Daily Post

City Report

THE London market sank into negative territory after being weighed down by profit-taking and heavy slides for BP and ITV. Figures from Friends Provident and Scottish & Newcastle also received a lukewarm response.

Wall Street

Sportswear Firm Celebrates As Glove Boots Win the Ultimate Accolade

SPORTSWEAR brand Nomis has marked its arrival in the UK by beating big name brand competitors, including Adidas, Reebok and Umbro, to claim the top spot in Soccer International magazine's Boot Test 2006 with its Glove football boot. Nomis, which has chosen Chester as its UK base, began production of its range of high quality football boots in 2005 and saw its Glove football boot post a perfect score in the annual boot test.

36-Storey Tower Will Dominate Waterfront ; Plans Submitted for Building Designed by Leading International Architects

A GLASS-FRONTED 36-storey tower is set to become Liverpool's tallest waterfront building, and will house a hotel on Princes Dock. It has been designed by a firm of architects working on facilities for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Festival Kicks Off Again

THE Football Association - backed OneCulture football festival, organised by Wirral-based company Asia Europe, will be held this weekend. The festival is the biggest of its kind in Europe and aims to break down cultural barriers and prejudices.

Key Role for Law Firm's City Office in Pounds 1.46bn Caudwell Group Sale

THE Liverpool office of law firm Halliwells has played a key advisory role in one of the largest UK corporate deals ever run outside London - the pounds 1.46bn sale of telecoms giant the Caudwell Group. The sale was prompted by a strategic review last year of the entire Caudwell Group, which includes handset distribution division 20:20

Mersey Investment Funds Struggle to Gain Ground

THE financial performance of Merseyside Special Investment Fund has changed little since last ye a r. Accounts for the year to March, 2006, signed-off by the firm's auditors last week, show that all major funds are still running up substantial losses.

From His Walton Roots, Rob Cuts It with the World's Best ; Sophie Freeman Meets Rob Webb, Managing Director of Voodou Hairdressing Salons

ROB WEBB started off with two second-hand hairdryers and a little money borrowed from his uncle - now his business is turning over more than pounds 2.2m a year. Webb, 48, is the owner and managing director of Voodou, a chain of hairdressing salons in Liverpool that began life in Walton Breck Road, Anfield, in the 1970s.

Don't Forget Needs of Smes When It Comes to Energy Policy

NUCLEAR power stations have been given the nod by our Government as it wrestles to tackle the challenges of securing our energy supplies in the coming decades. It's understandable that the nuclear option has been so widely and fiercely debated in recent months. Sanctioning the design and building of new nuclear power plants does after all amount to a fundamental shift in UK energy policy. And going nuclear is a big step for many Labour Party members too.

Recovery Firm Starts Up

A FORMER Merseyside detective has launched a new legal costs company in Liverpool. Alan Clarke, who was with Merseyside Police for 12 years before leaving to pursue a career in business, has launched Litigation Recovery Services and hopes to target the claimant, defendant, self- insured and local authority market.

Apparently It Figures

Sweet Taste for Lancashire Tea As Supermarket Chains Sign Up

LEADING supermarkets Morrisons and Sainsbury's have become the latest retailers to agree to stock the newly-launched Lancashire Tea. The Newton-le-Willows firm, which set up in June with a pounds 250,000 investment, has already seen its product stocked in outlets of Asda and Booths. Convenience chains Nisa and Londis have also agreed to carry the range.

Confidence in Merseyside Booms As Orders Flood In

BUSINESS confidence among firms in Merseyside is at its highest level for 18 months, according to a new study. A significant upturn in sales and orders in the first half of the year has boosted firms' optimism for future profitability to its highest level in 18 months, according to the report from Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets.

Co-Op's Corporate Centre a Vote of Confidence in City ; Five-Strong Team Moves in to Help Cement Relationships

THE Co-operative Bank yesterday gave a vote of confidence to Liverpool's economic renaissance when it set up a new corporate banking centre in the city. Malcolm MacVicar, the senior corporate manager who will head the operation, said he and his team were looking to get involved in deals worth tens of millions of p o u n d s.

Repair Outfit Goes West

WIRRAL-BASED Howard Basford, Britain's largest privately-owned pendent accident repair group, has expanded into North les with the acquisition of the Roberts & Ellis bodyshop business of Mold. The deal brings the number of sites being operated by the pounds 18m-nover business to eight, and strengthens the company's position as a leading player in the bodyshop industry.

Dwf Stays On

NORTH-WEST law firm DWF has been reappointed as principal legal adviser to Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). DWF, based in Liverpool and Manchester, has represented LJMU for nine years and the renewal of the contract for a further three years means continuity for a partnership that both parties believe has proved extremely fr uitful.

In Brief: Marketing Firm Goes Carbon Neutral

In Brief: Good News for Friends

In Brief: Milk Rises

In Brief: Growth Likely