The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from October 2004

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from October 2004

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--IN THE ABSENCE of Stuart Rose taking up our challenge to visit a Marks & Spencer store to check if he's right when he says customers stop him for his autograph, City Spy has done some shopping of its own. Suddenly, in a near-deserted...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 1--VENTURE THAT MUST PLAY BY RULES: Talking about the economics of the fund management industry at the time of the merger between ISIS and Foreign & Colonial, the former's chief executive Howard Carter remarked...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--WOLVES SHINES IN SUMMER BUT WARNS OF COSTS BLOW: Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries today toasted a successful summer of sales despite bad weather and rising overheads but warned it faces increased costs. Like-for-like sales at its...

British Energy loses UKpound 900 per minute.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--A shocking insight into the appalling financial state of electricity generator British Energy emerged today as the group admitted racking up UKpound 115 million losses in the three months of spring, losing nearly UKpound 900 a minute....

Evening Standard, London, City Spy bonus column.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--AUTOGRAPH HUNT UPDATE: Stuart Rose still hasn't called to take up City Spy's offer to tour a branch of Marks & Spencer with him to check the veracity of his claim that customers stop him for his signature. But there's been a disturbing...

Google's Froogle to test water in UK.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--Internet search giant Google is bringing shopping site Froogle to Britain. The service has so far only being tested in the US, where it is organised as a directory with different product categories including vehicles, baby, music,...

Evening Standard, London, Extra Anthony Hilton column.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 1--SOLVING A SALE PROBLEM AT SAGA: Private equity houses bidding to get control of Saga seem willing to pay an awful lot of money for what is effectively an insurance broker and travel agent catering for a...

Ikea's UK sales break UKpound 1 billion barrier.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--Ikea's UK sales smashed through the UKpound 1 billion barrier for the first time as Brits flocked to its warehouse stores to stock up on its Swedish flatpack furniture. The bumper figures for the year to 31 August will make painful...

UK manufacturers are hit by rising oil, steel prices.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--Manufacturers suffered their worst month for more than a year in September, new figures revealed today in yet another sign interest rates may have reached their peak. In the latest bleak snapshot of the UK economy, the Chartered...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 1--SHARE BUYBACK PUTS MAN GROUP ON RECOVERY TRAIL: A difficult week for Britain's biggest hedge fund operator, Man Group, has seen its share price hit a low for the year. Today it was one of the best...

Centrica acquires British drain-cleaning firm for home-services unit.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--British Gas owner Centrica has snapped up the Dyno-Rod drain-cleaning empire in a UKpound 57.6 million deal that hands its American founder Jim Zockoll a near-UKpound 50 million retirement windfall, writes Steve Hawkes. The deal...

British regulator says Legal & General may win appeal of mis-selling fine.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--Financial Services Authority chairman Callum McCarthy has raised the prospect of a possible victory by Legal & General in its unprecedented appeal against a UKpound 1.1 million mis-selling fine, writes Steve Hawkes. In another sign...

British liquidators make stock-market debut.
October 1, 2004... Oct. 1--Britain's busiest liquidators made their stock market debut today, putting the firm's two architects among the richest practising accountants in the country. Begbies Traynor opened for trading on AIM after raising more than UKpound...

Sumitomo opens $1.1 billion claim against Credit Lyonnais Rouse.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Oct. 1--One of the largest cases ever seen in the Commercial Court begins on Monday when Sumitomo opens a $1.1 billion (UKpound 610 million) claim against Credit Lyonnais Rouse over the 1990s copper scandal that rocked...

You gotta laugh!(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Everyone's heard that laughter is the best medicine. Now scientists are finding out why. Allan L. Reiss and fellow researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in California report that...

It's curtains for killers.(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... One of the most suspenseful, if not terrifying, clips in motion-picture history is the now famous "shower" scene from Alfred Hitchcock's original 1960 blockbuster sensation, Psycho. Okay, just in case you don't like old movies or had to leave...

British teens are sick!(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Now, if that last scoop didn't make you sick, this one might: A recent report published by the British Medical Association (BMA) says that, if left unchecked, the present generation of children and teenagers in Britain will turn into the most...

NASA can read your thoughts!(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Shhhhhhh. Be careful what you think. The day is nearing when Big Brother can hear the unspoken word! It's true. In an incredible breakthrough, NASA has developed a computer program that comes close to reading unspoken thoughts. It does so...

Unsolved mystery: "fairy circles".(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... They are found only along the western coastal JL fringes of the Namib Desert in southern Africa. They are easy to spot: circles of bare sandy soil 30 feet in diameter and surrounded by unusually tall grasses. The grasses stand out because they...

Anila Madiraju: student cancer researcher wins 54th Intel Competition.(People to Discover)(Interview)
October 1, 2004... Anila Madiraju has known that she wants to become an oncologist ever since entering her first science fair in grade 8. Now, at age 18, this Canadian student is already contributing to her chosen field--and she hasn't even graduated from college...

Stem Cells: forever young: few cells get famous, but one kind is in the spotlight.
October 1, 2004... Fountains of Youth Every single cell in your body "stems" from a stem cell. These are cells that have the potential to become any kind of cell: heart, lung, nerve, skin, and many others. They also renew themselves so that your stem cell...

Have a heart.
October 1, 2004... For people who suffer from severe heart disease, the future can seem grim. These folks limp along with partially working hearts--a portion of their heart died when some condition or event cut off oxygen flow to the tissue. Since the dead heart...

Mysterious cells found in the brain of a genius: this is not a Halloween ghost story. It is the absolute truth ...
October 1, 2004... The old man, his hands wrinkled and shaking, fumbles as he turns the key in the lock. The hinges squeak as Dr. Thomas Harvey struggles to open the trunk of his rusted-out Buick. Carefully, he reaches in and lifts out a large Tupperware...

Breaking the brain code.(Activity to Discover)
October 1, 2004... Yikes! I0t's dark in here," Kelly whispers to Ann as she feels her way down the aisle of the movie theater. "I can't see." The matinee has already begun, and it isn't easy to find the few remaining empty seats in the darkness. Less than...

How to measure your brain ... with toothpicks: discover how big the different parts of your brain are by drawing a surprising "sensory portrait.".(Activity to Discover)
October 1, 2004... Imagine if you could find a way to measure your brain--even calculate the size of each region. What kind of high-tech equipment would you need? Maybe an MRI scanner? In fact, there's a low-tech (and certainly less expensive) way. By...

Eavesdropping on bacteria: by studying how cells communicate, scientist Peter Greenberg hopes to help his daughter and other cystic fibrosis patients breathe easier someday.
October 1, 2004... DR. PETER GREENBERG didn't set out to study the disease that afflicts his daughter, 19-year-old Barbara. It was coincidence that led him to his research at the University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine and Department of Microbiology. He...

How to grow biofilms (actually, you already have!).(Activity to Discover)
October 1, 2004... Biofilms are everywhere! Well, anywhere you find both water land bacteria, that is, which is everywhere. The next time you step on a rock in a stream and feel the ooze between your toes, clean out the sink drain because it's plugged, or use a...

Cell Talk.(Brain Strain)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Marvin is studying cells living in a warm sea on another planet. The cells emit puffs of tiny bubbles when communicating with each other. The bubbles come in two colors: red and blue. Today, Marvin is trying to determine if these cells are...

The hunter's moon and a lunar eclipse, too!(What's Up)
October 1, 2004... The monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky (minus the moon) as it appears at 7 p.m. (your local time) on Oct. 15. Useful all month. the chart (except for planet positions) is also accurate for 8 p.m. on Oct. 1 and 5 p.m. on Oct. 31. To use...

Measuring a lunar eclipse.(You Can Do Astronomy)
October 1, 2004... The lunar eclipse of Oct. 27 will be visible, weather permitting, from all of the continental United States, Canada, and Europe. Look for the moon to enter the Earth's lighter shadow, called the penumbra, at 8:06 p.m. EDT. At 9:14 p.m. EDT,...

Fun astro facts.(Stargazing)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... GREETINGS, GREETINGS, FELLOW! IF WE COULD DRIVE TO THE SUN IN A CAR AT 100 MILES PER HOUR, IT WOULD TAKE 106 YEARS TO GET THERE! BUT, IT WOULD TAKE 29 MILLION YEARS TO REACH THE CLOSEST STAR, ALPHA CENTAURI... IF SOMEONE EVER TELLS YOU TO...

Sci-Chat.
October 1, 2004... In the February 2004 issue. "The Coming Storm, " we reported that the World Meteorological Organization selects names for hurricanes from six rotating lists. We noted that the remaining names for 2004 are: Alex, Charley. Danielle, Earl, Lisa,...

Eyes on the "prize".(Fantastic Journeys)(Editorial)
October 1, 2004... Editor's Note: This month's "Fantastic Journeys" takes us to Sweden for the 2003 Nobel Prize award ceremonies, where Anila Madiraju (see "People to Discover," p. 13) met the laureates and enjoyed an unforgettable experience. When I stepped...

Earth From Above for Young Readers.(Kids Picks)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... Earth from above for young readers. photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand text by Robert Burleigh (New York, NY; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001; www.abramsbooks.com) From beginning to end, this book has beautiful photographs and wonderful text. It...

Secrets of Sound: Studying the Calls and Songs of Elephants, Whales, and Birds.(Kids Picks)(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... Secrets of Sound: Studying the Calls and Songs of Elephants, Whales, and Birds by April Pulley Sayre (Houghton Mifflin, 2002) This book is great! I never knew there were so many sounds that animals make, or that their sounds mean something....

Even nemo!(Animal Angles)(hermaphrodites)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Survival of the species starts at the cellular level, and for some animals that means changing sex. They are, to use the technical term, sequential hermaphrodites--functioning first as one sex, then the other. Some are uncommon creatures,...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
October 4, 2004... Oct. 4--CHELSFIELD OWNER TO DISCUSS UKPOUND 585M BID: The board of Duelguide, owner of property group Chelsfield, plans to meet this week to consider a UKpound 585 million bid from shopping centres owner Westfield of Australia. Westfield's...

BP expects record profits as oil price leaps.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 4--BP today put itself firmly on track for record-breaking profits this year after signalling another blockbusting multibillion-dollar trading quarter on the back of the soaring oil price. Although figures out...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
October 4, 2004... Oct. 4--THE DISASTER THAT IS MFI continues to unfold. On 9 September, chief executive John Hancock sacked his finance director and another board member after a profits warning and news that sales had been affected by computer delivery problems...

British farmers' cooperative may take stake in Scotland dairy group.
October 4, 2004... Oct. 4--The milk merry-go-round took a new turn today after Scotland's Robert Wiseman Dairies said it was in talks that could lead to farmers' co-operative First Milk take a 15 percent stake in the group, writes Magnus Grimond. The deal...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 4--A TWIN HIGH ST TARGET FOR GREEN: One week there are signs that the City is getting frustrated because there are going to be few quick wins at Marks & Spencer, the next there is the prospect of more doom and...

London-based investment firm buys insurance group for UKpound 1.35 billion.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 4--Charterhouse, the private equity firm that owns Tussauds, today won the 11-month auction for Saga, the holidays and insurance group for the over-50s. It is backing a management buyout that values the...

British online travel firm Lastminute scales back earnings expectations.
October 4, 2004... Oct. 4--Online travel and leisure retailer Lastminute today scaled back its earnings expectations for this year and next in the face of "continued challenging trading conditions". Earnings for the year to 30 September are now likely to be...

Little-known energy explorers take advantage of London stock craze.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Oct. 4--The London Stock Exchange is witnessing an oil rush as a host of little-known energy explorers take advantage of the "Cairn effect" and spiralling energy prices to list in the City. Eight oil and gas...

British pension fund Hermes worries over News Corp's move to US.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Oct. 4--Pension fund Hermes may withhold support for the planned move by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp from Australia to a new home in Delaware in the US. The British fund's corporate governance director, Colin...

World soccer body signs deal with investment firm to stage new awards ceremony.
October 4, 2004... Oct. 4--Arsenal striker Thierry Henry could get another trophy after world footballers' representative body FIFPro signed a deal with RAM Investment to stage and televise a major new ceremony, writes Nick Goodway. RAM has paid euro400,000...

GlaxoSmithKline awaits British regulator's possible action against Paxil.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 4--The UK drugs regulator's report into allegations that GlaxoSmithKline held back vital information on its antidepressant Seroxat/Paxil could be a "bombshell" when it is published. That is the conclusion of...

European Commission calls for crackdown on Caribbean tax havens.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Duncan Lumsden Oct. 4--Britain's Caribbean tax havens are set to come under renewed pressure from Brussels to lift their jealously guarded banking secrecy. In a document on corporate and financial malpractice, the European...

Anheuser-Busch to launch flavored, caffeinated beer.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--With demand for beer among the young plummeting, US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch has announced the launch of a new, sweet caffeinated beer aimed at clubbers, writes Charlie Gibson. The new drink, which has yet to get government...

Apple Computer drops British lawyer, delaying battle with Beatles label.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Malcolm Withers Oct. 5--Computer group Apple has dropped law firm Linklaters from an ongoing legal battle with the Beatles' record label Apple Corp over the use of the Apple name to sell music-related products. The latest...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--WOODSIDE SAYS MAURITANIA DRILLING SHOWS PROMISE: Australian oil and gas producer, Woodside Petroleum said today it had found signs of oil at its Tiof-3 appraisal well and Tevet-1 exploration well off the coast of Mauritania in West...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--SAGA'S TWO MILLION-PLUS customers might be hoping for a few extra special offers now the travel and insurance group for the over-50s has been sold for UKpound 1.35 billion to private equity firm Charterhouse. Among its modest but...

Oil price surge to jolt Britons' power bills.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 5--Energy prices soared to new highs today as industry regulator Ofgem signalled that Britons may have to get used to increased household gas and electricity costs for some time to come. A year-long...

French official seeks to woo back U.S. businesses alienated over Iraq war.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--The French Finance Minister has made a bid to woo back US business, hit by his country's opposition to the war in Iraq, writes Bill Condie. "We need you", Nicolas Sarkozy told executives at a conference in New York. Sarkozy...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 5--STANDARD LIFE FLOAT QUESTION: Standard Life, the Edinburgh-based mutual, has let it be known that it plans to develop more self-invested pension products (SIPPs), which it hopes will go some way to...

Board of investment bank Lazard on collision course over IPO plan.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--The board of investment bank Lazard will meet today to study a $3 billion (UKpound 1.6 billion) IPO plan that would end more than 150 years of private ownership. But the meeting is not expected to be conclusive, leaving legendary...

Melbourne, Australia-based mining group to launch huge shares buyback.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Oct. 5--BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian mining group headed by Chip Goodyear, will buy back up to A$1.5 billion (UKpound 600 million) of its shares to return profits to investors, as cash continues to pour into the...

Turmoil at British music promoter Mean Fiddler as share deal is canned.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--Mean Fiddler, the music group, was thrown into turmoil today as a massive share placing was pulled only minutes before they were due to start trading and Dean James, its chief operating officer earmarked to become chief executive, was...

Poor performance in British service sector points to freeze on interest rates.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--Britain's massive service sector put in its worst performance in more than a year in September, reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will freeze interest rates this week. The CIPS/Reuters purchasing managers' report said...

German financier has rescue plan for ailing retail giant KarstadtQuelle.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Allan Hall Oct. 5--Germany's second-richest woman may be riding to the rescue of retailer KarstadtQuelle. Madeleine Schickendanz, whose personal fortune is said to be euro1.6 billion (UKpound 1.1 billion), is seen as the best...

Rugby Estates courts Arcadia owner for Covent Garden.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--Covent Garden developer Rugby Estates is to call on Arcadia owner Philip Green to open up a new Top Shop in the area, writes James Rossiter. Rugby chairman David Tye made his promise as he declared his latest UKpound 10 million...

Finance boss to leave troubled British grocer J. Sainsbury.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Oct. 5--Sainsbury's finance director Roger Matthews is to leave the troubled supermarkets group, the latest in a series of boardroom upheavals at Britain's third-largest food retailer. The 50-year-old is taking...

Footsie scales a 28-month peak on tide of enthusiasm among UK investors.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 5--The stock market revival accelerated today as share prices reached their highest since June 2002. A combination of short-covering and the that belief interest rates may have peaked in this cycle are behind...

UK retailer Game Group is wide of the mark as losses mount.
October 5, 2004... Oct. 5--Game Group, Britain's largest retailer of video games and consoles, plunged further into the red in its first half. But a strong list of new games and upgraded consoles should ensure a good second half including the Christmas...

British employment agency warns of wage inflation as jobs boom.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Magnus Grimond Oct. 5--Britain's buoyant jobs market means higher wage inflation is just around the corner, leading employment agency Michael Page warned today. But chief executive Terry Benson is still rubbing his hands with...

Expedia quits bidding war for ebookers, but hints at return.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 6--Online travel giant Expedia pulled out of the running to buy ebookers today but immediately fuelled speculation that it may yet re-enter the race if arch-rival Travelocity launches a takeover bid. In a...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
October 6, 2004... Oct. 6--UFJ COULD FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES OVER INVESTIGATION: UFJ Bank may face criminal charges for allegedly impeding an inspection by Japanese finance regulators. Any investigation could derail the takeover of the bank by Mitsubishi Tokyo...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
October 6, 2004... Oct. 6--Defenestrated Shell chairman Sir Philip Watts would probably rather be spending his UKpound 1 million pay-off -- not to mention a near-UKpound 600,000-a-year company pension -- on something other than the chambers of One Essex Court,...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 6--HOME COMFORT ON HOUSE PRICES: People unnerved by this week's warning from Invesco Perpetual fund manager Neal Woodford that house prices could fall by 30 percent-40 percent in the next four years should take...

Bank of England unlikely to change interest rates.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Oct. 6--After lifting interest rates in August, the fifth such move since last November, the Bank of England's monetary policy committee took a breather last month, holding the cost of borrowing at 4.75 percent. It was...

Paris-based investment house Lazard hits brakes on public offering.
October 6, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Oct. 6--Lazard head Bruce Wasserstein has run into a wall of opposition from a clique of his own high-billing partners over plans for a swift flotation of the 150-year-old investment bank. A board meeting in...

London shares are partying now -- but it may not last long.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Magnus Grimmond Oct. 6--Shares may be hitting 28-month highs, but don't expect it to last -- that's the message from some of our most savvy market-watchers. Michael Taylor at Merrill Lynch, says that anyone who at the...

British technology firm ClearSpeed Technology unveils high-speed silicon chip.
October 6, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Oct. 6--A British technology firm is poised to join the superleague for silicon chip-makers with a new microprocessor that it claims can increase current computing speeds tenfold. AIM-listed ClearSpeed Technology...

British telecom Carphone Warehouse turns profit on landline service.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 6--TalkTalk, the landline telephone service which Carphone Warehouse created to undercut BT, has moved into profit over the past two months. Launched in February 2003, the service has attracted 648,000...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 6--It can be a tough life working in the City, as any broker will tell you. On Monday, a group of analysts travelled to the Midlands for a presentation by brewer and pubs and hotels chain operator...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
October 7, 2004... Oct. 7--OIL HITS A 21-YEAR HIGH: The oil price broke into new record territory above $52 a barrel today amid fresh concerns that supplies of heating fuels will prove inadequate during the northern hemisphere winter. US crude struck $52.24, the...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 7--LIFE AFTER THE DEATH OF THE DOLLAR: Any non-executive director with a bit of time to think strategically about the big issues facing business should pop along this evening to Gresham College off Holborn to...

Airbus hits back at U.S. for threatening a trade war.
October 7, 2004... Oct. 7--The prospect of Airbus imminently unveiling plans to develop a direct competitor to Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner aircraft is thought to be one of the main reasons behind America's decision to trigger a trade dispute with the European...

easyJet passenger numbers put pressure on Ryanair.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 7--easyJet was last month within a whisker of reclaiming its crown as the king of Europe's low-cost airlines after a 25 percent increase in September passenger numbers. The Luton-based budget carrier reported...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
October 7, 2004... Oct. 7--THE question is not what Terry Morgan has done as chief executive of Tube Lines to warrant a UKpound 100,000 bonus (although that is a very good question). The real question is what will he spend it on? Might City Spy humbly suggest...

European Union joins battle to end secrecy over top executives' pay.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Duncan Kumsden Oct. 7--Brussels has waded into the battle to force public companies across Europe to disclose executive pay and give shareholders a vote on remuneration. In a decision that is a thinly veiled dig at Germany...

HSBC outlines its plans for new Asia expansion.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Oct. 7--Global banking giant HSBC, a late but aggressive entrant to the Asian acquisition game, has said that it will spend a further $400 million (UKpound 217.3 million) in India if the government allowed it to buy...

Economic slowdown signals freeze on Bank of England's interest rates.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Oct. 7--The Bank of England was set to leave interest rates on hold today amid mounting concerns the economy is rapidly losing momentum. After news yesterday of a shock collapse in manufacturing output, economists...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 7--RIVAL'S GLOOM POINTS TO A NEW ALERT FROM COMPASS: Shares of Britain's biggest independent caterer slumped to a record low of 214 1/2p at one stage yesterday amid fears that shareholders may have to digest...