Second-seed Halep overtakes US wild card player Danielle Collins |
- Second-seed Halep overtakes US wild card player Danielle Collins
- Rosberg sees collision with Hamilton ‘differently’
- Asian shares off to firm start
- Bali suitcase murder suspect denied private legal consultations, claims lawyer
- Balotelli: Glad to be back in Premier League
- Bloomberg Video: Why Amazon’s spending $970m on Twitch
| Second-seed Halep overtakes US wild card player Danielle Collins Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:56 PM PDT
The French Open finalist moves on to face Slovakian Jana Cepelova, a 2-6 7-5 6-1 winner over Spain's Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, in the second round of the season's last grand slam. But the 22-year-old Romanian had a tricky time getting by Collins, a US college champion from the University of Virginia. Down a break at 3-4, the 20-year-old American brought the set back on serve at 4-all and with her confidence growing the collegian ran away with the decider by taking advantage of a slew of errors from Halep. That shock seemed to snap the Romanian back to attention, and bring her groundstrokes under control as she roared to victory over Collins, who was playing her first tour-level main draw match. "She played a tough match, I want to congratulate her," world number two Halep said in an on-court interview. "First set I was a little bit nervous. This court is huge. "It's my best ranking ever and best moment of my life. I have to enjoy it, but it's not easy. Everybody is telling me I have chances to win this title." Halep, who broke through last season by notching her first six career tour titles, has two titles this season and finished runner-up to Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros in her first grand slam final. ― Reuters  |
| Rosberg sees collision with Hamilton ‘differently’ Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:50 PM PDT
Hamilton told reporters at Spa on Sunday that the Formula One championship leader had told a team meeting after the race that he did it on purpose "to make a point". Rosberg, who has dismissed the collision as a racing incident, said on a video blog from Hamburg that he saw it differently. "Definitely one of the more difficult video blogs today," said the German. "I've been told what Lewis said in the press and the way he has stated his version of the events. All I can say is that my view of the events are very different. "The thing is it's just better that I don't now give all the details of my opinion and things like that. I hope you respect that," added the German. "I prefer to just keep it internal." Rosberg left Spa with a 29 point lead over Hamilton, who retired from the race with a damaged floor to his car after picking up a puncture as a result of his team mate's front wing hitting his rear tyre. Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff said on Sunday the post-race meeting with drivers had been heated and explained that Rosberg had wanted to show he was not going to back off but had not intended to collide. Rosberg said there had been an "important discussion" with more to come before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next week. "Now we need to look forward. There will be another discussion for sure because we need to see if we need to change our approach in the future, as we did in Hungary. And we will do that," said the driver. "I'm confident that as always we are going to find back to our way. And then keep fighting in Monza and on we go." Rosberg was blamed by team bosses after the race for causing what was an avoidable collision, although stewards took no action and the governing body is unlikely to take it further. Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion and Hamilton's former team mate at McLaren, was also critical of Rosberg. "I think any driver would look at it (the incident) now, and I'm sure Nico will look at it, and say 'I don't know what I was thinking'," the Briton told reporters. "You should be able to judge situations like that a bit better. Button said he sympathised for Hamilton and felt the incident had robbed the fans of a great battle between the two. "It is a shame it's not a cleaner fight," said Button. "I've always said the person who wins the world championship this year is the person who does the best job on the circuit, but that does not seem the way it is at the moment. "They (Mercedes) will still win the championships but what has happened definitely adds spice to what is already a pretty spicy relationship." ― Reuters |
| Asian shares off to firm start Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:49 PM PDT
The euro slipped to a one-year low against the dollar as comments from ECB chief Mario Draghi late last week that the central bank was prepared to respond with all its "available" tools resonated in the market. "Draghi's speech marked a turning point in ECB rhetoric... He also confirmed that beyond liquidity injections through the TLTROs and outright ABS purchases, the ECB was ready to do more if necessary" Philippe Gudin, an economist at Barclays, said in report. South Korean shares rose 0.3 per cent and the Australian market edged up 0.2 per cent in early trade. MSCI's dollar-denominated index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan tacked on 0.05 per cent. Japan's Nikkei average was little changed in early trade. The mood in the market was buttressed by the S&P 500, which briefly topped the 2,000 mark for the first time in history yesterday, and closed up 0.48 per cent at 1,997.92. European stocks led the rally in global equities overnight, with many country and regional indexes climbing more than 1 per cent, as investors grew convinced that the ECB could adopt quantitative easing as soon as next week. On Wall Street, the biggest winner was financial shares, seen as the main beneficiary of any cheap money from the ECB at a time the US Federal Reserve is preparing the ground to exit from zero interest rates. The euro fell to US$1.31785 in early Asia, its lowest level since early September last year, with a test of the US$1.30 mark seen as inevitable. Speculation that the ECB may buy debt of euro zone countries drove down yields on bonds from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and elsewhere to all-time lows. German 10-year yields hit a record low of 0.926 per cent, before puling back to 0.95 per cent. Germany's Ifo business climate index published yesterday showed business confidence sagged for the fourth straight month, further fanning expectations of major asset purchases by the ECB. The US dollar was broadly firm in contrast, with its index against a basket of currencies hitting a one-year high of 82.636. Against the yen, the dollar fetched ¥104.08, not far off its seven-month peak of ¥104.49 hit yesterday. — Reuters |
| Bali suitcase murder suspect denied private legal consultations, claims lawyer Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:48 PM PDT
Michael Elkin, Chicago-based attorney for 19-year-old Heather Mack, called on Indonesian authorities to allow her local legal advisers and investigators working on her case to meet with her in a private setting. Mack and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21, were arrested on Aug. 13 as suspects in the death of Mack's mother, 62-year-old Sheila von Wiese-Mack, whose battered body was found in a suitcase in a taxi outside the luxury St. Regis hotel. Mack and her mother had a troubled relationship and von Wiese-Mack had frequently reported that her daughter punched and bit her, according to police reports cited by Chicago media. "Local investigators and/or counsel must be allowed access to Heather if police officials genuinely wish cooperation from Heather in a transparent manner," Elkin said in a statement. "Heather is innocent of the allegations." Bali police said yesterday there were no further developments in the investigation and that the suspects are not giving any statements, on advice of their American lawyers. Police appointed Indonesian lawyer Haposan Sihombing to represent the two Americans, but Mack has refused to make statements to him on Elkin's advice. A legal team from Elkin's Chicago office is preparing to travel to Bali, his office said. It was not clear whether Schaefer has retained an American attorney. The two suspects have not been formally charged with a crime. Under Indonesian law charges would follow an investigation that could take weeks. — Reuters |
| Balotelli: Glad to be back in Premier League Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:44 PM PDT
Balotelli left England in January 2013 when Manchester City sold him to AC Milan, but the 24-year-old endured a difficult time in Milan, where he was subjected to racial abuse by opposing fans. After completing his switch to Anfield on a three-year contract worth a reported £90,000 a week, which includes an option for a further year, Balotelli conceded he had been wrong to ever leave England. "I'm happy to be back because I left England and it was a mistake. I wanted to go to Italy, but I realised it was a mistake," Balotelli told Liverpool's website. "English football is generally better. English football is beautiful." Liverpool did not complete the transfer in time for Balotelli to play in their 3-1 loss at City yesterday, but he attended the match and sat in the directors' box wearing a dark top and a beanie hat. He had earlier completed a one-on-one training session with Liverpool's head of conditioning and fitness, Ryland Morgans, at the club's Melwood base. Balotelli earned a reputation as a troublemaker during his three-year stint at City, where his antics included setting fireworks off in his own house and brawling with then-coach Roberto Mancini. Speaking before his side's defeat at the Etihad Stadium, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admitted that Balotelli's signing represented something of a gamble. "Mario is at a stage in his career where this might be his last chance," the Northern Irishman told Sky Sports. "He needs to settle down and show maturity, but I have worked with loads of players like that. "He has huge potential, but he needs to come here and be consistent and if he can do that then we have one hell of a player. "We have strong family values and behaviour is very important here. We believe we can improve his game and consistency in his game." Asked what he expected from Balotelli, Rodgers joked: "Trouble!" Champions League ambition Having won the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010, Balotelli said he wanted to repeat the feat with Liverpool on the Reds' return to Europe's elite club competition this season. "I want to win another Champions League for sure, because the Champions League wasn't all mine ― I was in a team," he added. "I always start a competition wanting to win it. I want to take this team to the Champions League." Balotelli received a hostile reception from Liverpool fans during his visits to Anfield while with City, but he was given a warm welcome by supporters who gathered outside the club's training ground to catch a glimpse of the striker. "I didn't expect it because whenever I played against Liverpool, the fans weren't nice with me, but that's normal ― it's football!" Balotelli said. "Now that I play for Liverpool, I can see the expectation in people. They're very happy and that makes me very happy at the same time. "Liverpool are one of the best teams here in England. The football is very good here. It's a great team with young players, and that's why I came here." In light of Balotelli's reputation as a troublemaker, Rodgers is believed to have asked for the player's contract to include strict clauses about his behaviour on and off the pitch. But the desire to land a top-class replacement for Luis Suarez, who was sold to Barcelona, persuaded Rodgers to sanction the deal for Balotelli, who won the Premier League and FA Cup during his time at City and also lifted the Italian title three times with Inter. "This transfer represents outstanding value for the club and I think we have done a really smart piece of business here," Rodgers told the club website. ― AFP |
| Bloomberg Video: Why Amazon’s spending $970m on Twitch Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:42 PM PDT Duration: 1:12, Published 26 Aug 2014 Bloomberg's Cory Johnson reports on Amazon acquiring video service Twitch for US$970 million on "Street Smart". — Bloomberg |
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