The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from January 2002

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from January 2002

Surveying sleep. (Science Scoops).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tired? Feel sleepy all the time? Schoolwork got you up late? Well, join the club. The latest Sleep Census survey shows that Americans aren't getting the sleep they need. Sleep Census. 2000, sponsored by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories and...

Nose jobs needed for dinosaurs. (Science Scoops).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... We've had it wrong for more than a century. That's what Lawrence Witmer and his clan of dinosaur researchers at Ohio University say about the placement of dinosaur noses in modern reconstructions. "We found an extraordinary amount of evidence...

Fried clones. (Science Scoops).(cloning chickens)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Well, get your stomachs ready, because companies in the United States are developing the technology needed to "clone" chickens on a massive scale. Once the most desirable traits of tasty birds -- like the right amount of tenderness and...

Is Hawaii the result of a big bang? (Science Scoops).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Does Hawaii, the burning jewel of the North Pacific, have an extraterrestrial origin? It's possible, says Andrew Glikson from the Australian National University. He believes that an asteroid impact may have created the hot spot that supplies...

Light may have slowed down. (Science Scoops).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Quick, what's the speed of light? Well, if you're on your toes, you would have answered, "To which time are you referring, the past or present?" What?! Actually, the speed of light, that once-universal constant of 186,000 miles...

The tick and tock of your inner clock.
January 1, 2002... Every July for many years, a scientist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, MD, challenged his new students to guess when a blind monkey living in the laboratory would be sleeping and be awake on Christmas Day. They...

Yaaaawwwwnn! Are you sleep-deprived?
January 1, 2002... "Time to wake up for school," Bethany's dad calls at 6:45 a.m. "Okay," Bethany responds softly. Then she rolls over to catch a few extra winks. When the alarm blares at 7 o'clock, Bethany can't put it off any longer. Yawning, she shuts off...

An interview with sleep researcher Amy Wolfson: taming the "night owls". (People To Discover).(Brief Article)(Interview)
January 1, 2002... In 1997, Minneapolis and other nearby districts pushed high school start times back to 8:40 a.m. to address the fact that teenagers are naturally "night owls." Now, other districts may follow suit. To understand why, ODYSSEY talked with Amy...

A brief history of dreaming: dreaming has roots extending to the dawn of humanity.
January 1, 2002... Some countless millions of years ago, when humans first began scratching their heads for reasons other than to pick lice, our ancestors discovered a way to communicate the visions they had during sleep -- they drew them on the walls of their...

The Monster in My Basement.(Poem)
January 1, 2002... There used o be a monster in my basement. I was afraid to go down there in the dark. One night I dreamed I was in the basement. I heard the monster roar. I turned on the light and I saw him. He was big and white and hairy. ...

Eyes wide open: the sleepwalkers.
January 1, 2002... When Tim Madigan, a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, was 11 years old, he entered the Twilight Zone. On his first night at a Boy Scout camp in the back country of Minnesota, he woke up "barefoot and alone" in the middle of the Minnesota...

Counting sheep ... and dogs! (Brain Strain).(find the solution)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... You are deep in REM sleep, dreaming about strolling leisurely through an endless field (plain... er, plane) of tall grass. In your mind's eye, you see an array of sheep and dogs. (What can this dream mean?, you wonder. You don't even have a...

Sleeping with the bears.(hibernation)
January 1, 2002... How do you stay warm on a cold winter night? Do you curl up in a blanket or lie by a crackling fire? Do you savor the steam rising from a cup of hot cocoa? We all get cold, and we've invented ingenious ways to stay warm. Animals are no...

What's up.(charts)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky (minus the moon) as it appears at 6 p.m. (your local time) on Jan. 15. Useful all month, the chart (except for planet positions) is also accurate for 7 p.m. on Jan. 1 and 5 p.m. on Jan. 31. To use...

Evening planets and a rainbow of star colors to see! (What's Up).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... PLANET WATCH As you might expect, January evenings are usually pretty cold, but they are also extra long! So bundle up and go outside in the evening hours, and you will be treated to a view of four planets -- two of which can be seen for...

Star colors! (You Can Do Astronomy).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Someone walks up to you and asks, "What color are the stars?" What do you say? You might have to think about it for a moment. Artwork often depicts stars as pointy white objects. Well, they're not pointy (all stars are spherical), and only...

The New Year's eve star: a story retold.(Short Story)
January 1, 2002... GREETINGS, GREETINGS, FELLOW STRGAZERS! I'M GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WILL HAPPEN EVERY NEW YEAR'S EVE FOR AS LONG AS THE WORLD GOES AROUND. IT'S SOMETHING THAT TO ME IS ALMOST MAGICAL BECAUSE OF ITS SHEER COINCIDENCE. ...

Art competition winners. (Sci Chat).
January 1, 2002... ODYSSEY and the Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake (TAACCL) in Houston, TX, are pleased to announce the winners of the Junior Division of the Third Annual Science & Technology Digital Art Competition. ODYSSEY joined with TAACCL this year,...

Feuding science. (Countdown).(scientists)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... When we ponder amazing science discoveries, we quickly think about how they have served to improve our lives. But many advances in science over the centuries have occurred not solely out of a need to make the world better for humankind, but as...

One ... two ... three ... four ... (Animal Angels).(sheep over the fence)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Can't sleep? Count sheep. It's an American tradition we can trace back to a book published in 1854, in which Seba Smith wrote, "He shut his eyes with all his might, and tried to think of sheep jumping over a wall." In the United States,...

2001 Odyssey index.
January 1, 2002... 2001 ODYSSEY Index A Accidents in Lechugilla Cave, NM, May 01, 27-29 Russian submarine Kursk, May 01, 3-4 Activities aromatherapy bath salts, Feb 01, 43 backward handwriting, Nov 01, 32 the blind spot, Mar 01, 21-22...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
January 2, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 2--South Korean stocks started 2002 as they had ended 2001, leading the pack of Asian markets. Prices soared by more than 4 percent today, following last year's 37.5 percent climb, as investors swooped on technology...

Evening Standard, London, Asia Review Column.
January 2, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 2--Asian markets provided investors with a wild ride in 2001, producing some stunning winners and their fair share of downright stinkers. The recession-hit US economy, on which Asia depends for its export...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
January 2, 2002... Jan. 2--OPEC DOUBTS CHEAPEN OIL: Oil prices slumped today amid fears the world's leading producers would not comply with supply cuts agreed last week. Brent crude for February delivery initially fell 44 cents to $19.46 a barrel, compared...

Euro Gets Boost from Smooth Changeover.
January 2, 2002... Jan. 2--Europe's single currency got off to a flying start on its first day of trading since yesterday's introduction of euro notes and coins. Relieved by the virtually hitch-free switch from 12 national currencies to the euro in countries...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
January 2, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jan. 2--AMERICAN ISSUES MUST BE RESOLVED FOR A RECOVERY: Until this week, you had to go back more than a quarter of a century to find two years in a row in which shares finished the year lower than they began it --...

Hong Kong-Based Pacific Century Cyber Works Cancels Contract with Studio.
January 2, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 2--Up to 400 jobs at the Acton studios of internet content provider Trans World International are under threat after Hong Kong's Pacific Century Cyber Works terminated a contract to use the company's output on its...

Evening Standard, London, Stock Markets Column.
January 2, 2002... Jan. 2--The first trading day of the New Year started off in much the same vein as 2001 ended, with City investors giving chase to the High Street stores. It is beginning to look as though most of them enjoyed a boom at the tills in the...

Anglo-Australian Group Brambles Industries Sells Equipment Rental Division.
January 2, 2002... Jan. 2--The disposals programme at Brambles Industries, the Anglo-Australian group created from the merger of Sydney-based Brambles and GKN's service industries, continued today with the sale of North American equipment rental division BESI for...

British Supermarket Giant Sainsbury Joins Pension Registry Group.
January 2, 2002... Byline: Ross Davies Jan. 2--Sainsbury's pension scheme is to become the first to link up with the Unclaimed Assets Register to allow members who have lost touch with the UKpound 3 billion fund to claim their entitlements. The...

British Tools Rental Company Makes Key Acquisition.
January 2, 2002... Jan. 2--Tools rental specialist Speedy Hire is buying Jewson's stand-alone Hire Point shops for UKpound 13.5 million in a move sending it to second place behind leading operator HSS. The deal includes 37 branches, but not those in Jewson...

Investors Await Flurry of U.S. Economic Data.
January 2, 2002... Byline: Lauren Chambliss Jan. 2--Wall Street has little time to savour the year-end rally as a run of economic data, including the all-important monthly employment numbers, will command immediate attention from investors searching for...

Vodafone Plans to Refinance Wireless Operations by Restructuring German Unit.
January 2, 2002... Jan. 2--German fixed lines Mobiles operator Vodafone is set to seal the first step on restructuring its German fixed-line unit Arcor in a bid to realise cash to finance its wireless operations. Vodafone inherited a 73.6 percent stake in the...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 3--Rising prices had buyers queuing for Asia's leading semiconductor manufacturers today. Sluggish trading in other sectors limited overall gains despite last month's rise in US manufacturing output to its...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jan. 3--WHY STERLING'S EXCHANGE RATE FALL IS A KEY POINTER: Many things were predicted to happen with the launch of the euro notes and currency but that sterling would have its worst-ever day against the single...

British House Price Increases Are Highest in 14 Years.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Withers Jan. 3--House prices rallied by 1.9 percent in December to lift the yearly increase to its highest since 1988. A survey by Britain's largest building society, Nationwide, revealed the average price of a house in...

Evening Standard, London, Stock Markets Column.
January 3, 2002... Jan. 3--There appears to have been no shortage of festive spirit at Marks & Spencer's Baker Street head office as the cash tills jingled their own merry tune to shareholders. The share price brought them further cheer today, racing up a...

Britain's Shoppers Go on Biggest Spree Since 1987.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Jane Padgham and Jim Armitage Jan. 3--Shoppers splashed out at the fastest rate since the late-Eighties boom in the run-up to Christmas, it emerged today, backing claims that retailers have enjoyed a record festive season. The...

Some British Period Textiles Never Go Out of Fashion with Film Firms.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Ross Davies Jan. 3--"There's scope for suddenly finding that little gem here," says Sue Kerry. "Only a couple of months ago, I rediscovered a fabric design for Pugin when he was building the Palace of Westminster." Kerry...

Buyers Sought for Former Cruise Company's Ships.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Ross Tieman Jan. 3--As Earls Court hosts London's annual Boat Show, the southern French port of Marseilles is preparing for a pleasure boat sale on an altogether different scale. In the past fortnight, six of the 10 cruisers...

Analysts Say Euro Hoopla Could Die Down.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Jane Padgham Jan. 3--Europe's single currency paused for breath on foreign exchanges today after yesterday racking up its best-ever one-day performance against sterling. After dipping in early trading, the euro was changing...

Euro Remains Strong for Second Day.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Jim Armitage Jan. 3--The euro remained buoyant today, holding on to much of yesterday's huge gain against the pound. In Asian trading the single currency slipped back only modestly from last night's 62.51 pence to 62.38 pence...

Britain-Based Games Workshop to Buy 85 Percent of Card Game Maker.
January 3, 2002... Jan. 3--Fantasy wargames outfit Games Workshop is paying $3 million (UKpound 2.1 million) in cash to take control of the company which makes collectable cards based on its miniature warriors. GW is buying 85 percent of US-based Sabertooth,...

U.S. Company Increases Bid for Australian Mining Firm.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Paul Armstrong Jan. 3--AngloGold's push to reclaim its title as the world's biggest gold producer took a blow today when US peer Newmont trumped for a second time its takeover bid for Australian miner Normandy. Newmont lifted...

London-Based Washing Machine Company Sees Drop in Shares after Report.
January 3, 2002... Jan. 3--Monotub shares tumbled to a new low today as production of its Titan washing machine was slowed following reported problems, including it leaping in the air during the spin cycle. Trying to fix the problems has led to production...

British X-Ray Equipment Company Announces Delay in Product Shipment.
January 3, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jan. 3--The slowdown in the worldwide mobile telecoms market has hit the prospects of Bede, a hi-tech group floated last year by former Durham University boffins. Bede makes X-ray tools that spot faults in the...

British Airways Sees Spike in Shares.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jan. 4--Shares in British Airways soared to the highest since their collapse in the aftermath of the events of 11 September ahead of traffic figures out today that were expected to show the carrier making the long haul...

British Credit-Based Spending Binge Sparks Warning.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Jane Padgham Jan. 4--Britain's borrowing binge continued in November, new figures showed today, reinforcing warnings by the Governor of the Bank of England that the credit card-fuelled spending boom is unsustainable. Total net...

Evening Standard, London, Joanne Hart Column.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Joanne Hart Jan. 4--WHY ABBEY COULD BE HAPPY WITH A BARCLAYS BID: There has been much talk this week about Abbey National bidding for Alliance & Leicester. A&L's restructuring programme has not gone smoothly and the bank is...

Surprise Sectors Pack Punch for British Investors in Need of Market Tonic.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Trevor Webster Jan. 4--A tumble of more than 15 percent in the benchmark FTSE 100 index and the All Share index meant that 2001 was a dreadful year for most stock market investors. But punters clever -- or lucky -- enough to pick...

Evening Standard, London, Stock Markets Column.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Withers Jan. 4--An early technology-led jump for the FTSE 100 index broadened out today to take in everything from miners to engineers as wary investors plucked up the courage to buy. With signs emerging of a tentative...

British Companies Halve Growth Forecasts.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Paul Armstrong Jan. 4--Growth forecasts for British company earnings have been slashed by more than half in the past three months and there is no sign of any slowdown in the number of profit downgrades washing through the stock...

Japan Stocks Take Up High-Tech Recovery Story.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 4--Japan stocks played a hectic game of catch-up today as investors returned from the long New Year break and chased recent gains on other Asian markets, which were also galvanised by hopes of a 2002 recovery. ...

British Cancer Research Group Gets Cash Boost for Abbott Laboratories Deal.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--Cancer research group Antisoma has amended its licensing agreement with US-owned Abbott Laboratories for its treatment for ovarian and gastric cancer, and will now get enhanced royalties with milestone payments linked to sales targets,...

Argentina Set to Drop U.S. Dollar Peg.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--The new President of Argentina was today poised to unveil an emergency economic package aimed at digging the country out of its four-year slump. Eduardo Duhalde was expected to scrap the peso's one-to-one peg to the US dollar....

British Banking-Software Group Issues Profit Warning.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--Banking software group Financial Objects today warned that its 2001 profit would be slashed by an UKpound 850,000 provision in relation to goods for which it was unlikely to be paid. It said the undisclosed customer, which is...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--INTEREST RATES: The Bank of England's monetary policy committee meets next Wednesday and Thursday, although no change in interest rates is expected. After slashing the base rate seven times last year, taking it to 4 percent, the MPC is...

Standard & Poor's Awards BP with High Rating for Governance Practices.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--Oil giant BP has been given the highest rating for any company in corporate governance good practice by Standard & Poor's. The credit rating agency has awarded BP a score of 9.6 on a scale of one to 10 evaluating companies'...

Maker of Non-Invasive Surgical Device Reports Good Reception in U.S. Market.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--Lidco has met an enthusiastic response to its attempts to break into the US heart surgery market with its pioneering non-invasive device that measures blood flow and oxygen levels during delicate operations. Chief executive Terry...

British Papermaker Looks to Restore Dividend Payments.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Patrick Hosking Jan. 4--Inveresk bounced back in the second half and hopes to resume dividend payments this year after a two-year famine. Cost-cutting and falling pulp prices helped push pre-exceptional operating profits to...

British Paving Firm Strides On as Sales Soar by 10 Percent.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--Paving specialist Marshalls, whose granite setts grace the fountained courtyard of Somerset House, has enjoyed strong trading in its second half due to good weather and pedestrianisation of more urban centres. A flurry of TV shows...

London Group Issues Deadline for Transport Secretary on Railtrack Action.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--City institutions have given Stephen Byers a week to divulge key documents relating to his decision to put Railtrack into administration or face being taken to the High Court. The Railtrack Shareholders Action Group, which speaks...

Holiday Sales Fuel Extended Surge for British Shops.
January 4, 2002... Jan. 4--Evidence is mounting that the pre-Christmas shopping frenzy has extended into the January sales. Barclaycard said UKpound 300 million of transactions were put on its credit cards on 27 and 28 December, roughly the same amount as...

British Pension-Fund Council May Sue Merrill Lynch.
January 4, 2002... Byline: Paul Armstrong Jan. 4--Trustees of the Surrey County Council pension fund will discuss at a meeting next month whether to sue Merrill Lynch for the alleged underperformance of part of its UKpound 700 million portfolio. Council...

Bank Bulls Win in Tokyo Tug-of-War with High-Tech Stock Sellers.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 7--A tug-of-war between buyers of Japanese banks and sellers of technology stocks ended with the bank bulls in charge in Tokyo today. A bout of profit-taking following last week's late gains among semiconductor...

Evening Standard, London, William Davis Column.
January 7, 2002... Byline: William Davis Jan. 7--Most economists in the US, where I have spent the past month, seem to have based their New Year forecasts on the thesis that there will not be any further terrorist attacks. It is a risky assumption. A...

English School of Falconry Doesn't Let Bad Fortune Rattle Its Cage.
January 7, 2002... Byline: John Swinfield Jan. 7--It has been a long, hard winter for Phil Gooden and his little band of birdmen and women who have struggled to succeed with their three-acre enterprise, The English School of Falconry. From the outset it was...

Plunging Volumes Savage London Financial District.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--The devastating slump in the City was highlighted today by a survey showing business volumes at the end of last year fell at the sharpest rate since the early-1990s recession. The poll of financial services firms by the CBI and...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jan. 7--PANEL MUST GET A GRIP ON THESE TAKEOVER GAVOTTES: Shareholders in P&O Princess were told in November that their board had struck a deal to merge the business with Royal Caribbean to create what by most...

British Investors Find Value in Leading Leisure Stocks.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--There is still value to be found for City investors among certain sectors. Today punters were focusing on leisure shares following bullish comments from one leading broker. Hilton was one of the best performers among the top 100...

National Park Deals Blow to British Group's Plans for Giant Port.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--Plans by Associated British Ports for a massive new deep sea container port on the South Coast have been dealt a serious blow after a key Government agency decided the proposed site at Dibden Bay should be part of New Forest National...

British Media Buyer Warns of Flat Year in Advertising.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--The advertising market may recover in the third or fourth quarter but will decline or be merely flat for the full year, leading media buyer Aegis warned today. That follows a year which it described as "the deepest advertising...

Alcoa to Lead Dow in Unveiling Fourth-Quarter Earnings.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Lauren Chambliss Jan. 7--The fourth-quarter earnings season gets under way on Wall Street this week with a trickle of companies, including the first of the Dow Jones 30 Industrials, reporting. Key economic data will also keep...

British Engineering Group Tackles Debt Pile with Unit Sell-Off to U.S. Firm.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--New Invensys chief executive Rick Haythornthwaite today made his first move to reduce the engineering group's UKpound 3.3 billion debt mountain by selling off its power storage business for $505 million (UKpound 350 million). ...

British Golf, Fitness Club Operator Faces Rough Ride after Defaulting.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Jim Armitage Jan. 7--Troubled golf clubs operator Clubhaus has defaulted on a UKpound 3.8 million interest payment to bondholders, putting the position of chairman Robert Bourne -- famed for his failed bid to buy the Millennium...

British Flexible Office-Space Provider Acquires London Properties.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--Three London properties have been acquired by Workspace Group for almost UKpound 21 million from property company Chelsfield, chaired by Elliott Bernerd. Surrey House in Lavington Street, Southwark, let to the Inland Revenue, cost...

British Energy Firm Warns of Slowdown in Oil-Services Group.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--Hunting warned today that its market was likely to be less buoyant in the first half of 2002 thanks to lower energy prices and less activity in the oil industry. Its shares tumbled 81/2 pence to 168 pence. In another acquisition...

British Pension-Fund Trustees May Pay Dearly for Firing Managers.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Patrick Hosking Jan. 7--Pension fund trustees who follow standard industry practice and sack badly-performing investment managers are usually making a costly mistake, according to new research. Trustees would do better to stick...

British Software Group Predicts Turn-Around.
January 7, 2002... Jan. 7--Systems Union, the business software group chaired by financier Bob Morton, today confirmed its rehabilitation from a disastrous dot-com acquisitions foray by predicting a return to profit. The firm, formerly known as freecom.net,...

Four Non-Executive Directors Go in British Telecom Clearout.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Nick Goodway Jan. 7--British Telecom today announced a clearout of its board with more than half its non-executive directors departing. Four non-execs who were appointed under former chairman Sir Iain Vallance will quit next week....

British Wine Maker Hits Sales Record.
January 7, 2002... Byline: Jim Armitage Jan. 7--Majestic Wine today toasted a heady rise in sales over the Christmas and New Year period. Like-for-like sales surged 11.3 percent in the two months to New Year's Eve compared with a year earlier as tipplers...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
January 8, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jan. 8--PARTY OVER AS FALLING YEN SPARKS ASIA FEARS: Asia's New Year party was spoiled today by a plunging yen and warnings from Morgan Stanley economists Stephen Roach that the US was heading for double-dip recession....

Earnings Warnings by U.S. Firms May Wane, But Profits Plunge Will Go On.
January 8, 2002... Byline: Lauren Chambliss Jan. 8--Looking for a silver lining in the fourth-quarter earnings cloud that will descend on Wall Street starting next week, analysts point out profit warnings are down sharply from the third quarter, which would...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
January 8, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jan. 8--EQUITABLE AND THE HARD LESSON STILL TO BE LEARNED: "It has always struck this commentator that there is a fundamental contradiction between the circumstances of this life with its inherent risks,...