Chris Eaton moved into the second round of qualifying for Wimbledon on an otherwise poor day for British hopes in the men’s draw.
The world number 523, who reached the second round at the All England Club in 2008, beat Australia’s world number 236 Benjamin Mitchell 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3 in Roehampton.
His compatriots fared far worse though as Liam Broady, the beaten Wimbledon Juniors finalist in 2010, lost 7-6(5) 6-4 to Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano, having been serving for the first set.
Andrew Fitzpatrick lost 6-3 6-4 to another Italian, Marco Chiudinelli, George Morgan was beaten 6-0 6-4 by Spain’s Inigo Cervantes, and Edward Corrie went out after a 6-4 6-3 defeat to France’s Stephane Robert.
World number four Andy Murray will be joined in the first round proper at Wimbledon by wildcards James Ward, Jamie Baker, Josh Goodall and Oliver Golding.
Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
UPDATE 1-Tesco to sell 50 pct of Japan operations to Aeon - Reuters UK
* Aeon to pay nominal sum for 50 pct stake
* Tesco to invest 40 mln stg before cutting exposure
* Tesco put Japan business up for sale in August
* Aeon looking to expand to drive domestic growth
* Tesco shares up 0.5 pct, Aeon shares close up 0.6 pct (Adds detail, background, shares)
By Ritsuko Shimizu and James Davey
TOKYO/LONDON June 18 (Reuters) - Tesco, the world's No.3 retailer, has ended a nine-year attempt to crack Japan's tough retail market by effectively paying Aeon Corp, the country's No.2 general retailer, to take its loss-making business there off its hands.
The deal, which will allow Tesco to focus on fixing its main British business after a shock profit warning in January, will inevitably re-heat speculation over the group's long-term commitment to its much larger loss-making Fresh & Easy business in the United States.
Many foreign retailers have struggled in Japan, hampered by fickle consumer tastes, a super-competitive landscape and prolonged, profit-sapping deflation. France's Carrefour and Britain's Boots are among the firms to have pulled out over the past decade.
The move is also the latest in a series by store groups exiting weaker markets as they struggle with sluggish demand in many developed economies. Carrefour announced a deal on Friday to pull out of Greece.
Tesco, which trails Carrefour and U.S. industry leader Wal-Mart by annual sales, put the Japanese business up for sale last August, hiring Goldman Sachs to find a buyer.
Japan is the smallest of Tesco's 13 international businesses, consisting of 117 stores in greater Tokyo.
TWO STAGE EXIT
The deal with Aeon, first reported by Reuters, will see Tesco exit Japan in two stages.
In the first phase, it will sell 50 percent of its shares in Tesco Japan to Aeon for a nominal sum. This will result in the formation of a joint venture with Aeon.
Tesco will then invest 40 million pounds ($63 million) as a joint venture partner to finance restructuring, after which it will have no further financial exposure to the Japanese business.
"Given ongoing trading losses of about 30 million pounds after approaching a decade in the market, Tesco appears to our minds to have taken the correct approach with funded withdrawal," said Shore Capital analyst Clive Black.
He said it showed chief executive Philip Clarke is bringing greater focus and capital discipline to Tesco.
The deal will help Aeon, which trails Japan general retailer Seven & I Holdings in terms of market value, expand its reach in its home market as it tries to drive growth.
Prior to the Tesco purchase, Aeon had spent more than $775 million over the last five years, according to Thomson Reuters data, including taking stakes in Japanese supermarket chains Maruetsu and Marunaka.
Tesco's shares were up 0.5 percent at 302.65 pence at 1025 GMT, slightly outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 retail index . Aeon shares closed up 0.63 pence at 961 yen before the announcement.
FOCUS ON UK TURNAROUND
After a surprise profit warning in January, Tesco is focusing on turning around its British business, which accounts for over 70 percent of its trading profit. Last week the firm posted a drop in underlying first-quarter British sales as its recovery plan struggles to gain traction.
In April, Clarke rejected shareholder calls to pull the plug on Fresh & Easy but said he did not expect the chain to break even until its 2013/14 year, compared with the end of 2012/13 previously.
Last week Tesco reported underlying sales growth at Fresh & Easy slowed to 3.6 percent in its first quarter from 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter, prompting renewed calls for management to reassess its strategy for the U.S. business.
($1 = 78.7300 Japanese yen)
($1 = 0.6393 British pounds) (Additional reporting by James Topham in Tokyo; Editing by Richard Pullin and Mark Potter)
Source: uk.reuters.com
Wimbledon and IBM Serve Up Enriched Fan Experience for 2012 - Yahoo Finance
LONDON, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A vibrant new digital environment will greet tennis fans at this year's Wimbledon, as the All England Club and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the launch of the all new Championships' website, www.wimbledon.com.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )
wimbledon.com has been completely re-designed to reflect the heritage and appeal of the event, as well as to offer the tournament's anticipated 16 million unique website visitors a more creative and immersive experience through improved content, more powerful imagery and intuitive navigation process.
Built on IBM's SmartCloud infrastructure to meet surges in demand, the website integrates a new online broadcast channel, Live @ Wimbledon alongside the interactive analytics-enabled IBM SlamTracker scoreboard, providing a one-stop shop for fans wanting to interact with The Championships.
Live @ Wimbledon
Featuring both TV and radio, Live @ Wimbledon will blend live action from around the grounds by dropping into matches at crucial points in play (a stream of one game, per set, per match, per hour) with the off-court color of a day at The Championships. In addition to the minimum of five hours live broadcasting per day, viewers will be able to enjoy pre-packaged content such as previews and reviews, match highlights and archive footage.
The Live @ Wimbledon radio service will offer an enhanced and improved version of its popular predecessor (Radio Wimbledon), which will be available worldwide online and on the three local FM channels.
"Together with IBM, we've created a new website which features increased options for people to personalize their Wimbledon experience," said Mick Desmond, Commercial Director, at the All England Club, home of The Championships. "Visitors can follow the progress of their favorite players, view live match play clips of the day's action, and access scores and results delivered in real-time. We expect this increasingly engaging and personalized online experience to appeal to fans in ever-greater numbers."
IBM SlamTracker
At this year's Championships IBM SlamTracker uses predictive analytics technology to enable fans to gain deeper insight into the match. SlamTracker is a multifaceted feature of Wimbledon's digital presence that leverages historical and real-time data to add depth and insight to the Championship experience. The 'Momentum' capability maps a match in real-time, visualizing key turning points and their causes (i.e. winners, aces etc.).
'Keys to the Match' is a feature within SlamTracker that leverages historical and immediate data to determine the top three things a player must do in order to do well in a specific match. While SlamTracker is an example of how analytics drives insights for tennis, the uses for businesses are almost infinite. Businesses across multiple industries and geographies can gain insights from large volumes of data and then use that knowledge to choose the best strategies and better predict outcomes.
IBM SecondSight heads to Center Court
Following on from the 2011 pilot on Court 18, this year for the first time on Center Court, IBM will trial player movement tracking. With IBM SecondSight it will be possible to track the fastest moving players and how their performance changes, set by set and match by match. The system can provide new data that could help players, coaches, commentators and fans alike; and, add a new dimension to fan's understanding of the science of tennis.
"This year a completely new website takes the understanding and insight into the Wimbledon Championships to a whole new level," said Alan Flack, IBM's Programme Executive for Wimbledon. "Using the power of cloud computing each individual data point is integrated instantaneously to deliver a powerful experience for fans, players, coaches and officials alike."
Editors Note
IBM is the Official Supplier of Information Technology and Consultancy to The All England Lawn Tennis Club which stages The Championships. Since 1990, IBM has worked with the All England Club to introduce new technologies that help bring the wealth of real-time data captured during The Championships to life. IBM sends the captured data around the world in an instant, keeping on-site broadcasters, media and tennis fans everywhere up to date with all the latest scores and statistics. Detailed analytical reports for the players are also available as soon as each match has been completed. During The Championships 2011, the tournament website received 15.6 million unique visitors and 451 million page views.
CONTACTS
Wimbledon: Johnny Perkins, AELTC PR, + 44 (0)20 8971 2529/2443, +44 (0)7909975152. Public.relations@aeltc.com, jper@aeltc.com
IBM: Sarah Chatterton, + 44 (0)7912 426893 sarah.chatterton@uk.ibm.com
Chris Andrews, 914-499-4045 candrews@us.ibm.com
Source: finance.yahoo.com
Tesco Pulls Out of Japan - Wall Street Journal
By Isabella Steger
Tesco has finally announced details of its long-planned exit from Japan.
On Monday, the U.K. retailer said it struck a deal to sell half its operations in the country to Japanese retailer Aeon Corp. for a nominal sum, the first of a two-stage exit. The two companies will form a joint venture, with Tesco investing some 40 million pounds to finance further restructuring. After that, Tesco will have no further financial exposure to the Japanese business.
Tesco, which like other foreign retailers has struggled in Japan, said last August it would pull out of that market. Japan is the smallest of Tesco’s international businesses, with less than 0.5% market share in the Greater Tokyo area. Chief executive Phillip Clarke admitted that it was difficult to build a scalable business in Japan.
Tesco, Britain’s top retailer by sales, bought 78 shops from C Two-Network in 2003 to gain a foothold in Japan, and later bought 27 stores from private chain Fre’c the year after. It operates supermarkets and convenience stores under the Tsurakame, Tesco and Tesco Express names. However, those names have failed to become familiar household names along the lines of 7-11, Lawson, FamilyMart and Aeon.
Tesco is also in the midst of a restructuring at home as it faces a worsening retail environment in the U.K., announcing its first profit warning in 20 years in April. Rapid international expansion has also been blamed for the retailer’s woes, particularly its loss-making U.S. venture, Fresh & Easy.
Elsewhere in Asia, Tesco has fared much better. In Thailand in particular, Tesco is the market leader, and in March Tesco floated its Thai property fund in one of Asia’s biggest initial public offerings of 2012. South Korea has been another successful market for Tesco.
Source: blogs.wsj.com
Tesco PLC TSCO Tesco Announces Deal with Aeon in Japan - Bloomberg
Source: www.bloomberg.com
Watford set for takeover - clubcall.com
Championship, 22:13, June 18, 2012
Watford owner Laurence Bassini has confirmed he expects to sell the club and says a deal could happen in the next 48 hours.
The Hornets will be taken over by an Italian family, who also own Udinese and La Liga side Granada, and Bassini insists the sale is nothing to with the club and more about his family priorities.
"I can't confirm that I will definitely leave because I do not know if they have the money for definite. If they do then it could be in the next 48 hours," he told the Watford Observer.
"I have been here 14 months and I do not see my daughter at the weekends. I like to do everything with her and she doesn't like football so that is a massive reason [in deciding to sell]."
Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo is expected to let his son Gino run proceedings at Watford if their takeover is successful and Bassini has suggested a fee of around £20millin will be needed to complete the bid.
Here are some betting tips from Betfair's tipsters:
Read more about Championship.
Source: www.clubcall.com
Wimbledon 2012: Sportsmail looks at 10 women set to dazzle at SW19 - Daily Mail
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With Wimbledon 2012 starting on Monday, the countdown has well and truly begun.
We look ahead to the women's tournament and picks out our 10 to watch, including French Open winner Maria Sharapova and reigning champion Petra Kvitova.
Repeat? Maria Sharapova won the French Open and will hope to win Wimbledon
Maria Sharapova
After a year of near-misses and a seemingly endless and fruitless battle with Victoria Azarenka, Sharapova finally got back on the winner's podium at a grand slam at the French Open and regained the world number one spot.
She got to the Wimbledon final with ease last year, only to fall at the last hurdle.
Defending champ: Petra Kvitova is defending her title at SW19
Victoria Azarenka
After a spell of promise she lifted her first grand slam in Australia and won two more Tour titles after that.
Grass is not her favourite surface and with few women having shown durability to stay at the top for a long period of time, the odds may not be entirely in her favour, but she cannot be discounted.
Petra Kvitova
The reigning champion, Kvitova saw off Sharapova to win this event a year ago but she has fallen foul of the Russian in a number of high-profile events since then, including at the Australian Open.
Her baseline game will hold up well, though, and she will be well fancied for another strong run.
Back: Serena Williams is hoping to win another Wimbledon crown
Serena Williams
A winner of 13 grand slam singles titles, it seems foolish to think the younger Williams sister has been written off by some.
Her first-round exit to Virginie Razzano at the French adds strength to that, but she has won four times at Wimbledon and can never be discounted.
Li Na
A fourth-round exit at the French - where she was the defending champion - may have been a shock, but it may also leave Li fresh for Wimbledon.
She lost in the second round last year, and may well benefit from better preparation this year.
Caroline Wozniacki
Without the pressure of the world number one tag around her neck, the Dane could be more at ease this time around.
She clearly has the talent and now, with others ahead of her in the rankings, should have the motivation.
Surprise package: Sara Errani of Italy is an exciting prospect
Dominika Cibulkova
Cibulkova continues to excite and infuriate in equal measure.
She is capable of the great - as she displayed by crushing Azarenka in France - but is also prone to disappoint, as she did in the next round against Sam Stosur.
She imploded badly against Sharapova a year ago at Wimbledon and will have a point to prove.
Sara Errani
The Italian has burst on to the scene over the last 12 months, reaching a maiden slam quarter-final in Melbourne, winning in Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest and then getting to the final of the French.
She has momentum on her side and could be one to watch.
Focus: Sharapova is hoping to retain her No 1 spot in the WTA rankings
Sam Stosur
The Queenslander has the game, as she proved in winning in the US Open last year, but is equally likely to flatter to deceive.
She was a first-round casualty at this event last year and also at the Australian but can always produce something special.
Agnieszka Radwanska
Despite her enormous potential, the Pole has never gone beyond a quarter-final at a grand slam.
Like many of her rivals, she can beat anyone on her day, but fails to marry that up with any level of consistency.
She could be an outsider here.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
We need Big Fat Greek Rebrand - The Sun
Dr Nick Skrekas said it was “outrageous” that the world sees Greeks as lazy — and this was putting off vital foreign investors.
He also hailed the conservative New Democracy’s victory in Sunday’s election as a move toward stability — but warned that more action was needed to halt the nation’s five-year recession.
Talking to Sun City in Athens, Dr Skrekas said: “The election is an important step for Greece. Voters signalled they are rational — they value stability over reckless promises. It should put a floor under the economy so people can invest and hire.
“But we have to attract as much foreign investment as possible. We need some sort of Marshall Plan like after the Second World War.
“We have to change the perception the outside world has of Greece. Everyone outside the country says we’re all aged 52 and retired, lazy — it’s outrageous.”
A total of 30billion euros (£24billion) will pour into Greece from the EU and IMF between now and the end of September. Private sector firms are owed 6billion euros (£4.8billion) by the Greek government.
The cash crisis has even hit the nation’s pharmacies, which are having to charge for medicines previously paid for by state-backed health insurance plans.
Khristos Papoutsis, who runs a pharmacy in Athens with his father Spiros, said: “We didn’t receive payments for much of 2011.
“We have to show a lot of tolerance. Something has to change, but the problem is that no one knows what.”
Eugenia Karabela, a civil servant, insists that most Greeks want to stay in the euro, but they need the Troika (the EU, IMF and European Central Bank) to lighten the terms of the bailout that set the brutal austerity measures Athens had to introduce.
Her salary has fallen by a THIRD to 1,000 euros (£800) a month as the government tries to cut costs.
She said: “We are choking. I want us to all be together in Europe, but they must change the conditions.”
Dr Skrekas said the eurozone was almost certain to give Greece a break in some way to reward pro-Brussels Antonis Samaras and his New Democracy party for the election win.
He said: “We cannot afford to lose the cash coming in from the Troika. But there are conditions such as private sector income must come down by 15 per cent in two years.
“Why they are choosing to intervene in the private sector is beyond me.
“The election result is a step forward. We haven’t won the war, but we’ve won a battle.”
New Democracy voter Konstantinos Kintzios warned that Greeks will have to accept their economy may never be as good as it was before the credit crisis took hold.
He said: “We had too much for a nation our size that produces nothing. We lived a dream, a fairytale. It was fake.”
BOSSES at MAJESTIC WINE were toasting the pub trade last night after posting record profits.
The upmarket off-licence said gastro-pubs were buying more and more of its wine to serve their own punters.
Pubs now make up around ten per cent of Majestic Wine’s UK clientele. Chief exec Steve Lewis told Sun City: “We’ve targeted gastro-pubs and the good ones are getting better than ever. The British public have a real love affair at the moment with TV food programmes — and they’re very interested in drinking wine with food.”
Annual profits rose 14.5 per cent to £23.2million. Sales at the chain, which has a minimum order size of six bottles, rose 8.9 per cent to £280.3million. However, Majestic reported sales had recently slowed.
The company revealed its average transaction is now £128 — up £2.
Mr Lewis said he was confident Majestic could almost double in size to 330 branches in the next decade. Sales at the chain’s “booze cruise” business in Calais and Cherbourg rose 4.1 per cent. It is taking on 250 graduate staff this year.
VODAFONE will provide phone services for the NHS after bagging CABLE & WIRELESS WORLDWIDE (CWW) for £1BILLION.
The mobile phone giant, which sponsors F1 ace Lewis Hamilton, landed the telecoms rival when a rebel CWW shareholder, Bermuda-based ORBIS, decided to back the deal before a vote yesterday.
Orbis said its opposition would only “prolong” the inevitable. Vodafone is paying 38p per share for part of the famous Cable & Wireless empire that dates back to 1850. CWW provides communication services for most FTSE 100 firms.
TESCO is pulling out of Japan at a cost of £40million, it said yesterday.
Britain’s biggest supermarket struck an exit deal — its first foreign defeat in 15 years.
It will sell a half-share of the 117-store chain to Japanese retailer AEON for a “nominal sum”.
It will then have to invest £40million for “restructuring” before withdrawing completely.
Tesco announced plans to sell last year after the business lost £20million.
Chief Phil Clarke yesterday said of the withdrawal: “We’re confident this will deliver the best outcome for our staff, our customers in Japan and our shareholders.”
The last country Tesco quit was France in 1997.
It then launched a global expansion drive, making it one of the world’s biggest retailers.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
Watford At Selhurst On Day One - Official Crystal Palace Website
The fixtures have now been announced for the new 2012/13 season and it will kick-off at Selhurst Park against Watford on Saturday August 18th.
This will be followed by two away matches as we travel to Bristol City on Tuesday 21st August and then on Saturday 25th August we head off on the long trip north to Middlesbrough.
September sees matches against two newly promoted sides in Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic. On Saturday September 1st it will be the first time the two will have met since The Eagles sealed their survival at Wednesday's expense in 2010. The return to Hillsborough, the scene of that victory, comes on Saturday February 23rd.
A visit to The Valley will take place on Saturday September 15th while the meeting at Selhurst Park takes place on Saturday February 2nd. Tight victories were the theme the last time the Addicks were in the Championship, with 1-0 wins for both home teams in 2008/09.
Huddersfield, the last team to win promotion, visit SE25 for the first time since 2001 on Saturday December 22 before the return to Galpharm Saturday January 26th.
Our meetings against Brighton & Hove Albion take place with a match at Selhurst on Saturday December 1st and following our victory on the south coast last season we return to the Amex on Saturday March 16th.
The visit to the Den will take place later in the year than the last couple of seasons with the short trip across south London not until Saturday April 13th but we will meet the Lions before then in SE25 on Saturday October 20th.
A trip up to the Reebok stadium makes Bolton Wanderers the first relegated the Eagles will face on Saturday September 29th. This is immediately followed three days later by a game at Molineux, the home of another relegated side, Wolves, on Tuesday October 2nd. The Trotters make the return visit to Selhurst on Saturday January 19th.
The other side to come down last season, Blackburn Rovers, wait a little longer to play the Eagles on November 3rd with the return to Ewood not until the penultimate game of the season on Saturday April 27th.
The holiday fixtures will see a Boxing Day trip to Cardiff City and to start 2013 on New Years Day we will play Wolves at home. Over Easter we are away to Birmingham City on Saturday March 30th and two days later we will be meeting Blackpool on Monday April 1st at Bloomfield Road.
The season finishes with a home game against Peterborough United on Saturday May 4th.
CLICK HERE to see the full 2012/13 fixture list
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Source: www.cpfc.co.uk
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