Open sesame: the Porsche Targa April 19, 2011 I’VE been wanting to drive a 911 Targa for a while and here’s why. For all the clever engineering and folding tin-top balletics seen on many sports coupes in recent years, there is no getting around the fact that I am not fantastically taken with convertibles. Sure, I can appreciate what a wonderful experience it [...]
Bookmaker blasts German betting law April 7, 2011 SHARES in the newly merged online betting group Bwin.party plunged yesterday, after it lashed out at the German government for its proposed gambling laws. Trading in London as a united entity following the tie-up between Austrian bookmaker Bwin and online poker site PartyGaming since just last week, the group fell by almost 15 per cent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 4, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LIBYAN REBELS SET FOR FIRST CRUDE EXPORTS Libyan rebels are set for their first oil export as soon as Tuesday as they seek funding to sustain their uprising against Muammer Gaddafi’s rule. The Liberia-flagged Equator tanker was off Port Said, Egypt, early on Monday and is expected to dock at the Marsa el-Hariga [...]
French for “bend, turn, curve” March 29, 2011 VIRAGE is French for “bend, turn, curve” and we’ve been testing Aston Martin’s latest GT on the roads of Andalucia, roads so twisty, bendy and curvy that my co-driver has just been sick. Later he will blame my driving, but for now we’re trying to work out how to wash the vomit off of the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 21, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS TOLD TO ACCEPT HIGH TAXES AS THE PRICE OF LONDON LIFE Hedge funds should accept higher taxes as the cost of doing business in London and stop threatening to move elsewhere, according to one of the world’s best-known copper traders. Michael Farmer, a Conservative party donor who runs the near-$1bn Red [...]
Mike Ashley in clear after Sports Direct fraud probe March 9, 2011 SPORTS Direct yesterday said none of its employees were now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office as it also gave details of a £220m refinancing package. In March 2010 the Competition Commission formally cleared Sports Direct’s acquisition of 31 stores from struggling rival JJB Sports and in October 2010 the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) [...]
Sports Direct in clear after fraud probe March 9, 2011 Sports Direct, Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer, said none of its employees were under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office as it detailed a £220m refinancing. “We can confirm that no individuals connected to Sports Direct International are under investigation,” the firm, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley, said on Wednesday. In [...]
THE M25 OF RAILWAYS GETS BORIS’ THUMBS UP February 28, 2011 THE M25 of railways: not the most illustrious description of a rail link designed to ease commuter congestion, but the one that Mayor of London Boris Johnson chose to use yesterday at the opening of the latest extension of the East London Line. Luckily he was referring to the new line’s aim to be an [...]
Are you ready to rumble? February 22, 2011 IT’S not often I get woken up to the deep rumbling sound of a flat-six engine firing up but it certainly makes a change from my 16 month-old daughter singing and it’s almost as delightful in its way, even before coffee at 7.30am. It’s the sound of a Carrera GTS, the latest in the 911 [...]
Sports Direct sees sales forge ahead February 17, 2011 SPORTS Direct said yesterday it would meet its target for full-year profit, with trading still strong after a positive third quarter. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said total sales for the 13 weeks to 23 January increased 12.1 per cent to £416m. “Since the end of January, the group’s underlying performance [...]