Sports Direct to hit profit target February 17, 2011 Sports Direct said it would meet its target for year profit, with trading still strong after a robust third quarter. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley, said total sales for the 13 weeks to January 23 increased 12.1 per cent to £416m. “Since the end of January, the group’s underlying [...]
SuperGroup chief taking on the world February 13, 2011 SUPERGROUP founder Julian Dunkerton is not a man to stay still for long. He says he will not rest until his über-cool brands are sported by trendy young things across the globe. Dunkerton’s usual working day starts at 8.45am when he gets to the office in Cheltenham, after having taken his daughters to school and [...]
Bale and Wahlberg fight for the top February 3, 2011 Film Review THE FIGHTER Cert: 15 THE FIGHTER is a snapshot in the lives of two real-life boxing brothers from Lowell, Massachusetts. Micky (Mark Wahlberg) is thoughtful, the wrong side of 30, and watching his dreams of Welterweight domination slowly slip away. His older brother Dicky (Christian Bale), is long-retired. Back in ‘78, he floored [...]
JD in talks to buy troubled retailer JJB February 2, 2011 JD Sports is in talks to buy troubled retailer JJB Sports, sending shares in the Wigan-based firm soaring 17 per cent. The news comes as JJB confirmed it will raise £31.5m from shareholders through the placement of 630m new shares, with sources close to the firm warning it may need further help within weeks. The [...]
Strong squad keeps injury-hit England in pole position February 2, 2011 RUGBY TRADER DAVID WILD, CITY AM’S RUGBY TRADER, LOOKS AHEAD TO THE RBS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP RATHER than those winning rucks, scoring tries and kicking goals, absent players could come to decide where the RBS 6 Nations Champion-ship trophy resides in six weeks’ time. A sizeable collective injury list has dominated the build-up to the [...]
Dragons will struggle against the Red Rose with weak front row February 2, 2011 ENGLAND vs WALES TOMORROW – 7.45PM BBC1 THE FIXTURE list committee have got it spot on this year. What better way to start the 2011 RBS 6 Nations than by sending England to Cardiff on a Friday night? Seventy-odd-thousand well-oiled Welshmen are capable of producing quite an atmosphere under the closed roof of the magnificent [...]
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY February 1, 2011 IT used to be the case that big cars were expensive and little cars were cheap. But BMW knocked that convention into a cocked hat with its absurdly successful Mini which saw droves of bright young things buy into the MINI concept and spend lots more “personalising” their cars at overly themed dealerships. Now Audi [...]
Introductionto Bribery laws delayed January 31, 2011 GOVERNMENT guidance on the Bribery Act will not be released this week as expected, pushing back implementation until at least May. A Ministry of Justice spokesman told City A.M. that the guidance had been delayed to allow “more time … to make sure the Act is fit for purpose and as comprehensive as possible,” directly [...]
Falling real wages don’t have to mean pain January 6, 2011 THANKS to inflation of 4.7 per cent, most workers will probably see cuts in the real purchasing power of their salaries in 2011. But there is no reason for that to cut into your living standards. Here are some easy New Year’s resolutions to follow that will help you endure austerity Britain without feeling too [...]
London’s festive sporting highlights December 22, 2010 WITH the weather having potentially put paid to any pre-planned foreign-based festive frolics, City A.M. has heroically rescued Christmas by pointing you in the direction of some of the sporting highlights the capital will be hosting. FOOTBALL Pivotal games at the top and bottom of the Premier League will be staged in London this weekend. [...]