The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from May 2006

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from May 2006

This month in Odyssey.(Winter Olympics at Torino)
May 1, 2006... As this issue goes to press, the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, are just beginning. If you watched the events last February, you know that as a general rule, the more extreme the sport, the bigger the audience. Remember the daring and...

California teen wins science competition.(Michael Viscardi)
May 1, 2006... Michael Viscardi, a 16-year-old from San Diego, CA, won a $100,000 college scholarship, the top individual prize in the 2005-06 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science, and Technology. Competition winners were announced last December....

The mysterious carnivore.(discovered by World Wildlife Fund)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Did you hear? A possible new and mysterious carnivore species was recently discovered in the jungles of central Borneo. No kidding! The source is a December 2005 press release from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Actually, finding this...

Singing icebergs.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Considering scientists' fears that Earth's polar icebergs are melting, is it any wonder that these giant ice cubes are singing the blues? It's true! Vera Schlindwein and her colleagues from the German Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and...

I, Wakamaru.(robot from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A child-size robot that can recognize about 10,000 words and work as a house sitter went on sale in Japan last September. Created by Mitsubishi-Heavy Industries, Ltd., in Japan, the "Wakamaru" robot stands 3.3 feet tall and weighs 66...

Getting high.(Eric Kuhne and Associates signed)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Superman's leaps may soon have to be greater than a single bound if he plans to hop over buildings in Kuwait's future City of Silk. According to Architects' Journal, the Kuwaiti government has asked the London-based architecture firm Eric Kuhne...

Ouch! When extreme sports hurt.(sports injuries)
May 1, 2006... As he zoomed across the finish line in the qualifying race at the 2005 Winter X Games, snowboarder Chris Klug caught the edge of his board the wrong way. The Olympic medalist flipped into the air and came crashing down onto his shoulder. It...

Get geared up!(for hockey)
May 1, 2006... Whatever your game is, always wear the proper safety gear. It's specially designed to guard against the perils of your particular sport. Let's see how modern hockey gear helps protect players while letting them perform at the top of their...

Chemical edge: the risks of performance-enhancing drugs.
May 1, 2006... IT'S MAY 2004. American sprinter Kelli White, 27, has just lost every medal she won during the past four years. She has also lost her chance to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics. The athlete's use of the stimulant Modafinil, a...

Rip-roarin' and ready to fly!
May 1, 2006... Morgan Skiperdene is barely old enough to drive, but she's already been flying above the waves for five years. This 16-year-old honor student from Cape Hatteras, NC, is one of the best women kiteboarders in the world. By harnessing the...

Doing the Einstein flip.( Ben Wallace )
May 1, 2006... A Cambridge (UK) physicist and a teenage BMX champion have designed the world's wildest bicycle stunt. Read about this amazing ride--and then test its science yourself! Eighteen-year-old Ben Wallace is an international BMX champion. His...

Extreme napping.(sailors)
May 1, 2006... AROUND THE WORLD. NONSTOP. ALONE. If you are the first one over the finish line--assuming that you survive!--YOU WIN. That's the basic format for a race known as the "Vendee Globe," the ultimate challenge for solo long-distance sailors. The...

Crouching tiger, hidden science: a physics student and a martial arts black belt have teamed up to explore the science behind kung fu. Are you ready to build some knowledge--and break some boards?
May 1, 2006... STACKS OF LUMBER SHATTERED with a single chop. Cement blocks smashed by the force of a kick. Is the extreme sport of kung fu some kind of trick? In fact, it is a dramatic example of the principles of force and energy. To honor the 100th...

A unicorn listened.(Short story)
May 1, 2006... Fin walked alone. The towering trees around her were, like herself, descendants of Earth. The trees had thrived here on planet Fairlight and grown massive, but Frin felt as if the people of this world wanted to keep her small. The first...

What's up.(All-Sky Chart )
May 1, 2006... The monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky (minus the Moon) as it appears at 9:30 p.m. on May 15. Useful all month, the chart (except for planet positions) is also accurate for 10:30 p.m. on May 1 and 8:30 p.m. on May 31. Sky charts were...

Planets and summer stars!
May 1, 2006... May is my unofficial start of summer, because it's now that the summer stars make their appearance in the eastern sky in late evening. If you have been observing the constellations, then you have noticed that the star patterns of spring...

Earthshine!(moon)
May 1, 2006... Throughout each month, the Moon appears to change its shape. It appears as a thin curve, then "grows" to a half Moon, expands to a full Moon, and then slowly shrinks back to a thin curve, until it finally disappears. These transformations are...

May 2006.(earthshine, moon changes shapes)
May 1, 2006... The moon viewing times characterize the May sky as it appears at 9:30 p.m. On dates when the sky is show to be moonless, this is usually just because the Moon is below the horizon at 9:30 p.m. Record the following information: 1. Date...

Why do the stars move hour after hour?(Cartoon)
May 1, 2006... GREETINGS, GREETINGS, FELLOW STARGAZERS. HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED JUST WHY THE STARS CHANGE THEIR POSITION FROM HOUR TO HOUR AND FROM SEASON TO SEASON? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WELL, WONDER NO MORE! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF OUR...

Airplane antics.(jumping from an airplane in upward direction)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Barbara enjoys high-risk sports. Ben prefers to play things safe. Ben and Barbara are in a friend's modern airplane that is traveling at a constant speed. The weather is good and the ride is smooth. After asking the pilot for his...

I am not George Bailey.(Short story)
May 1, 2006... "That doesn't work!" Dr. Landsea said, as he erased a part of a complex formula. Dr. Landsea was a scientist at a small university. He worked in the area of aging. He wanted to give people the chance to live as long as they wanted to: 100, 200,...

Short and swift.(cheetahs)
May 1, 2006... Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)are named for their spots (the Hindu word chita means "spot") and known for their speed. The fastest land mammals in the world, cheetahs can accelerate from 0 to 50 miles per hour in three seconds. Moving at four...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
May 2, 2006... May 2--NAPSTER OFFERS FREE MUSIC AFTER AD DEAL WITH RECORD COMPANIES: One-time pirate music site Napster has launched a new online service offering fans the chance to listen to more than million tracks for free. The service, supported by...

S&P mulls a big bonds downgrade.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Jane Padgham May 2--Fears the year-long rally in corporate bond markets will soon run out of steam have grown after debt rating agency Standard & Poor's revealed it has 663 major companies, 19 of them British, in its sights for...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
May 2, 2006... May 2--ONE earned vast sums from his bank and was allowed to rampage through the financial markets; the other was jailed for fraud. Can you tell the difference between Hank Paulson and Nick Leeson? A long article in the current issue of The...

Evening Standard, London, Neil Collins column.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Neil Collins May 2--NEW BRIEF CAN'T HIDE THE NEED FOR IMF REFORM: Reform is in the air of Washington. The International Monetary Fund, always happy to tell others what to do, has found something new to tell them. Its principal...

Evening Standard, London, Neil Collins column.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Neil Collins May 2--Would you rather hand your house sale to a sloth or a rat? This often seems to be the choice facing anyone about to move. The old-established firm offers local knowledge and might well have handled the property...

Londoners are now the deepest in debt in UK.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Jane Padgham May 2--London was today revealed as the debt capital of Britain, as a new report showed both secured and unsecured borrowing are much higher than across the rest of the country. While 23 percent of Britons owe more...

BG fields under threat in Bolivian leader's gas grab.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Bill Condie May 2--Britain's BG Group is likely to be one of the biggest losers in the Bolvian government's nationalisation of the oil and gas industry in the country where it is a major operator. Bolivia's President Evo...

Goldman's merger team defies US Boss.
May 2, 2006... Byline: James Rossiter May 2--Goldman Sachs's mergers and acquisitions team in Britain is working on more deals similar to the firm's bid approach for ITV, even though its tilt at the broadcaster failed and it could ratchet-up tension with...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton May 2--A CHANGE TO GEAR UP FOR: One of the most successful of the new breed of corporate brokers at a large investment bank in London said the other day that he would dearly like to see a British company try to fight...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
May 2, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark May 2--Soaring oil and gas prices will be back on the agenda this week with first-quarter numbers out from BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell. First-quarter numbers last week from rival BP showed net profits down...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst column.
May 3, 2006... Byline: Chris Blackhurst May 3--Once a year, newspapers are guaranteed a woman winner. The annual Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year Award provides a welcome relief from men in suits. "The Veuve Clicquot" is now in its 33rd year....

Burger King flips up its flotation tag to [pounds sterling]273m.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Fast-food chain Burger King has boosted the size of its planned flotation and now expects to raise almost $500 million ([pounds sterling]273 million) through the sale of up to 25 million shares later this year. A filing last month...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
May 3, 2006... May 3--SHOULD SIR JOHN GIEVE, who was Permanent Secretary at the Home Office when the department freed foreign prisoners to offend again, be sitting comfortably in his new sinecure at the Bank of England where, among other things, he is in...

Matalan slides to [pounds sterling]57m and warns of more pain.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Times will stay tough on the High Street for many more months, discount retailer Matalan predicted today after last year's pressure on consumer spending sent pre-tax profits tumbling by [pounds sterling]23.8 million to [pounds...

Eleksen keys into AIM listing at [pounds sterling]20m.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Share dealing gets under way today in a company whose smart fabric touchpads can be used for keyboards that roll up into the size of a cigarette packet and for iPod and MP3 player controls sewn into jackets. Eleksen, maker of...

Venture capitalists 'ripped off NHS trust over PFI Hospital'.
May 3, 2006... Byline: Robert Lea May 3--Barclays Bank and top venture capital house 3i fleeced the taxpayer of tens of millions of pounds, "lining their own pockets" in the construction of a flagship Private Finance Initiative hospital, a powerful...

Fears grow for ISoft as value crashes by 75 percent.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Concerns are mounting that NHS technology supplier iSoft is haemorrhaging cash. Analysts are also fretting that iSoft may make a restatement of its prior-year finances and are worried the firm -- whose market value has crashed 75 percent...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
May 3, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton May 3--One of the Prime Minister's advisers when he first came to power nine years ago urged the Government to pour money into railways with a simple argument. Considerable and sustained investment could over a...

Standard Life healthy at [pounds sterling]263m in run-up to float.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Standard Life, the assurer that is due to float on the stock market this summer with a value of up to [pounds sterling]5.5 billion, today revealed a strong start to the year with annual premium growth in the UK of 13 percent to [pounds...

Time up for rate-cut champion who failed to convince MPC.
May 3, 2006... Byline: Jane Padgham May 3--HOUSE PRICES: The recent mini-boom in the housing market appears to be running out of steam. Nationwide said the average price of a home nudged up by just 0.1 percent in April after leaping by 1.1 percent in...

Back-office staff shortage brings a surge in salaries.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Boom times at investment banks are helping back-office support staff and administrators command salary rises of up to a third. Job vacancies in April outstripped those looking for new jobs in the City for the first time in 18 months,...

Chairman faces quit call in revolt at VW.
May 3, 2006... May 3--Volkswagen shareholders were expected to revolt at the troubled carmaker's annual meeting today, with calls for chairman Ferdinand Piech to resign. Some minority investors and retail shareholder groups, including British and US...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
May 3, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark May 3--PAUSE FOR THOUGHT AS DOLLAR SLUMP AND LSE SHOCK CUT BACK: Footsie Share prices gave up an early lead today as investors paused for reflection amid mounting concerns about the tumbling dollar, the rising cost of...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
May 4, 2006... May 4--MASTERCARD EYES NEW YORK IPO TO RAISE [pounds sterling]1.5BN: Mastercard is planning to raise up to $2.8 billion ([pounds sterling]1.5 billion) through an initial public offering of 46 percent of its shares in what will be the biggest...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
May 4, 2006... May 4--SAINSBURY'S newest director, Anna Ford, has had her BBC leaving party, complete with tributes video presented by Huw Edwards. Sharpest intake of breath followed the clip of BBC chairman Michael Grade taking a phone call. "Mark who?" he...

Evening Standard, London, Neil Collins column.
May 4, 2006... Byline: Neil Collins May 4--It's seldom any fun using the services of BAA. Airports are stressful, confusing places, and the slightest hold-up is a terrible strain on marital harmony, those of a weak disposition and passengers' wallets....

Debenhams float comes with a cut-price label.
May 4, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway May 4--Department stores chain Debenhams sent a shudder through the stock market and private-equity world today as its return to a listing was priced at the very bottom of the expected range. The shares started...

UK third in the league of pirated movie sales.
May 4, 2006... May 4--Britain is the world's third-largest market for pirated films, and an important part of a global illegal industry. A new study by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) says the market for illegal videos, DVDs and internet...

Fears over the health of iSoft as value slides.
May 4, 2006... May 4--National Health Service IT supplier iSoft, whose market value has crashed by 75 percent to [pounds sterling]260 million in less than a year, may be running dangerously close to breaching its banking covenants. That is the view of...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
May 4, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton May 4--A former deputy chairman of the Competition Commission once told me that when that body was deciding whether to block a deal, it only looked two to three years ahead. It felt that the world was changing so...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
May 4, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark May 4--Bid talk and a broker recommendation today provided InterContinental Hotels with the impetus to help lead blue-chips higher. The shares surged 44p to 989p in a thin market after claims the group may soon...

Hammerson leads way with Reit switch.
May 4, 2006... Byline: James Rossiter May 4--City landlord-to-shopping centres giant Hammerson is set to be the first FTSE 100 property company to convert into a Real Estate Investment Trust. Hammerson's decision to change its holding company into...

World Cup sponsors want their money back.
May 4, 2006... May 4--Official sponsors of the World Cup in Germany are asking FIFA for their money back after a German court ruling. The highest court in the country has decreed that any company can advertise with the words "Football World Cup 2006" --...

Customers stay loyal despite Body Shop sale.
May 5, 2006... May 5--Body Shop consumers showed no sign of losing faith with the ethical stores chain, despite its [pounds sterling]625 million takeover by French multi-national giant L'Oreal which was announced last month. The deal, which saw founder...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
May 5, 2006... May 5--CALLS are growing for the clever people on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee to meet quarterly, not monthly. One member, Rachel Lomax, recently bemoaned the meetings as a "heavy duty commitment" that "crowds out thought"....

Warner Music does not need to merge with its British rival EMI.
May 5, 2006... May 5--Edgar Bronfman Jr, chief executive of the US music giant, said last night. His board rejected a $4.23 billion ([pounds sterling]2.3 billion) offer from EMI earlier this week and shares in the Madonna-to-James Blunt group climbed to...

Evening Standard, London, Christopher Fildes column.
May 5, 2006... Byline: Christopher Fildes May 5--The National Provincial has gone to a better place (or at least to the Royal Bank of Scotland) but it gave me my first cheque-book, with a promise printed on the cover: "The officers of the bank are bound...

Thames River U-turn as it sticks with private life.
May 5, 2006... May 5--The tide appears to have turned against the expected flood of major hedge fund floats in London after Thames River Capital pulled plans for a Stock Exchange listing worth up to [pounds sterling]500 million. The decision, which came...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
May 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton May 5--It is always disappointing when the truth gets in the way of a good story. It is doubly the case if the truth also paints those in black hats in a favourable light. That has been this week's dilemma. The...

US group to buy Richmond Foods in [pounds sterling]182m takeover.
May 5, 2006... May 5--Ice cream maker Richmond Foods today agreed a [pounds sterling]182 million takeover bid from American venture capital group Oaktree Capital. The group won the recommendation of Richmond's board with a 750p a share offer compared...

Shortage of homes fuels London boom.
May 5, 2006... May 5--The London housing market boom is not just continuing, but getting stronger thanks to soaring demand and a chronic shortage of available properties, according to research by Knight Frank (KF). The upmarket estate agent says central...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
May 5, 2006... May 5--Alliance & Leicester was pushed to within a penny of its all-time high of 1248p today after reports of secret takeover talks with Banco Santander injected fresh impetus into one of the City's longest-running bid rumours. Asked if...

Takeover law change puts no block on Mittal's Arcelor bid.
May 5, 2006... May 5--A new takeover law will take effect in Luxembourg next week without measures likely to block the e20.2 million ([pounds sterling]14 million) bid by London-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal for Luxembourg-registered European steel...

GNER may depend on troubled parent more than admitted.
May 5, 2006... May 5--Rail franchise GNER may be more reliant on troubled parent Sea Containers than previously admitted. According to its annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company has provided a $55 million ([pounds...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst column.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Chris Blackhurst May 8--On my way to see one of our top bankers in the City last week, it was impossible to escape the conclusion that summer had truly arrived. It was 4:30 p.m. on the most glorious day of the year so far....

Buffett points to his son to take the chair at Berkshire.
May 8, 2006... May 8--Warren Buffett, answering calls for a succession plan at his investment company Berkshire Hathaway, says his son, Howard, would be "a double-protector of the culture" as the company's future chairman. Speaking at the annual jamboree...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
May 8, 2006... May 8--BBC CHIEF MARK THOMPSON has taken Charles Allen to task for the ITV man's assertion that the Beeb's licence fee demands would give it a bigger budget than ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 put together. "To believe that, you have to believe...

US bid to curb Sarbanes-Oxley.
May 8, 2006... May 8--America's controversial post-Enron corporate reforms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will come under sustained attack this week when securities regulators hear the business community's complaints about the law it says is crippling many...

Anca C fashions a float on Ofex with [pounds sterling]2.2 million label.
May 8, 2006... May 8--Chelsea girl Anca Christache floats her Anca C women's fashion retailer in London today for almost [pounds sterling]2.2 million. The Rumanian-born entrepreneur, 38, has three boutiques -- one on the Kings Road, the latest on...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton May 8--The boss of gaming group Gala Coral was on record at the weekend as saying his company would probably come to market with a [pounds sterling]5 billion-plus price tag in the next couple of years. As a...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark May 8--XSTRATA SET TO SCOOP UP CANADA BID TARGET: Xstrata's chances of buying Toronto-based metal miner Falconbridge were given a massive boost today when rival bidder Inco was taken out by Teck Cominco, the world's...

Pawnbroker H&T heads for market and looks to expand.
May 8, 2006... May 8--One of Britain's largest chains of pawnbrokers makes its stock market debut today with a [pounds sterling]54 million tag. H&T started trading in 1897 as Harvey & Thompson from a shop -- still up and running -- on the Vauxhall Bridge...

Change in the air if Mittal's bid for Arcelor succeeds.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Ross Tieman May 8--London-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is hoping the annual meeting of his Mittal Steel in Rotterdam tomorrow will be the last of a kind. Mittal and his family control 97 percent of the votes, so last...

Hungry Wachovia in [pounds sterling]14bn bank buy.
May 8, 2006... May 8--Wachovia, the fourth-biggest bank in the United States, is planning the takeover of West Coast lender Golden West Financial Corp in a deal that could be worth more than $25 billion ([pounds sterling]14 billion). Golden West has more...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
May 9, 2006... May 9--TOYOTA NAMES US CHIEF TO REPLACE SEX-CASE BOSS: Toyota's North American division, whose former chief executive faces a $190 million ([pounds sterling]106 million) sexual harassment lawsuit, has named a new man for the top job and...

C&C in good health as Britain gets taste for Magners cider.
May 9, 2006... May 9--Times are good for the orchard growers of Armagh, the apple capital of Ireland, as Magners, the new cider from across the Irish Sea, lifts off in Britain. London-listed Irish drinks group C&C today said sales of Magners boomed by...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
May 9, 2006... May 9--THE Lichfield estate is wasting no time in realising the assets of Lord Lichfield, who died late last year. The photographer's Lichfield Studios in Notting Hill is on the market with planning consent to extend it to a tasty 8560 square...

Evening Standard, London, Neil Collins column.
May 9, 2006... Byline: Neil Collins May 9--This is the tale of two civil servants. Let us call one Gladys. She works in what she still likes to think of as a labour exchange, which is what it was called when she first started work there 27 years ago. She...

Eurotunnel bond switch planned for [pounds sterling]4bn debt.
May 9, 2006... Byline: Ross Tieman May 9--Eurotunnel's board meets today to consider turning up to [pounds sterling]3.95 billion of its debt into new quoted hybrid convertible bonds. Under the proposed plan, Goldman Sachs and Australia's Macquarie...

Thousand on Merseyside fight to save their jobs with GM.
May 9, 2006... May 9--The latest hammer blow to the British motor industry will today see 1000 Merseyside workers pleading for their jobs with US giant General Motors. Last-ditch negotiations are set to take place between trade unions representing workers at...

Man's US arm denies hedge fund fraud.
May 9, 2006... Byline: Bill Condie May 9--Man Group's US brokerage arm has been accused of fraud and racketeering in an action to recover investor assets lost in the collapse of a $230 million ([pounds sterling]124 million) Philadelphia hedge fund. ...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
May 9, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton May 9--Prime Minister Tony Blair may have been rather busy last week, but he still found time to meet backbench Labour MP Frank Field and former Treasury mandarin Sir Steve Robson to talk about pension reform. ...