walls and acres of marble lining the floors, but it is far from stuffy. Smartly-suited staff smile [...]
Sky’s the limit for Brailsford January 24, 2010 CYCLING: Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford insisted his new team had “arrived” on the circuit after celebrating a one-two in the final stage of the Tour Down Under in Adelaide. Australian Chris Sutton held of New Zealand’s Greg Henderson to help the Sky team to a second Tour victory. Germany’s Andre Greipel finished fifth to [...]
Sky was right to buy ITV stake despite losses January 21, 2010 WHEN BSkyB bought a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV for £940m in 2006, Rupert Murdoch was hailed a genius. For it was Rupert – not son James – who masterminded the move, even if the latter took public credit for it. In one foul swoop, the mogul blocked the newly merged NTL / Telewest [...]
Stoke could prove tough nut to crack at Britannia January 21, 2010 STOKE CITY vs ARSENAL SUNDAY – 1.30PM, ITV1 ARSENAL did readers of this column a favour with their 2-0 win against Bolton at the Reebok last Sunday. It was a fairly comfortable victory for the Gunners, but they had to fight to come from two behind against the same opposition at the Emirates on Wednesday [...]
UK banks hit by over-regulation, says HSBC boss January 20, 2010 BRITAIN has penalised its banking sector by attempting to tighten regulations too quickly after the financial crisis, the head of Europe’s biggest bank said yesterday. HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan said he accepts that the industry needs new regulation but criticised the world’s failure to coordinate measures to try to prevent a repeat of the [...]