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

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

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
September 1, 2004... Sep. 1--PADDY POWER DOUBLES UP AS FAVOURITES FLOP: Fewer favourites winning horse races and the success of outsiders Greece at Euro 2004 helped Irish bookie Paddy Power to more than double pre-tax profits to euro18.7 million (UKpound 12.6...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
September 1, 2004... Sep. 1--Lord have mercy. Those two troubled souls, Conrad Black and Martha Stewart, have apparently both found solace in the Church -- and are comparing notes with each other. The claim is made in Citizen Black, the new documentary about the...

UK's BT Group facing huge fine over broadband pricing.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Sep. 1--BT Group faces a massive fine from regulator Ofcom for undercutting its rivals in the pricing of residential broadband, the high-speed internet link that has been growing rapidly in the last couple of years,...

UK-based constructor taps into UKpound 350 million water contracts.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Sep. 1--Engineer and constructor Costain took a huge step forward in its recovery drive today, landing two contracts worth a combined UKpound 350 million over five years. The deals with Thames Water and Yorkshire...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Sep. 1--It remains to be seen whether HBOS, the Halifax-Bank of Scotland group, will seek to buy Abbey National, but the prospect that it might has caused some odd thoughts on how the Competition Commission should...

Britain's housing boom is over, Nationwide economists say.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Sep. 1--The strongest evidence yet that the housing boom is over came today from Britain's biggest building society. Nationwide said the average cost of a home rose 0.1 percent to UKpound 153,743 in August, the...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Sep. 1--CAIRN PUTS DOWN MARKER IN FOOTSIE PROMOTION RACE: It's been a great year for investors in Cairn Energy and, next week, the oil explorer is expected to receive the ultimate accolade -- promotion to the blue-chip...

Michigan state student on "prime" time!(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... It's taken years. It's involved tens of thousands of people and 211,000 computers. But the search for the largest known prime number has finally ended. And a 26-year-old Michigan State University graduate student, Michael Shafer, is the hero....

Amateur astronomer discovers a new Nebula!(Science Scoops)(Jay McNeil)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Despite the fact that virtually every corner of the visible universe has been mapped over and over again by some of the most sophisticated telescopes and instruments of our times, an amateur astronomer, using a tiny homemade telescope in his...

How do you spell relief!(Science Scoops)(sterile maggots could be used to clean traumatic wounds)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... How about m-a-g-g-o-t-s! That s what some National Health Service patients might be saying in England. As we reported in our "Medical Maggots" Science Scoop (September 2003), a Dutch physician has discovered that sterile maggots (placed in...

Mystery threads on Mars.(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new mystery has "unraveled" on Mars... perhaps literally. Here's the scoop. You see, while scientists were eagerly poring over images of the Martian surface taken by NASA's Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover (MER), they saw some fine, tiny,...

Pluto's twin?(Science Scoops)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Question: What's smaller than the smallest major planet but larger than the largest minor planet? If you guessed 2004 DW," you're a winner. In fact, 2004 DW itself may be the winner of the size championship in the Kuiper Belt--that curious...

Riding the electromagnetic wave.
September 1, 2004... You're picking up your new puppy, Belle and you can't wait to show your friends! So you take Belle's picture with your cell phone and send it out from the Humane Society. One friend picks up the picture on her computer at home. Another friend...

Transmit, yourself!(Activity to Discover)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... You can make a radio transmitter with a coin and a 9-volt battery. Find a spot on an AM radio dial where you hear only static. Hold the battery near the antenna and touch the two terminals of the battery with the coin so that you connect them...

The wireless home of the future.
September 1, 2004... You and your friends head to your house after school. Your mom and dad are at work and you've forgotten your key. Wait! No problem--you have your cell phone! You punch in a secret code and the phone "calls" your home security system. It...

On the prowl: how search engines mine the Web.
September 1, 2004... How often do you search the Internet? Every day? Or just when you have a book report or a paper due? Searching the Net is so simple. Or at least it seems that way. You just enter a query (for example, "Dracula" or "The Headless Horseman") into...

Bookmark this!(favorite URLs of sixth grade students in selected New Hampshire school)
September 1, 2004... We're excited to welcome the "Wilder Team," a group of 47 sixth-grade students at South Meadow School in Peterborough, NH, as ODYSSEY's Student Advisors for the 2004-05 editorial year. Four class members were chosen to act as liaison between...

On-line journals? It's enough to bloggle your mind!(weblogs)
September 1, 2004... It's about 7 p.m., and Brianne ("Brie," to her friends) is settling in to do some home work. A top student in her class, Brie carries a typical load of coursework. She sits at her computer, a CD playing in the background, and types responses to...

Brain strain crazy maze.(Activity to Discover)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Wallace would like to live in a wireless world. But for now, he's stuck in a wired one, so he entertains himself by making mazes out of leftover wires. He places caterpillars in his mazes, which are of an unusual type. Mathematically...

Heard it through the grapevine: want to learn the real science behind rumors? Well, you've come to the right place. Pass it on!(Play)
September 1, 2004... CHARACTERS: Narrator, Esteban, Ted, Wendy, Ollie, Randy, Kate--all members of Mr. Bluni's 8th-grade science class. SET: A middle school science lab that is empty except for a group of kids who are working on a project about connectivity. A...

The play's the thing.
September 1, 2004... Kids writing musicals? It happens. California's Children's Musical Theater of San Jose (CMTSJ) has helped kids all over the United States--and as far away as England and Australia--write four musicals. But they couldn't have done it without the...

Pirates on the Web? The downloading debate.
September 1, 2004... Brianna Lahara didn't think she had done anything wrong by downloading songs on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. But the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued the 12-year-old honor student from Manhattan and hundreds of...

Reveal code.
September 1, 2004... Computer-savvy Ben messed with the icons on the desktop of his mother's Macintosh computer. The next morning, as she virtually dragged an unwanted file to the "trash," Ben's mom noticed that the garbage can had disappeared. In its place was a...

Tech-trash tragedy.
September 1, 2004... In our wired world, technology moves at a laser-fast pace. Every day, a new gadget arrives and promises to bring us the future, today. In the race for faster computers and more powerful gadgets. it's easy to forget about yesterday's high-tech...

It's heavenly harvest time!(What's Up)
September 1, 2004... The monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky (minus the moon) as it appears at 7:30 p.m. (your local time) on Sept. 15. Useful all month, the chart (except for planet positions) is also accurate for 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 1 and 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 30....

Stargazing with Jack Horkheimer: the galaxy gourmet and the kitchen cosmos.(Comic)
September 1, 2004... GREETINGS, GREETINGS, FELLOW STARGAZERS! MOST PEOPLE HAVE TROUBLE RELATING TO HOW BIG, HOW MANY, AND HOW FAR AWAY THE STARS AND PLANETS ARE! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR INSTANCE, WE COULD LINE UP 11 EARTHS SIDE BY SIDE ACROSS JUPITERS...

Sci-chat.
September 1, 2004... Wilder Team member Greg L. Carter drew this otherworldly picture in response to our May 2004 "Weighing In!" issue. Nice wordplay, Greg! Here's a high-powered poem by Alana Pulkkinen, 4th grade, Hebron Station School, Hebron, ME. Shock...

My life on-line.(Fantastic Journeys)
September 1, 2004... I started blogging (on-line journaling) about two years ago, when a friend from New York introduced me to it as a means of keeping in touch. After we worked together at a camp for a few summers, I found it hard to keep communicating via e-mail,...

Fiber-optic wonder.(Animal Angles)
September 1, 2004... Joanna Aizenberg, a scientist and one of Earth's most complex multicellular animals, entered a San Francisco store and encountered the elegant remains of Euplectella speciosa--a deep-sea sponge and one of Earth's simplest multicellular animals....

Director of UK auction house quits after 38 years.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Sam Parkhouse Sep. 2--Nick Bonham, charismatic director of Bonhams, has resigned -- leaving the auction house without a Bonham on its board for the first time ever. Bonham, who had been deputy chairman for two decades and...

China partner to London-based bank HSBC lines up dual listing.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Sep. 2--Bank of Communications, the Chinese partner of HSBC, aims to float in China by the end of this year, followed by a Hong Kong listing in the first half of 2005, it emerged today. Communications Bank, in which...

Dublin, Ireland-based bank hit by UKpound 375,000 laundering penalty.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Sep. 2--Bank of Ireland was today fined UKpound 375,000 by the Financial Services Authority for failing to spot a series of high-risk cash deals at a UK branch that were in clear breach of anti-money laundering rules,...

U.K. banker Cazenove holds talks on U.S. tie-up.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Sep. 2--Cazenove, broker to the Queen and David Beckham, is reportedly in talks with US investment banking giant JP Morgan Chase to create a joint venture. The deal is aimed at beefing up JP Morgan's presence in...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
September 2, 2004... Sep. 2--AEROFLOT RISES TO UKpound 61M DESPITE INCREASED COSTS: Russian flag carrier Aeroflot's first-half net profits rose by 90 percent to $112 million (UKpound 60.9 million), a company source said ahead of an official results release today....

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
September 2, 2004... Sep. 2--TRY AS WE MIGHT, we can't stop the Alex Sandberg tales from landing in the City Spy in-tray. Among the latest batch is one concerning the pitch for the public relations account of Blue Circle when Sandberg's College Hill was up against...

Tough times provide little cheer at U.K. alcoholic-beverage giant Diageo.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Sep. 2--The weakness of the US dollar and continuing difficult markets in continental Europe are putting a brake on profits growth at Smirnoff-to-Guinness group Diageo. Reiterating a warning in a trading statement in...

U.K. discount retailer Matalan shrugs off jeans drag.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Sep. 2--Discount retailer Matalan is confident it will meet City profit forecasts this year despite a tumble into the red at its Lee Cooper jeans business over the first half. Reporting a 4.5 percent increase in...

Weak markets clouding London's growth horizon, think tank says.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Sep. 2--A leading economics think-tank today slashed its growth forecasts for London's economy, blaming the weak stock market and slump in hedge-fund activity. The Centre for Economics and Business Research now...

Health clubs fail to shape up for U.K. parent Whitbread.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Tom Nicholls Sep. 2--Tough competition slowed growth at Whitbread's David Lloyd Leisure health clubs in the first 24 weeks of its financial year, writes. Shares in the group were down by 10 pence to 806 1/2 pence today as the...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Sep. 2--ERRING INDIVIDUALS MUST BE NAILED: Hector Sants, a leading figure in the securities industry until his decision last year to join the Financial Services Authority (FSA), told us this week why the fine on...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Sep. 2--Retail tycoon Philip Green broke cover to dismiss speculation he is lining up a bid for Sainsbury's today as shares in the supermarkets giant soared on talk of a potential takeover approach. He was just...

Microsoft in musical assault on Apple.
September 2, 2004... Sep. 2--Software giant Microsoft has taken direct aim at Apple Computer with the launch of online download store MSN Music. Apple's iTunes has been a massive hit in the market place and is designed to complement its iPod digital music...

Report on newspaper publisher Hollinger International comes under fire.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Sep. 2--David Radler, former chief operating officer of Hollinger International and right-hand man to Lord Black, has savaged the special report that claimed they had "looted" the publishing company of more than $400...

Shell mulls sale of stake in global power venture.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Tom Nicholls Sep. 2--Troubled oil major Shell is said to be considering selling its share of global power venture InterGen for an estimated $4 billion (UKpound 2.23 billion). "We are continually reviewing our portfolio of...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
September 3, 2004... Sep. 3--ALLIES DOMECQ SEES STRONG TRADING: Drinks group Allied Domecq, famed for its Beefeater gin and Ballantine's whisky, today said it had seen strong trading in recent months, driven by sales in the US. Chief executive Philip Bowman...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
September 3, 2004... Sep. 3--An impressive turnout in the City to mark the retirement of Barry Mahoney from what was Laing & Cruickshank Securities, now part of the newly -- and appallingly named Calyon group (the merged investment banking businesses of Credit...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Sep. 3--President Bush's speech to the Republican convention in New York last night got the predictably rapturous reception from the assembled faithful but does not tell us much about his chances of being re-elected....

Lehman Brothers to muscle in on deal for Cazenove.
September 3, 2004... Sep. 3--Lehman Brothers looks set to attempt to break up a joint-venture deal between Cazenove and JP Morgan Chase as the big international investment banks line up to make offers for London's last major independent stockbroker, writes Robert...

London-based leisure giant Rank considers shedding film unit as profits slip.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Sep. 3--Leisure giant Rank is considering hiving off its Deluxe film, DVD and video business after it reported a 20 percent fall in first-half profits. "The board believes that... subject to a detailed review of...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Tom Nicholls Sep. 3--INSURERS BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES AS FRANCES BLOWS IN: As insurers count the cost of the damage wreaked by Hurricane Charley last month, they are now also bracing themselves for the arrival of Hurricane Frances....

Evening Standard, London, stock markets column.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Tom Nichols Sep. 3--DFS SHARES SLIDE AFTER NEW 455P OFFER FROM KIRKHAM: Shares in DFS dropped 8p to 433p today after Lord Kirkham gave shareholders a new and final offer to try out for size. The furniture group's executive chairman...

Irish racing duo makes UKpound 170 million London property swoop.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Sep. 3--Irish bloodstock barons and Manchester United shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus are turning City property developers with the UKpound 170 million acquisition of Unilever's headquarters. Magnier and...

British bus, train operator takes loss from troubled baggage-handling group.
September 3, 2004... Sep. 3--Bus and train operator Go-Ahead's insistence on making a go of running airport baggage-handling services weighed heavy today as it wrote off the value of its troubled Aviance business, shredding its full-year profits, writes Robert Lea....

Pubs group JD Wetherspoon orders round of price cuts as profits tap slows.
September 3, 2004... Sep. 3--Pubs group JD Wetherspoon suffered its first fall in profits since it floated more than 10 years ago, as drinkers stayed at home during the Euro 2004 football tournament and stocked up at supermarkets, writes Fiona Walsh. Chairman...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
September 6, 2004... Sep. 6--ABBOT LOOKING TO DOUBLE REVENUE IN LIBYA PUSH: Oil services specialist Abbot Group plans "a major expansion" in Libya as some of the world's biggest exploration companies return to the North African country. The company, which designs...

British bookmaking giant's profits race ahead to UKpound 118 million.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Sep. 6--Bookmaking giant William Hill today shook off the storms battering the industry over alleged corruption in horseracing to prove that in the long run the only winners in the betting game are the oddsmakers. ...

British Energy rebels turn up the heat.
September 6, 2004... Sep. 6--British Energy faces a shoot-out next month with leading shareholders after dissident hedge fund Polygon and US investor Brandes said they wanted an extraordinary meeting of the company, writes Robert Lea. The nuclear generator is...

Economic recovery in Britain shows signs of running out of steam.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Sep. 6--The economy is battening down the hatches for several months of sluggish growth as it moves into the autumn, City analysts have warned. They say recent surveys showing the housing boom is over, consumer...

London-based engineering consultancy wins UKpound 4 million tower contract.
September 6, 2004... Sep. 6--Engineering consultancy WSP has been appointed structural engineer for the Freedom Tower in New York, the 1766-foot skyscraper that is to be the centrepiece of rebuilding the World Trade Center site, writes Fiona Walsh. The...

GlaxoSmithKline faces UKpound 200 million suit for drug refund.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Sep. 6--Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline faces a potential UKpound 200 million pay-out if it loses a lawsuit in the US seeking refunds for children and teenagers given the antidepressant Seroxat -- named Paxil -- in North...

House prices likely to rise by only 2 percent, UK housebuilder says.
September 6, 2004... Sep. 6--Housebuilder Bovis expects house prices to rise by only 2 percent at best over the next year in the latest sign that the property boom is well and truly over, writes Steve Hawkes. Chief executive Malcolm Harris said house-price...

Lloyd's of London insurance broker shrugs off freefall fears.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Sep. 6--Lloyd's of London underwriter Amlin today hit back at doom-mongers predicting a dramatic drop in insurance premium rates across the market as it posted a 17 percent surge in interim profits. Chief executive...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Tom Nicholls Sep. 6--DEALERS' DOUBLE WORRY HAS WM MORRISON ON SELL LIST: Traders sold down shares in troubled supermarkets chain Wm Morrison today on worries another profit warning could be on the way and amid more gloomy news...

Pay packets increase as UK labour market tightens.
September 6, 2004... Sep. 6--Strong demand for staff and growing skill shortages pushed up pay last month, a new report shows. The findings, from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and Deloitte, will spark concerns that the tight labour market is...

Star turn Cairn Energy pumped up over Indian oil strike.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Steve Stammers Sep. 7--FTSE 100-bound oil explorer Cairn Energy topped the best nine months in its history today by revealing independent checks had confirmed its huge Indian oil strike holds one billion barrels of oil. The...

EasyJet and Ryanair bring more gloom for British Airways.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Sep. 7--British Airways' disastrous August is seeing it drastically lose ground to the budget airlines, latest figures reveal, writes Robert Lea. Monthly traffic statistics show that EasyJet carried 13 percent more...

JP Morgan may be favoured by British investment bank.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Sep. 7--Cazenove, the Queen's stockbroker which has put itself on the auction block, stopped short of naming its preferred bidder today. But shareholders at its private annual meeting had little doubt that pole...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
September 7, 2004... Sep. 7--MITSUI TO PAY UKPOUND 249M FOR AVIVA'S ASIAN UNITS: Norwich Union insurance owner Aviva has agreed to sell its Asian property and casualty insurance unit to Japan's second-largest insurer, Mitsui Sumitomo, for UKpound 249 million in...

Evening Standard, London, business notes column.
September 7, 2004... Sep. 7--NODDY DRIVES OFF TO STAR BILLING IN US: Noddy is off to the US after owner Chorion signed a deal for the new series "Make Way for Noddy" to be broadcast weekly. Merchandising and marketing deals are being lined up for DVDs and toys....

Bush backer Perle says he was misled on payments to Lord Black.
September 7, 2004... Sep. 7--One of President Bush's leading cheerleaders, Richard Perle, is furiously distancing himself from the Hollinger debacle, turning on his former friend Lord Black and saying he was misled over dubious payments to the Press baron. ...

UK-based chocolate retailer tastes sweeter fortunes.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Sep. 7--Chocolate retailer and manufacturer Thorntons finally saw profits move in the right direction last year, despite the distractions of two takeover approaches and the ending of nearly 100 years of family...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
September 7, 2004... Sep. 7--Does HBOS know something the rest of the market doesn't? It's a question worth asking as the former Halifax Building Society continues to give every indication of preparing to wrest Abbey from the grip of Spanish bank Santander. ...

UK restaurants group grows hungry to expand.
September 7, 2004... Sep. 7--Restaurants group Clapham House plans to open more branches of its trendy Real Greek and Bombay Bicycle Club eateries and is also negotiating a number of potential acquisitions. Chairman David Page said both existing restaurant...

Former chief of UK financial services firm gets 4-year prison term for fraud.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Malcolm Withers Sep. 7--Nipan Malde, former head of tax at financial services group Investec, was jailed for four years at Southwark Crown Court today on 10 counts of fraud involving UKpound 1.85 million. Malde, 43, of Copley...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Sep. 7--SHRINKING AUDITORS' BIG PROBLEM: The best argument I have heard for capping the liability of auditors came yesterday from a partner in one of our more dynamic mid-size firms. "It might make auditors more...

Japanese insurer Mitsui set to buy Aviva's Asian units.
September 7, 2004... Sep. 7--Japanese insurance giant Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, on the prowl for acquisitions across Asia, will buy Aviva's non-life insurance operations in the regions before the end of the year, according to reports in Tokyo. Mitsui Sumitomo...

Arrests total to climb as Germany widens probe into corruption.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Allan Hall Sep. 7--More arrests are likely in Germany as a huge corruption scandal spreads out among the corporate elite encompassing investment fund managers, bankers and real estate moguls. Sources say the probe is widening...

London's jobs market begins to bounce back to life.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Sep. 7--London's top financial recruitment firms were today hailing a return to the good old days of fat fees for placing candidates. Hays, the FTSE 100 stock that has reinvented itself from a sprawling logistics...

Flagging factory output points to a hold on interest rates in Britain.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Sep. 7--An unexpected fall in manufacturing output today sparked fresh fears about the economy and cemented expectations that the Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold this week. Factory output fell 0.2...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Tom Nicholls Sep. 7--"That's the way to do it" was the message from investors today as Punch Taverns was bid up 1212p to 480p on the back of a healthy trading statement. It says trading in its financial year to 21 August was in...

Sony battles Time Warner for MGM.
September 7, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Sep. 7--Sony is preparing to go head-to-head with Time Warner in a battle to buy Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, saying it was an essential acquisition if the company is to expand its film unit. MGM has been...

British Airways to sell stake in Australian carrier to raise cash.
September 8, 2004... Sep. 8--British Airways is selling its UKpound 425 million stake in Qantas to cut into its swinging UKpound 5.6 billion debt and give it the financial muscle to play a key role in the next round of industry consolidation. Eleven years...

Windfalls ahead for workers at UK car insurance firm.
September 8, 2004... Sep. 8--Shares in car insurance giant Admiral will begin trading in three weeks in a stock market listing that will hand its staff windfalls averaging UKpound 37,000. Admiral's 1500 employees are members of a trust that owns 8 percent of...

Smoking ban, taxes hit UK-based cigarette firm.
September 8, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Sep. 8--GALLAHER, the Silk Cut to Benson & Hedges cigarette group, is looking to its UK brands to counter tough trading conditions in Ireland, France, Germany and Austria through the second half of this year. The...