Avatar climbs to new heights at the box office January 31, 2010 THE 3-D movie phenomenon “Avatar” moved further into rarefied territory at the worldwide box office during the weekend, surpassing the $2bn (£1.25bn) mark days after it broke the record held by “Titanic”. James Cameron’s sci-fi spectacular has grossed $2.039bn after seven chart-topping weekends of release, distributor 20th Century Fox said yesterday. The film last Monday [...]
Beauty and the Beast April 20, 2010 IN TODAY’S list of the “world’s most popular goals” by goal-setting website 43 things, 19,131 people said that their goal was to “go on a road trip with no predetermined destination”. The pure pleasure of driving minus a defined objective came in first, before losing weight, falling in love and ceasing to procrastinate. It’s imperfect [...]
Santander sees UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Santander see UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 55 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Bidders circle German Kabel February 10, 2010 A CLUSTER of private equity firms are circling Kabel Deutschland, the German cable TV operator chaired by former BSkyB chief executive Tony Ball, it emerged yesterday. BC Partners and CVC Capital Partners joined forces earlier this week to launch a combined offer for the business. Bain Capital is also considering making an offer, while other [...]
…as pub groups report strong sales January 24, 2010 MITCHELLS & Butlers is unlikely to report significant trading news at its annual meeting, although other companies in the sector will update the market this week. Numis Securities said January trading at M&B is unlikely to have changed after a sales rise since late November. On Wednesday, brewer Greene King is tipped to report a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 6, 2010 MENZIES Numis believes the shares are significantly undervalued and raised its target price from 411p to 423p on the back of a positive trading update. Management said Menzies Aviation had seen a slight improvement in fourth quarter trading, while Menzies Distribution saw the rate of decline for magazine sales slow. UK COAL Charles Kernot has [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES NORTEL AIMS TO BLOCK PENSIONS CLAIM Nortel Networks and its creditors are seeking to block the UK pensions regulator from pursuing a claim worth as much as £2.1bn ($3.3bn) against the company’s worldwide assets to cover the shortfall in its UK scheme. The Canadian telecommunications equipment maker and its UK subsidiary filed for [...]
Mutu fails another drug test January 28, 2010 FORMER Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu is facing career ruin after failing another drug test, this time for sibutramine, a banned appetite suppressant. The 31-year-old, who served a seven-month worldwide ban for using cocaine while at Stamford Bridge, tested positive after playing for Fiorentina earlier this month. Mutu could be banned for four years if the [...]
Wilkinson: I’ll defy critics against Irish February 23, 2010 UNDER-FIRE England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson is refusing to let personal criticism reduce him to a “quivering wreck” after being named in an unchanged team for Saturday’s showdown with Ireland. Wilkinson was singled out for condemnation after an uncharacteristically sloppy kicking performance in last week’s victory over Italy. Matt Dawson, his half-back partner during the 2003 [...]