Phoenix and Daisy agree on £135m takeover May 27, 2015 TELECOMS firm Daisy, alongside the private equity firm Toscafund, has agreed a deal to acquire Phoenix. In a statement released yesterday, Daisy said: “Phoenix, Daisy and Toscafund are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer.” The offer values the managed services and cloud computing firm at [...]
There’s plenty to keep Ashes fires burning in final Test of series August 20, 2015 The final Investec Test of the summer against Australia may have no bearing on who wins the Ashes but there is plenty of motivation for England at the Kia Oval. Firstly, it provides a real opportunity to drive home their supremacy. England have never beaten Australia four times in a home series before so a [...]
Three years after it was introduced, is it now time to end the Funding for Lending Scheme? July 12, 2015 Philip Booth, a professor at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and editorial and programme director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) should never have been started. Initially, it could have been justified on the ground that the market was desperate for credit. But what has been its effect? [...]
Gleneagles set to spoil Dettori’s Golden summer August 19, 2015 BILL ESDAILE PREVIEWS THE OPENING DAY OF YORK’S EBOR FESTIVAL IF THE rain stays away, and there are no last minute injury scares, we will get our race of the season on the Knavesmire this afternoon. An all-star cast of eight are set to line-up for the Juddmonte International Stakes (3.40pm), including unbeaten Investec Derby [...]
Storm The Stars to cement Leger favouritism in Betway Great Voltigeur August 18, 2015 TRAINER Aidan O’Brien saddles three of the seven runners in the wide-open Betway Great Voltigeur Stakes (3.05pm), but the Ballydoyle trio may have their work cut out to stop STORM THE STARS who is available at 7/2 with the sponsors. William Haggas has his team in great nick and landed two valuable pots last weekend [...]
Finn on the road to Australian redemption July 30, 2015 IF PERFORMANCES within Ashes series go some way to defining Test careers then rejuvenated England seamer Steven Finn will be relieved to have started healing scars from his last brush with Australia. In 2011, Finn usurped Sir Ian Botham to become the youngest Englishman to reach the milestone of 50 Test wickets, while his two [...]
Treasury to sell £1.5bn of Royal Mail June 4, 2015 CHANCELLOR of the exchequer George Osborne announced plans for a £13bn round of privatisations yesterday, as he added the sale of £1.5bn of Royal Mail to the £11.8bn sale of Lloyds Bank currently underway. And if he brings forward plans to sell down the government’s holdings in bailed-out bank RBS, he could add tens of billions of [...]
Cricket Comment: England success heralds new dawn for ODI cricket June 10, 2015 IT MAY only have been one match but I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that a new dawn may have broken in limited-overs cricket, given what we witnessed in England’s record-breaking 210-run victory over New Zealand at Edgbaston on Tuesday. I have seen players perform for their counties in domestic cricket over [...]
Glencore share price rises with $2.5bn placing, climbing back from record low September 16, 2015 Shares in Glencore opened up by as much as four per cent on Wednesday morning, pleasing investors with a new share placing. The debt-stricken company is seeking to reverse its fortunes with the emergency share placing, which raised the $2.5bn (£1.63bn) it had promised investors. The commodities trader and mining company saw its shares plummet [...]
Cook calls on players to be Ashes heroes August 6, 2015 CAPTAIN Alastair Cook has urged one of his England colleagues to write their name into Ashes folklore with a series-clinching contribution in the fourth Investec Test, which starts today at Trent Bridge. Seamer Stuart Broad and batsmen Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen have all ensured their places in national cricket history by starring in decisive [...]