Sri Lanka’s beauty reborn September 27, 2009 Ask British travellers why they return to Sri Lanka again and again and they will enthuse about the friendliness of the people, the stunning scenery, the incredible variety packed into an island roughly the size of Ireland. Even through long years of civil war, the tourists kept coming, lured by cheap beach holidays and whistlestop [...]
Gambling’s old world gent who has become a new media entrepreneur September 24, 2009 He likes to portray himself as an old school gent in an old world business, but in reality Victor Chandler’s operation – like most betting firms – is on the cutting edge of internet technology. At the nerve centre of the firm’s rambling and rather undistinguished four-storey Gibraltar office is its IT department, which has [...]
IT COULD BE YOU: LOTTO FOR SALE September 24, 2009 CITY advisers have been appointed to find buyers for a majority stake in Camelot, the group that runs the National Lottery. At least four out of Camelot’s five shareholders, representing an 80 per cent stake in the group, are interested in selling their stakes which are valued at a total of more than £300m. The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 22, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VODAFONE TO REJIG MOBILE INTERNET STRATEGYVodafone will set out a significant revamp of its services strategy for mobile phones tomorrow as it tries to bridge the gap with global rivals. Vittorio Colao, chief executive, will outline new services that are intended to capitalise on the rising popularity of surfing the internet on mobiles.Some [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE SKY THE LIMIT FOR THE FTSE 100? September 17, 2009 CHRIS BRANDON XSIGO SYSTEMS“It’s too soon to assume the FTSEwill keep on going up – I expect it will level off quite quickly. I think the issue at the moment is profits and as we come to the end of the financial year it could turn out that they are not as spectacular as people [...]
Chelsea can continue amazing home record September 17, 2009 CHELSEA vs TOTTENHAMSunday 4pm, Sky Sports 1 CHELSEA V BOLTON, Saturday 13th December 2003, won’t resonate with most football fans, but that was the last time Chelsea tasted defeat in the league at Stamford Bridge against non Big Four opposition. They are now unbeaten at home against such teams in an astonishing 91 Premier League [...]
Oscar golden boy’s stab at indie rom com is just too hip by half September 17, 2009 FilmAWAY WE GOCert: 15 BURT and Verona are a couple of slacker thirtysomethings living in the middle of nowhere. She’s an illustrator, he sells insurance over the phone, and mostly they knock about their beat up, backwoods house wondering what the heck they’re going to do when Verona has her baby. Deciding they can’t stay [...]
Deutsche kicks off charity fund September 15, 2009 DEUTSCHE Bank has become the first investor in a new venture philanthropy fund to tackle poverty in London. The London Fund, set to be managed by venture philanthropy firm Impetus Trust, is now calling for investment from other City firms to boost its initial value of £1.3m. It is promising a more strategic approach to [...]
Back in the real world: how the rest of the country is coping a year on September 14, 2009 LET ME tell you about two pieces of writing. The first, a sign in an independent wine shop in an expensive part of London which I regularly cycle past on my way to work. It reads: “Just because we’re in recession doesn’t mean we have to drink bad wine.” The second is a piece of [...]
Gieve astounded by US inaction September 13, 2009 The former deputy governor of the Bank of England said he was “astounded” the US government let Lehman Brothers go under, and that the bank’s collapse marked a clear moment when people lost confidence in the markets.Sir John Gieve said in an interview with Sky News yesterday he had fully expected US authorities to step [...]