ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND January 14, 2010 FILM THE BOOK OF ELI Denzel Washington goes into action in post-apocalyptic America. ALL ABOUT STEVE Sandra Bullock plays a zany crossword expert who falls for her blind date. Dreadful. CRUDE Documentary about the oil industry’s contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon. DVD THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 Weak remake with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. [...]
Four by phwoar January 12, 2010 I’VE just returned from a stint on the East Coast of the USA where I thought we had done quite well with snow. The thing is, it’s no surprise when it arrives over there. “Snow days” tend to close schools, but people are out shovelling immediately, protecting themselves from any litigious opportunists. Snowploughs are put [...]
LSE loses out as rivals steal market share January 21, 2010 TRADING on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has plunged with new rivals like Chi-X Europe snapping at its heels, sending the company’s revenues down nine per cent to £154.9m. The LSE has seen its share of trading of FTSE 100 stocks drop to 64 per cent last month from 78 per cent a year earlier. [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND January 21, 2010 FILM BROTHERS Powerful post-Afghanistan drama with Toby Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhal. A PROPHET Stunning French film about an Arab man who becomes a kingpin in a French prison. BROTHERS Heist movie about security guards who turn robbers, with Matt Dillon and Jean Reno. DVD (500) DAYS OF SUMMER Hit indie rom-com, with Zooey [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS COMPETITION KILLING THE LSE? January 21, 2010 NESE GUNER | NOMURA We were pleasantly surprised by the announcement of further cost cuts. Going forward, we expect further positive newsflow in regards to both cost reductions and organic/inorganic growth initiatives. While these bode well for long-term prospects, we did note that management stated that market conditions would remain testing over the near term. [...]
Cider war fizzes on as militants take up anti-darling arms March 25, 2010 AS VOTE-losers go, chancellor Alistair Darling’s punitive tax on cider really is shaping up to be a corker. By close of play yesterday – just a day after Darling announced in the Budget he will be popping duty on the tipple at 10 per cent above the rate of inflation from midnight on Sunday – [...]
A palace of calm after the storm April 12, 2010 Pétrus 1 Kinnerton St, SW1X 8EA 020 7592 1609 www.gordonramsay.com Cost per person without wine: £55 IT’S hard to believe that so tranquil a restaurant as this was born of an immense falling out. We all know the saga. For years Pétrus in Belgravia’s Berkeley Hotel was one of the shiniest jewels in Gordon Ramsay’s [...]
In business, sorry is the hardest word April 14, 2010 LAST week technology giant AOL revealed that it is planning to close or sell the social networking site Bebo, which it bought for $850m just two years ago. It’s fair to say that was an expensive error. Everybody makes mistakes in business – even if they hopefully don’t end up costing you the best part [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND February 11, 2010 FILM The wolfman Ropey remake of the Sixties classic, with Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Adventure flick for teenagers. pretty woman 25th anniversary re-release for the rom com that made Julia Roberts’s name. DVD The time traveler’s wife Weak adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s romantic tearjerker. The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 13, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BEEF PRICE SURGES FOLLOWING HARSH US WINTER Beef prices are soaring after cattle failed to fatten up during the harsh US winter and cash-strapped ranchers culled herds to cope with the recession. Cattle futures have risen more than 20 per cent since December and are again flirting with $1 a pound, a milestone [...]