Johnson calls up uncapped trio for Tests October 26, 2009 CAPTAIN Steve Borthwick has urged the unfamiliar faces in England’s party for the autumn internationals to grab the opportunity with both hands. Manager Martin Johnson last night included uncapped trio David Barnes, Richard Blaze and Courtney Lawes in a patched-up 32-man squad for the upcoming Tests against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand. With injuries ruling [...]
Bent and Huddlestone get the nod from Capello November 8, 2009 IN-FORM Darren Bent has been handed a chance to fight for a World Cup place after being named in Fabio Capello’s England squad for next week’s friendly with Brazil. The Sunderland striker has been named in the 24-man party along with former Tottenham team-mate Tom Huddlestone and Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock as Capello looks to [...]
M&B boss out on hedge loss May 21, 2009 THE BOSS of Britian’s biggest pub chain Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) resigned yesterday after the company revealed it would lose a further £69m in a disastrous bet on interest rates and revealed a 48 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £44m for the six months to 11 April. Chief executive Tim Clarke, stepped down [...]
Virgin Media beats City expectations as users pay more October 29, 2009 VIRGIN Media yesterday beat analysts expectation to reveal a 1.3 per cent increase in third quarter revenue, narrowing its losses, as customers spent more than ever on its services. The cable operator said that average revenue per user (Arpu) rose to a record £44.24 per month, driven by demand for superfast broadband and video on [...]
Growing DIY trend boosts B&Q profits September 17, 2009 DIY chain B&Q was hailed the “jewel in the crown” by Kingfisher’s chief executive Ian Cheshire yesterday, as the growing trend of home improvement boosted sales and lifted profits ahead of expectations. Kingfisher yesterday said pre-tax profits leapt by 35 per cent to £288m in the 26 weeks to 1 August, from £214m the year [...]
Growing DIY trend boosts B&Q profits September 17, 2009 DIY chain B&Q was hailed the “jewel in the crown” by Kingfisher’s chief executive Ian Cheshire yesterday, as the growing trend of home improvement boosted sales and lifted profits ahead of expectations. Kingfisher yesterday said pre-tax profits leapt by 35 per cent to £288m in the 26 weeks to 1 August, from £214m the year [...]
EasyJet warns of a tough winter ahead November 17, 2009 BUDGET airline easyJet yesterday warned the aviation industry is in for a tough winter as it revealed its pre-tax profit halved over the past year despite customers trading down to cheaper transport options. Reported pre-tax profit at the airline fell 50.4 per cent to £54.7m in the year to September, down from £110.2m in 2007, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 4, 2009 THE FINANCIAL TIMES OPEL U-TURN LEAVES GERMANY ANGRYGermany and Russia reacted furiously to General Motors’ surprise decision to keep Opel rather than sell it, throwing up fresh uncertainty about the future direction of one of Europe’s biggest carmakers. The news that GM’s board had abandoned the sale of Opel/Vauxhall to Canada’s Magna and Russia’s Sberbank [...]
Virgin and BT join forces in BSkyB attack October 4, 2009 Virgin Media and BT have hit out at BSkyB’s pricing mechanism for its premium channels, saying that its “near monopoly” restricts consumer choice and keeps prices high. The attack came in a joint submission to Ofcom, which is consulting over its proposals to control the wholesale pay-TV market, that would mean BSkyB having to sell [...]
Pawnbroker’sprofit surges on gold price September 28, 2009 PAWNBROKER Albemarle & Bond (A&B) yesterday announced a 50 per cent rise in its full-year pre-tax profit helped by a strong gold price, and said trading remained strong. The company also said in a separate statement that its founder, Philip Murphy, will retire from his role as non-executive director at the group’s next annual meeting. [...]