SPORT | IN BRIEF September 29, 2010 Pooley makes history for Britain CYCLING: Great Britain’s Emma Pooley won the time trial at the Road World Championships in Australia. The 27-year-old Londoner, who won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, is the first British woman to win the event. She said: “Now I get to wear the world champion’s jersey [...]
Tories under siege as polls show Labour closing gap February 22, 2010 WHAT a difference a couple of months can make. At the start of 2010, the Tories looked unassailable, with a consistent ten point lead in the opinion polls that would have translated into an outright majority at the election. Labour was imploding, while Gordon Brown was fighting yet another coup attempt, the terribly-planned “snow plot” [...]
British exports are recovering August 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S trade gap narrowed in June as exports recovered, but economists warned overseas demand would not offset the flagging economy at home. Exports increased at four times the pace of imports in June, narrowing the trade in goods deficit from £8bn in May to a lower-than-expected £7.4bn, the Office for National Statistics said. The overall [...]
An investment gap is hindering UK start-ups February 8, 2010 A thriving technology sector is a key driver for success against the background of a weak economic recovery and an ongoing debate about the relative values of the service economy and declining manufacturing base of the UK economy. The UK has no shortage of profitable technology companies. But for every Autonomy and Monitise there is [...]
Greece to slash deficit and extend cuts October 4, 2010 GREECE will cut its budget deficit to seven per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and launch a fresh wave of cuts in the public sector it said in its draft budget. The budget, aimed at convincing European leaders that it is on track to tackle its deficit crisis, would see the debt narrowed more [...]
The kids will be alright with a Junior Isa October 28, 2010 WHEN the coalition government revealed in May that it would be scrapping Child Trust Funds (CTF) from January 2011 to save £500m a year, there was an outcry from fund managers, financial experts and think tanks alike, who argued that the CTF had instilled a savings culture in children from an early age. More than [...]
Identity crisis persists September 15, 2010 FRENCH Connection is a retailer which has more gallic luck than its rivals. At the tail end of the 20th Century, it managed to arrest an alarming decline in sales by rebranding itself as FCUK, tapping into the youth counter culture and stealing a march on rivals like Gap. But in recent years it has [...]
Plans to reform the tripartite system have opened a new can of worms September 14, 2010 WHEN George Osborne set about dismantling the tripartite regulatory system, he said the reforms would help prevent another banking crisis. But his decision to hand responsibility for the UK listing authority (UKLA) to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) could end up causing even bigger problems. The FRC is controlled by Vince Cable’s business department, whereas [...]
Debenhams brand fuels profit surge October 21, 2010 DEBENHAMS said yesterday that sales of its own brand ranges had helped it to increase its profit by 20 per cent. The rise in the year to 28 August came as the company also reduced its debt. Sales of Debenhams own brand ranges, which include H! by Henry Holland and Principles by Ben De Lisi, [...]
THE TIPSTER November 1, 2010 ALL eyes are on stock market indices such as the FTSE 100 this week as major economic numbers and announcements from across the globe are released. Yesterday’s early gains were wiped out by mid-morning, indicating that there simply aren’t enough bulls out there to prop up the markets and further weakness could be around the [...]