| Tesco has a flutter in Vegas
It is dog eat dog on Las Vegas's world-famous Strip as casino complexes such as MGM Grand and New York New York compete for attention with outlandish gestures like rollercoaster rides and a replica of the Manhattan skyline. But just a few blocks back from the neon glare the brash casinos give way to the more mundane chains such as McDonald's, Taco Bell and Walgreens, which line the boulevards that stretch back to the desert. It is in competitive retail markets like Las Vegas that Tesco is taking its biggest gamble yet by launching Fresh & Easy, a chain it believes has the potential to become as familiar a sight as 7-Eleven, which has more than 5,000 stores dotted around the country. On Wednesday five stores will open in Vegas, part of a first wave of 200 openings planned for the West Coast between now and the end of next year.
FTSE 100 closes at 6304.9
Rio Tinto up 328p at 5624p, Icap ahead 28.5p at 625p, Mitchells & Butlers up 30p at 660p and British Energy ahead 10p at 521.5p. Losers: Vedanta Resources down 161p at 2044p, Friends Provident off 11.5p at 148.7p, Antofagasta down 38p at 745p and Cable & Wireless off 9.1p at 180p. © Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. .
Council to slash 425 jobs as tax freeze bites
The council has also claimed that efficiency savings over the last two years have resulted in the need for fewer staff in certain areas. But two of Scotland's leading unions have raised the spectre of Glasgow leading the way in redundancies to balance the books. Alex McLuckie, GMB Scotland's senior organiser, said: "Our concern is the impact these proposals will have on jobs first within Glasgow and potentially the rest of Scotland. The council try to sanitise the situation by describing the impact as a 1.5% movement in posts. Our first action will be to minimise the effect these proposals have on jobs and to ensure that workers in Glasgow City Council are not made compulsorily redundant as a result of this budget. Workers' jobs will not be the price of this settlement." Mike Kirby, Unison's Glasgow organiser, added: "We'll need to see the impact of zero council tax being applied across the country but if the biggest council can't manage to balance the books without significant job losses other councils may well be in similar difficulties." A spokesman for the council said: "There will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of this budget.
Driver eases up on dead boy's kin
MADRID, Spain — A motorist who struck and killed a 17-year-old cyclist in northern Spain — and then sued the boy's parents over the damage to his Audi — has dropped the lawsuit, the family said Wednesday. Businessman Tomas Delgado's car collided with the teen, Enaitz Iriondo, in August 2004, killing him instantly. In late 2006, Delgado — whose insurance company paid Iriondo's parents $48,000 in compensation for their son's life — filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $30,000 for his wrecked Audi A8 and car-rental costs. "It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado told reporters earlier this week. News that Delgado was suing the family had become a top news item, and the subject was debated exhaustively this week on radio and TV chat shows. On Wednesday, Delgado's lawyer announced that his client decided to ditch the case because of media pressure, Spanish National Radio reported.
Euro Still Near High, Dollar Sinks Vs Swiss Franc, Yen
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The euro jumped to a new historic high Thursday morning on hawkish commentary from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. The euro soared to $1.5373, but U.S. stocks have since opened in the negative. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down more than 100 points. That shot to risk appetite typically eats away at some of the gains in the higher-yielding, riskier currencies, such as the euro. The dollar also declined against the lower-yielding yen to an intraday low of Y103.05 and against the Swiss franc to a historic low of CHF1.0275. Early Thursday in New York, the euro was at $1.5349 from $1.5264 late Wednesday. The dollar was at Y103.12 from Y103.96. The euro was at Y158.26 from Y158.65, according to EBS. The U.K. pound was at $2.0069 from $1.9915, and the dollar was at CHF1.0288 from CHF1.0362 late Wednesday.
Housing inspector general finds backdated records in employee detail ...
An employee should not profit from a detail. However, they shouldn't lose money either. Why should she evict her tenant so she can stay at her apartment and lose $2400 a month? This sole issue of the whole scam is the only one NOT fraud, waste and abuse. An employee on detail is entitled to lodging and M&IE paid for by the government, not out of their own pocket. Just because you happen to own a home in the TDY area doesn't mean you have to evict your tenants and stay there to save the government money. .
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