Aussie pace attack in tatters as Starc set to miss winter Ashes September 9, 2013 AUSTRALIA look set to be without fast-bowler Mitchell Starc for the winter Ashes series after he was ruled out for “a prolonged period” with a stress fracture of his lower back. Starc, 23, was the tourists’ third highest wicket-taker as England won the first of back-to-back Ashes series 3-0 last month and his injury is [...]
Italian business confidence stronger in September September 27, 2013 Italian business confidence beating estimates in September, up from 93.4 (revised from 92.9) to 96.6. That's a nice upwards revision to the previous period, and September's figure beats economists forecasts of a rise to 93.4. Statisticians Istat said that the index in construction rose to 78.6 from 76.4, and that market services confidence was up [...]
Niesr estimates growth down slightly at 0.8 per cent October 9, 2013 (NIESR) Think tank Niesr has released its growth estimate for the three months to September, with a slight drop to 0.8 per cent, after the 0.9 per cent growth seen in the three months to August. The research centre predicts that the production sector, despite the drop in output between August and July, has made [...]
Appy dreams with these sleep-inducing apps October 23, 2013 Sleepmaker Rain Free There’s nothing more conducive to a good night’s sleep than being all tucked up and warm in bed while the rain pitter patters outside. Replicate this feeling with Sleepmaker Rain. Perfect for drowning out the worries of the day. Pzizz £3.99 Pzizz is a popular insomnia treatment favoured by many who have [...]
Aldi sees a doubling of annual profits and a 40.6 per cent leap in sales September 30, 2013 Budget supermarket Aldo has announced a 40.6 per cent increase in sales last year, rising to £3.8bn, with profit doubling from £70.5m to £157.9m, moving away from the pack of other UK supermarkets in terms of growth. With a growing middle class clientele and one million extra customers coming through the doors of its 500 [...]
Catch game birds before they fly January 21, 2013 Head chef, Paternoster Chop House Blame IT on TV schedules stuffed with period dramas like Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey, but every winter, I always end up feeling nostalgic about everything that is quintessentially British. Watching the upper crust engaged in their traditional pastime of shooting game birds reminds me that there’s only a few [...]
Argos’ MyTablet aims for mobile retail shoppers October 14, 2013 ARGOS has become the latest retailer to join the tablet market fray with the launch of its £99 MyTablet today. The release follows Tesco, which launched its own Hudl tablet on 30 September with a massive in-store advertising push. The new device is targeted at enabling customers to make further Argos purchases on the tablet, [...]
Bottom Line: This odyssey might just be a step too far October 14, 2013 DESPITE having been around since 1968, when Arthur C Clarke first envisioned “the newspad” in 2001: A Space Odyssey, tablets still feel pretty fresh. Apple’s sector-defining iPad may have landed in 2010, nine years late for Clarke, but it’s not taken long for everyone to want a piece of the action – from natural competitors Samsung [...]
Giant panda numbers are up: see them in Chengdu February 23, 2014 They famously eat shoots and leaves. LISA YOUNG gets up-close and personal with the Chinese city’s most famous residents IT’S a warm August morning, the time of year when the sizzling Chengdu summer gives way to cooler climes. Chengdu sits in a fog-filled bowl 500 metres above sea level in the Sichuan Province of south [...]
Egg firm grows profits in spite of rising costs August 4, 2013 BRITAIN’S biggest egg supplier has brushed off soaring chicken feed costs to post a 30 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £14.8m. Noble Foods, the parent company of Happy Egg and the Gu dessert range, said revenues were flat at £594.6m in the year to the end of September 2012. The firm said free-range [...]