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

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

This month in Odyssey.(Science Scoops)
October 1, 2006... Remember our "Dogs Rule" issue in January 2005? Well, guess what? Maybe we were wrong: Dogs don't rule. At least in terms of being the most popular pet in U.S. homes. According to a recent survey conducted by the Humane Society, there are now...

Stop the presses! This just in!(Science Scoops)(cat allergy)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Scientists at the San Diego-based biotechnology company Allerca have bred the world's first hypoallergenic kitties! Megan Young, Allerca's chief executive officer, says, "For the first time, people who have been unable to own a cat because of...

How do you sneak up on a cat? ... In a car!(Science Scoops)
October 1, 2006... Well, at least that's how you should sneak up on a wild cat says Canadian psychologist Niko Troje at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario, who specializes in animal vision and behavior. In a study funded by the Canada Foundation for...

A biologist's delight: desert varnish with a side of blueberries.(Science Scoops)(Mars Desert Research Station)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... EARLY IN 2006, four women, including two biologists, packed up their bags, said good-bye to their families, and headed off to spend two weeks on Mars. Well, not exactly. Their location: The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in...

Dentist drills are prehistoric!(Science Scoops)
October 1, 2006... Is there anyone out there who doesn't dread sitting in the dentist chair listening to that high-pitched whizzzzzz of the drill? Argh. Just the thought of it can make your teeth ache. Well, if there's any comfort in this new note, it's this:...

Got a ticket to ride?(Science Scoops)
October 1, 2006... Hey, kids! How would you like to send something out of this world? Well, the time is near! Maybe as early as 2008, Masten Space Systems (MSS), in Santa Clara, CA, will be ready to send an object of your choosing into space and back for...

Wild thing, I think I love you!(animal attacks)
October 1, 2006... This was the harsh lesson illusionist Roy Horn (of Siegfried & Roy) learned on October 3, 2003. While performing in one of the team's famed tiger acts at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Montecore, a beautiful white Bengal tiger, suddenly sank...

The cat's meow.
October 1, 2006... When 17-year-old Ray Cause shaves, his cat Buddy often comes in and meows. If Ray doesn't notice and pet him immediately, Buddy nips him on the ankles--not good when you're holding a razor! Like other cat owners, Ray has learned to listen to...

Read my face.(Activity to Discover)
October 1, 2006... How well do you know your cat's facial expression? Let's see how good you are at matching the mood of the cat to the faces and descriptions shown below. MOODS: * Content * Angry * Curious * Ambivalent * Fearful *...

Feline groovy.
October 1, 2006... Gingerly poised at the edge of the topmost shelf of a bookcase, Tiger takes a few seconds to estimate how much push-off he will need, to leap over the lamp and onto the filing cabinet. Then in an instant, he's airborne. His calculated...

Mr. Cat sequence.(Brain Strain)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Cat is an old feline who enjoys collecting stuffed animals of different species. Some of the animals have robotic features and can even respond to voice commands. Mr. Cat treasures his finely crafted collection, but he will give it to you...

Right-side down.(cats falling)
October 1, 2006... Scientists have let the cat out of the bag when it comes to how felines land on their feet almost every time, even after long falls. This is feline physics at its very best, and it can boost human performance, too. In fact, what scientists have...

A purr-fect way to build up bones.
October 1, 2006... PURR... PURR... PURR. We have wondered about that soft and soothing sound since cats became our companions over 5,000 years ago. Why do cats purr? You're right if you think that cats purr because they are happy and content. Cats choose...

The secret cat.(Short story)
October 1, 2006... The words throbbed trough Ewan s mind. He didn't dare say anything aloud. Not with his Senior Tutor standing there, cool and critical, and Charlie staring at him in open triumph. Don't come... Ewan fixed his gaze on the narrow alley...

Rulers of the night: to discover the science behind cats' uncanny night vision, take a look at these three "eye-opening" experiments.(Activity to Discover)
October 1, 2006... No, cats can't see in total darkness. But a cat can often navigate perfectly through a pitch-black room that would leave its human friends stumbling in the dark. How do cats see in such murky shadows? SIGHT SECRET #1: A Strange Double...

Curious cat catchwords.(idiomatic expressions)
October 1, 2006... "Cat got your tongue?" Someone may have said this to you the last time you were speechless. The popular phrase from the 1800s refers to a nasty whip with nine stinging strands called a "cat-o'-nine-tails" that was used in maritime punishments....

A cat may look at a king.(cat history)
October 1, 2006... Dogs rule? No way! Cats are king, and royal humans have known it for thousands of years. From Egypt to India to the dark Tower of London, cats big and small have held sway over their human subjects going back to prehistory. How cats came to be...

How to eat like a cat.(Play)
October 1, 2006... The kids in Mr. Bluni's science class bare a cat lab that's nothing to sneeze at. Find out why! CHARACTERS: Jimmy, Mary Catherine, Nat, Esteban, Wendy, Mr. Bluni, Narrator SETTING: Seventh-grade science lab classroom Jimmy: Thanks...

Try the cat lab yourself.(Activity to Discover)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... THE EXPERIMENT To play the cat, just close your eyes. Then hold your nose tightly closed and open your mouth. Have your partner place one slice (either apple or onion) on your tongue, without telling you which one. Close your mouth and try...

Star chart.
October 1, 2006... The monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky as it appears at 7 p.m. 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. (your local standard time) on Oct. 31. To use the...

Felis the cat.(Stargazing Comic)(Cartoon)
October 1, 2006... WITH ALL THE ANIMALS DEPICTED BY VARIOUS CIVILIZATIONS IN THE HEAVENS, WHY DON'T WE HEAR ABOUT A CAT CONSTELLATION? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I MEAN, EVERY WINTER YOU ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT ORION'S TWO DOGS. HIS BIG ONE, CANIS MAJOR, AND HIS...

You've got mail!(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... Dear ODYSSEY, Here's a poem for you about my battle with my sister over the TV remote clicker! Where Is the Clicker?! Where is the clicker?! Fury rushes to my head. Anger. Madness. My sister did it. (She usually...

Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food.(Kids' Picks)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson (Houghton-Mifflin: Boston, 2006) Chew On This isn't a book that says fast food tastes bad. It's a book that tells you that fast food is...

Think small!(Animal Angles)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... We hear lots about BIG wild cats. So here are a few nuggets about the small ones. The black-footed cat, kodkod, and rusty-spotted cat are all contenders for "world's smallest." As adults, these cats range from 15 to 25 inches long including...

Airbus revamp plan set to get go-ahead.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Ross Tieman Oct. 3--The board of European aerospace group Eads meets today to approve a massive reorganisation of airliner manufacturing arm Airbus. Directors are expected to give the green light to wide-ranging proposals drawn...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.(Column)
October 3, 2006... Oct. 3--ASTON MARTIN BID HOPEFULS LINE UP FOR A NEW CHECK: An extra round of bidding has been ordered for British luxury car maker Aston Martin after Ford received far more expressions of interest in the business than it had expected....

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.(Column)
October 3, 2006... Oct. 3--GOOGLE chief Eric Schmidt's speech today at the Conservative Party conference should help cement ties between the Tories and the Internet search juggernaut. Google has accumulated vast data on the search habits of British voters via its...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.(Column)
October 3, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 3--LESSONS OF A GREAT SHARE GAMBLE THAT WENT SOUR: First comes the disaster, then the search for someone to blame. Yesterday was probably the worst-ever day for companies whose business is gambling, following an...

Private eye's [pounds sterling]173,000 bill for HP 'spying'.
October 3, 2006... Oct. 3--Hewlett-Packard paid more than $325,000 ([pounds sterling]173,000) to private investigators to spy on its own directors. The scandal engulfing the world's second-largest personal computer maker has already cost Patricia Dunn her job...

Former BAA chief in line for top job at ITV.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 3--Speculation is mounting that ITV will soon offer Mike Clasper, former boss of airports group BAA, the [pounds sterling]1 million-a-year job of chief executive. The approach, which has been endorsed by...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.(Column)
October 3, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 3--A two-way pull has developed among the online gamblers following the US Congress's decision to ban the use of credit cards, cheques and cash transfers to pay for bets, which triggered a massive sell-off in...

Xstrata in [pounds sterling]2.9bn cut-price cash call.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 3--Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata today launched its widely anticipated mega rights issue in the largest secondary offering of shares on the London stock market since BT's [pounds sterling]5.9 billion cash call five...

British supermarket chain targets Asia, central, eastern Europe for expansion.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Jim Armitage Oct. 3--Tesco today ramped up its overseas expansion plans in a dramatic drive to hunt down profits in new markets. Having long dominated Britain's supermarket industry, the chain is now looking far and wide for...

Commercial TV channels feel pinch as online advertising expenditure rises.
October 3, 2006... Oct. 3--A major long-term problem for ITV is a falling audience, which means tumbling advertising revenues for flagship station ITV1. Even going into its strongest seasonal period with hit shows such as Cracker and I'm a Celebrity -- Get Me...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.(Column)
October 4, 2006... Oct. 4--MILLIONAIRE BOVEY PONDERS FLOATING BUY-TO-LET OUTFIT: Grant Bovey, the millionaire property developer once married to Anthea Turner, is reportedly planning to float his buy-to-let property company on AIM with a valuation of up to...

Alaska fiasco sends output diving at BP.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 4--Production at BP has slumped in the past three months as the British supermajor put in an even worse performance than in the third quarter of 2005 when its Gulf of Mexico operations were ravaged by the worst US...

Black cabs on the road to Shanghai.
October 4, 2006... Oct. 4--London's iconic black cabs could soon be available for hire on the streets of Shanghai. Cab maker Manganese Bronze has struck a key joint venture to build up to 20,000 of its distinctive black taxis in China for sale to the...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.(Column)
October 4, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 4--OUR UNFRIENDLY TAX REGIME IS UNDERMINING THE CITY: Ten years ago, the Irish did not have a fund management industry. Today, it is as big as that of the UK. Ten years ago, Luxembourg-based investment funds...

HP chief got [pounds sterling]15m from Barclays three years after leaving.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 4--Patricia Dunn, the ousted chairman of Hewlett-Packard, received almost [pounds sterling]15 million from Barclays last year, it was revealed today. Dunn, who ran fund management business Barclays Global...

Pokerstars fortunes put on hold as flotation plans fold.
October 4, 2006... Oct. 4--A host of online gaming pioneers have made fortunes floating their businesses in London in the past two years but this week's collapse in the internet gambling industry, sparked by a US clampdown, has put paid to a massive payday for...

[pounds sterling]4.2 million profit on the menu at Carluccio's.
October 4, 2006... Oct. 4--Carluccio's, the Italian restaurants-with-shops-attached chain, served up a tasty antipasto today ahead of full-year results in December. It told investors in the chain, founded by chef Antonio Carluccio and his wife and Sir...

Manganese hails success with China black cab deal.
October 4, 2006... Oct. 4--London cab maker Manganese Bronze has struck a key deal to build its distinctive black taxis in China. The breakthrough agreement to build up to 20,000 cabs in Shanghai through a joint venture with Chinese carmaker Geely comes just...

Tesco's invisible man.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Chris Blackhurst Oct. 4--Hands up. Who is the chairman of Tesco? No, it's not Sir Terry Leahy. Lord MacLaurin? Good guess -- it was him, but not any more, hasn't been for a few years. Stuart Rose? Nice try, but the wrong company....

Xstrata mulls Philippines copper and gold chance.
October 4, 2006... Oct. 4--Global miner Xstrata, which yesterday unveiled a [pounds sterling]2.9 billion rights issue to help fund the takeover of Canada's Falconbridge, must decide in the next few weeks whether it wants to join in with a potentially huge copper...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.(Column)
October 5, 2006... Oct. 5--FOUR ARE CHARGED OVER 'SPYING' SCANDAL AT HP: Former Hewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn, pictured, and four other people were last night charged with criminal offences over the corporate spying scandal that has rocked the computer...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst column.(Column)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Chris Blackhurst Oct. 5--IGNORE THE BLARNEY, O'LEARY'S FOR REAL: If Michael O'Leary succeeds in acquiring Aer Lingus, it can expect to be turned upside down. I met him recently in London and asked him what he thought of the Irish...

Halfords gets booster from child seats law.
October 5, 2006... Oct. 5--Halfords' profits have surged as parents have rushed to comply with new laws on car seats for children. From last month, children up to 135cm tall or under 12 years old must have child seats. The law meant hundreds of thousands of...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.(Column)
October 5, 2006... Oct. 5--ANTHEA TURNER'S husband, Grant Bovey, pictured, seems to have an amazing Midas touch. He says his Imagine Homes buy-to-let business will float on AIM next year, with a value of [pounds sterling]200 million, and that it made a [pounds...

Evening Standard, London, Neil Collins column.(Column)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Neil Collins Oct. 5--Many years ago, before Sir Terry Leahy was canonised, John Gardiner, the former financial journalist who was then chairman of Tesco, was asked how far he thought the business would go. "Well," he said in his...

Influx from east puts lid on building-site wages.
October 5, 2006... Byline: James Rossiter Oct. 5--Wage increases in Britain's construction industry are running at less than half the rate of inflation in the overall economy because of an influx of workers from eastern Europe. Construction firms and...

UKBetting is the target of takeover punt.
October 5, 2006... Oct. 5--UKBetting, the gambling website that last week bought the Ritz Hotel's internet casino, today received a takeover approach in what could be the first wave of consolidation after the US ban on online betting. The business, chaired...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.(Column)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 5--FASTER AND CHEAPER HI-TECH THREAT TO EUROPE'S EXCHANGES: American stock markets were transformed around the Millennium by the arrival of private electronic trading systems. Established exchanges, mainly the...

It's not over yet, insurers warned on hurricanes.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Bill Condie Oct. 5--Specialty insurer Catlin has warned that it is too early to declare this year's US hurricane season risk over and says that even if the season is mild, premium rates are unlikely to fall. "There is currently...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.(Column)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 5--Takeover fever has returned to the Square Mile, where investors were struck down by news of potential bids worth [pounds sterling]7.5 billion for Corus, the former British Steel group, Aer Lingus and power...

Ryanair shock [pounds sterling]1 billion bid for Aer Lingus.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 5--Ryanair today launched an audacious [pounds sterling]1 billion takeover bid for Aer Lingus, the former Irish state airline that floated on the Stock Exchange only last month. In an extraordinary move that put...

Corus climbs as India's Tata mulls bid approach.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 5--Shares in steelmaker Corus soared today as Indian conglomerate Tata admitted it was looking at a takeover bid that would value the former British Steel at [pounds sterling]5 billion. Corus shares have risen...

Hedge funds push Aer Lingus higher.
October 6, 2006... Oct. 6--Hedge fund buying pushed Aer Lingus to new highs today despite Ryanair's audacious [pounds sterling]1 billion bid for the former state-owned carrier running into a full-scale political row and the opposition of unions. A day after...

Superjumbo work on hold at Rolls-Royce.
October 6, 2006... Oct. 6--There are fears for the future of workers at Rolls-Royce's 11,000-strong factory in Derby today after the aero-engines maker said it had suspended production for the trouble-hit Airbus A380 superjumbo programme for a year. The...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.(Column)
October 6, 2006... Oct. 6--EX-GOLDMAN BANKER MEAD JOINS APAX AS TECH BOSS: Former Goldman Sachs banker Scott Mead is set to join private equity firm Apax to chair its technology and telecoms arm. Mead, who led Vodafone's [pounds sterling]101 billion takeover of...

EasyJet sees profits rising by over 50 percent.
October 6, 2006... Oct. 6--Rising fares at easyJet will propel the budget airline to profits of about [pounds sterling]125 million this year, an increase of more than 50 percent. A day after fears were raised that arch-rival Ryanair is attempting to crank up...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.(Column)
October 6, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 6--Each week, it seems, someone else announces that they are going to enter the pensions market and provide a solution for all those occupational schemes that companies can no longer afford or which have been...

Ex-HP chief Fiorina adds to woes with damning book attack.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Bill Condie Oct. 6--Hewlett-Packard, already rocked by a boardroom spying scandal, is about to be thrust into more unwelcome limelight with a book by former leader Carly Fiorina that paints a damning picture of a company riven by...

HSBC ponders HQ move from Britain as tax regime bites.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 6--HSBC, Britain's biggest bank, could shift its headquarters away from London because the UK's tax regime has become less attractive than other countries'. Chris Spooner, head of HSBC's financial planning,...

Mittal accused of plundering Liberia.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Bill Condie Oct. 6--Global steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal reportedly agreed to one of the most exploitative deals negotiated between a multinational company and an African nation. His global steel group used a power vacuum in...

Top-selling scotch finds India buyer.
October 6, 2006... Oct. 6--United Spirits of India is poised to buy Glasgow-based whisky distiller Whyte & Mackay for [pounds sterling]400 million. The company, part of India's United Breweries, is the third-largest spirits group in the world. It would be the...

Severstal of Russia eyes UK listing and world domination.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 6--The latest Russian oligarch to land in London is planning world domination of the steel industry. In a clear challenge to the preeminence of the giant steel concern built up by Britain's richest man, Lakshmi...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.(Column)
October 9, 2006... Oct. 9--CHAIRMAN OF BID TARGET CARDPOINT STEPS DOWN: Michael Hepher has quit as chairman of cash machines operator Cardpoint days after the company revealed it was on the receiving end of a potential cash offer worth 100p a share, valuing it at...

BA pair quit over price-fix scandal.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 9--British Airways was plunged into crisis today after executives admitted the airline may have colluded with other carriers to fix air fares. The explosive admission could see Britain's flag carrier fined an...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst column.(Column)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Chris Blackhurst Oct. 9--BARKING-MAD TALE OF A BRIGHTON 'DOG': How about this for a gloriously mad tale? In one of my anorak moments, I glanced at the daily trading volumes of shares on Nasdaq. On two days recently, a company...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.(Column)
October 9, 2006... Oct. 9--THERE'S NO ORGANISATION more guaranteed to make City Spy's blood boil than the Department of Trade and Industry. Here we are, facing the threat of globalisation (as the Prime Minister tells us, ad nauseam) and what does the Government...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.(Column)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 9--NEW URGENCY IS NEEDED TO KEEP LONDON ON TOP: Reading the coverage of the 20th anniversary of the City's Big Bang left people like me who remember the real thing alarmed that 20 years has passed. But it must...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.(Column)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Mickey Clark Oct. 9--ITV ON SLIDE AS TAKEOVER PICTURE REMAINS BLURRED: Not everyone is convinced that ITV will become the subject of another takeover approach in the months to come. Shares in the independent television...

ITV turmoil grows as ex-HBOS chief declines the chair.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Nick Goodway Oct. 9--The crisis of succession at ITV deepened today as it was reported that former HBOS chairman Sir James Crosby had ruled himself out as a successor to Sir Peter Burt as chairman of Britain's largest commercial...

City bonus rules on trial in [pounds sterling]9 million claim.
October 10, 2006... Byline: James Rossiter Oct. 10--Commerzbank will clash in court today with one of its former high-flying City traders who claims he missed out on bonuses worth [pounds sterling]9 million. The legal battle between colourful London...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.(Column)
October 10, 2006... Oct. 10--COMPANIES HIT BY SOARING COST OF FIGHTING LEGAL CASES: British businesses are being swamped by litigation at home and abroad, prompting a 25 percent rise in firms' average annual legal costs according to a survey by Fulbright &...

Firms hit by soaring cost of fighting legal actions.
October 10, 2006... Byline: James Rossiter Oct. 10--British businesses are being swamped by litigation at home and abroad, prompting a 25 percent rise in firms' average annual legal costs. One in four large UK businesses said they have found themselves on...

High court trading ban on suspect 'boiler room'.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Robert Lea Oct. 10--The net is closing in on suspected London swindler Thedfred "Ted" Shepherd, who is reckoned to have fleeced at least 150 small investors of more than [pounds sterling]400,000 in a shareselling scam. The...

Casualty of Boots merger pops up at Provident.
October 10, 2006... Oct. 10--The Boots finance director who lost out in the pharmacist's merger with Alliance UniChem has re-emerged at pensions group Friends Provident. Jim Smart, pictured, was forced out of Boots after a year as FD involved in restructuring the...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.(Column)
October 10, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton Oct. 10--Michael Hepher is no lightweight. He built Abbey Life into a business that Lloyds TSB was willing to pay a fortune for and, for a time on the board there under Sir Jeremy Morse, he was tipped as the next...

Theo Fennell rings up a bumper time.
October 10, 2006... Oct. 10--Theo Fennell, the upmarket jeweller beloved by Posh Spice and David Beckham among other celebrities, today reported on another bumper period of expansion. The jeweller, whose pieces can sell for [pounds sterling]25,000 and more,...

Northern foods chief eyes turnaround.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Jim Armitage Oct. 10--The chief executive of supermarket readymeals maker Northern Foods today said she was confident of making the troubled business a success. Since taking over at the Goodfella's pizzas and Fox's biscuits...

Northern Foods feels heat as choc biscuits melt.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Jim Armitage Oct. 10--Supermarket ready-meals maker Northern Foods has learned what any home cook knows -- chocolate biscuits do not set in a hot kitchen. The company, which has issued three profit warnings since chief...

Potter wait a bad spell For St Ives.
October 10, 2006... Oct. 10--Is the magic deserting Harry Potter printer St Ives? A year without a print run of the Hogwarts blockbusters has seen profits slump 43 percent to [pounds sterling]21 million. Worse, the company that printed the first six Harry...

Oil price climbs as OPEC is poised to cut production.
October 10, 2006... Oct. 10--Oil was on the rise again today despite confusion in the market over how deep volume cuts are likely to be among the Opec cartel of major producing countries. Opec was expected to signal today a cut of one million barrels a day as...