Charlton's new manager Russell Slade has revealed there is no clause in his contract that gives him full control over the club's transfer activity.
However, the former Leyton Orient and Cardiff City boss insists he will be the man making the decisions at The Valley.
"It's not in the contract, but it's certainly a verbal agreement that we will discuss everything, in terms of recruitment," Slade said. "Picking the team is certainly in my contract. I will have huge influence over the comings and goings but it will be an open discussion."

23:01

O'NEILL AGREES REPUBLIC OF IRELAND DEAL
Martin O’Neill has agreed terms on a new two-year contract as manager of the Republic of Ireland.
O'Neill has been in charge of the Republic since November 2013 and confirmation of his new contract comes just before he leads his team into Euro 2016.
The 64-year-old was unable to beat Germany and Poland to automatic qualification for this summer's tournament, but a 3-1 aggregate win over Bosnia-Herzegovina was enough to seal their passage to France.

22:49

HUDDERSFIELD SIGN PAUREVIC
Huddersfield Town have signed Croatia U21 midfielder Ivan Paurevic from Russian side FC Ufa on a three-year deal.
The 24-year-old was born in Germany and played for Terriers boss David Wagner at Borussia Dortmund II, where he was virtually an ever-present in their Regionalliga West title-winning team in 2011-12.
Paurevic moved on to Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2012 and then left Germany to play in Russia in the summer of 2014, linking up with FC Ufa and scoring five goals as they retained their top division status.

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Posted in: Sports

neymar new trial issue

The prosecutors, from Spain's top criminal court, allege Neymar and his father hid the true value of the player's multi-million-euro transfer from Santos to Barcelona.
A Brazilian investment fund that owned 40% of Neymar's sports rights argues it was deprived of its full share.
In previous interviews, Neymar, 24, has denied any wrongdoing.
Barcelona said it paid €57m (£43m) for Neymar in 2013, with the player's parents, Neymar da Silva Santos and Nadine Goncalves da Silva Santos, receiving €40m and his former club, Santos, €17m.
But investigators say the fee was closer to €83m and Barcelona concealed part of the deal. The club also denies any wrongdoing.

Success on the pitch

The Brazilian third-party investment fund, DIS, alleges it was financially harmed by the transfer when it received €6.8m of Santos's €17m fee and argues it was deprived of its full share.
Neymar and his parents, along with Barcelona's ex-President Sandro Rosell and President Josep Maria Bartomeu, had all given statements at an earlier court hearing in February.
Speaking to O Globo TV in Brazil in February, Neymar said: "Before saying nonsense - that we hid this, or hid that - they should prove it.
"My father is doing everything to ensure that I can just focus on playing football. He handles the books. But in the moment when you see someone you love suffering, it starts to hurt.

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Posted in: Sports

Jack Wilshere has the ability to unlock the toughest defences, and should therefore start England's Euro 2016 opener against Russia on Saturday, according to Terry Butcher.

With the Group B opener just days away, debate has gathered pace as to who should be named in the starting XI, with numerous options available to Roy Hodgson.
Who should start at centre-back? Is Jack Wilshere fit enough to start? How do you fit Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy into the same side? Terry Butcher selects his side to take to the field against the Russians, and runs through the main talking points
I would go for Wilshere in there. He is England's best player on his day. He was the top passer in qualification. He has the ability to unlock most teams, especially ones that sit back, as Portugal did in the recent friendly.
Teams will try to deny space for the pace of Rooney, Sturridge or Vardy, so we need that added quality that Wilshere brings, regardless of fitness. He can 'winkle' his way through teams, and prize open solid defences when it is tight.

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Posted in: Sports

Dortmund signed Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Rode

Borussia Dortmund have made FC Nordsjaelland and Turkey winger Emre Mor their fourth summer signing.

The 18-year-old, who is the third-youngest player at Euro 2016, signs a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
On Monday, Dortmund signed Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Rode, 25.
Last week, they agreed a deal for Barcelona's Spain defender Marc Bartra, 25, after meeting his £6.25m release clause and previously signed Rennes forward Ousmane Dembele, 18.
The Rode and Dembele deals were completed for undisclosed fees.

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Posted in: Sports

Mourinho have reached a settlement with former team doctor Eva Carneiro

Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have reached a settlement with former team doctor Eva Carneiro over claims she was constructively dismissed by the club and discriminated against by its former manager.

Manchester United manager Mourinho - who had not been expected to attend until he was due to give evidence next Monday and Tuesday - arrived at the tribunal in Croydon just after 1pm on Tuesday, along with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck.
Their arrival delayed the start of day two, during which Carneiro was due to begin giving evidence, but after last-minute talks between the parties, a settlement was agreed shortly before 3.30pm.
The case was expected to last seven to 10 days and on Monday it was revealed that Carneiro had refused £1.2m to settle her claims with Mourinho and Chelsea.
A statement on the club's official website read: "Chelsea Football Club is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Dr Carneiro which brings her employment tribunal proceedings against the club and Jose Mourinho to an end.
"The club regrets the circumstances which led to Dr Carneiro leaving the club and apologises unreservedly to her and her family for the distress caused. We wish to place on record that in running onto the pitch Dr Carneiro was following both the rules of the game and fulfilling her responsibility to the players as a doctor, putting their safety first.

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Posted in: Sports

Starbucks Expands Iced Coffee Lineup

Just in time for summer, Starbucks has announced a new lineup of chilled coffee drinks that will form part of a "cold bar" in select locations across America.
The special menu will include items such as a "handcrafted Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice" — a firm espresso with vanilla and caramel — and a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew, iced coffee topped off with vanilla sweet cream.

Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew photographed at the Olive Way Starbucks store in Seattle. Photographed on Tuesday, May 24, 2016. (Joshua Trujillo, Starbucks) Starbucks

"Cold coffee is now becoming a go-to drink," wrote Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz in a press release with a headline as bold as a Venti espresso: "Starbucks to Seize Multi-Billion Dollar Cold Coffee Market."
Anticipating a two-fold increase in cold coffee consumption over the next three years, the Seattle-based coffee giant is also expanding its Nitro cold brew, currently one of the best sellers at the company's upscale Roastery location in Starbucks's home town.
Read More: Starbucks Plans Massive New Roastery in New York City
Nitrogen-infused coffee, a staple at many hipster coffee bars, looks a little like Guinness — and is served the same way, from a tapped keg. Or, as Starbucks explained, the cold-brewed coffee "cascades from the tap with a velvety texture" and "unlocks the super-smooth, natural sweetness" of the coffee, according to a press release.

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Posted in: Business

Victoria Secret Clothing and swimwear

It's June, which means the days are getting longer — and so are some of the sales.
With Father's Day coming up on June 19, tons of dad-friendly sales are in the air. And for those summer weddings, items like glass- and dinnerware are on marked down. But there's also savings on tons more to be had this month.
Here's our roundup of some of the best deals, plus some tips from retail experts.

Tools

"If you're looking to buy tools, especially power tools, cordless tool kits, tool storage, and automotive tools, there may be no better time than Father's Day," said Brent Shelton, online shopping expert at Fat Wallet.

Lingerie

"If you're looking for something a little spicy to wear under that new summer outfit, this is the month to do it," said RetailMeNot shopping expert Skirboll. "The massively popular Victoria's Secret's semi-annual sale kicks off in June, and the discounts typically get deeper each week the sale goes on."
Kendal Perez, savings experts with CouponSherpa, added that other retailers including Target, Sears, and Aerie seize the momentum created by Victoria's Secret and usher in their own deals.
"In previous years, Target has offered [buy one, get one free] on bras and six-packs of underwear for $20, and Sears took off up to 80 percent on select undergarments, while Aerie off up to 50 percent off its lingerie," Perez said.
Save up to 40 percent off of lingerie at Nordstrom from now through June 5.

Clothing and swimwear

June is traditionally a great time to buy designer clothing, with Skirboll noting that "sales from top designer clothing retailers like Calvin Klein and Coach are common in June, and discounts are as deep as an extra 40 percent off sale items." But this summer we may be seeing even bigger savings across all types of retail apparel due to lackluster sales earlier this year.
A recent report by analytics firm Dynamic Action showed that retailers sold 4 percent fewer items at full price in the first quarter of 2016 than they did in 2015. Much of what didn't sell is now on sale or clearance. Check out the massive clearance sale over at Kohl's, which features up to 80 percent off select clothing items, and another rock-bottom clearance at JC Penney.
Despite the need to move leftover inventory, retailers will also be catering to seasonal demand by offering discounts on swimwear.

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Posted in: Fashion

Advancement in liberalisation

 

The now-famous White Paper delivered by American, Delta and United in early 2015 – claiming that Emirates, Etihad and Qatar had received USD42 billion in illegal subsidies – was arguably a more forceful tactic to garner US government attention than any previous lobbying efforts to create national airline policy.

Speaking at the recent CAPA Airlines in Transition conference, the jetBlue SVP of government affairs and associate general counsel, Robert Land, explained that until American, Delta and United launched their anti-Gulf airline campaign there had been a united front in the US industry (including the Big 3). These airlines were pushing the government for a national airline policy, and the industry had not done a good job in communicating the need for a policy change at the Congressional level.

Perhaps the Big 3, led by Delta, concluded that a more dramatic campaign with a clear enemy would be more effective than their efforts to convince the government that taxes and regulations levied on the US airline industry were a hindrance to airlines effectively competing on the global level.

Advancement in liberalisation, not regression, is key for global aviation in the decades to come

Another potential hazard from the US Big 3’s campaign is the possibility of the US reverting to a protectionist stance at a time when the borders that divide various aviation regimes are becoming blurred. Looking past all the rhetoric, the global aviation landscape in 10 to twenty years will be drastically different from the one today.

Advanced liberalisation is key to a viable global aviation business in the decades to come. It is an easy concept to digest in theory, but there are legitimate and complex concerns that need to be addressed in order to exploit the full potential of aviation on a truly global scale.
The US government stands at a crossroads as it weighs the merits of the subsidy debate; its decision will play a crucial role in preserving the existing open skies pacts, and ensuring fair negotiations in future agreements. Part of its dilemma is an awareness that the greatest medium term beneficiaries of open skies are the US airlines themselves; but that seemingly has to be balanced against the short term political firestorm.

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Posted in: Airlines

Air France-KLM, IAG, Lufthansa LCC strategies

Only Lufthansa has taken its LCC onto long haul routes, albeit on a limited scale. Facing the more complex challenges on long haul, all three are developing a growing range of partnerships with other airlines. They have also sought to improve labour productivity in their legacy network airlines, with varying degrees of success, but again led by IAG. A next step may even be to connect with their arch rivals.

In this report, unless otherwise stated, "Eurowings" refers to the combined operation of Germanwings and Eurowings, which are managed by Lufthansa as a single business under the Eurowings brand. The transfer of capacity from Germanwings to Eurowings is due to be complete by 2017. In addition, "Transavia" is used to refer to the combined operation of the Dutch and French arms of Air France-KLM's LCC business.
For more background on the evolution of the LCC units of Air France-KLM, IAG and Lufthansa, see the report
 
Based on 2015 data Vueling is the biggest of the three by revenue, although it is only 3% bigger than Eurowings. Both are around 75% bigger than Transavia by revenue.
Vueling increased its revenue by 14% in 2015, while Transavia's revenue was up by only 4%. The revenue growth rate for Eurowings was not disclosed. Of the LCC subsidiaries of European legacy airline groups in 2015 Transavia was the least profitable, and Vueling the most profitable. Transavia's 2015 operating margin was -3.2%, compared with Vueling's 8.1% and Eurowings' 2.0%.
Although traffic data for Eurowings were not reported in 2015, it can be calculated from OAG schedules data that its ASKs increased by 25% (mainly due to growth on Germanwings-operated routes). Vueling's ASK growth was 14% and Transavia's 5% in 2015.
One of the few indicators on which Transavia leads the other two is its load factor, which was 89.9% in 2015, compared with Vueling's load factor of 81.3%. Eurowings' 2015 load factor was not disclosed, but the Lufthansa LCC has reported a figure of 69.3% for the first four months of 2016 and this suggests that its 2015 load factor was probably closer to 70% than to 80%.
Vueling carried 24.8 million passengers in 2015 – well over double Transavia's 10.8 million. Again, Eurowings' 2015 passenger numbers are not known, but based on OAG data on seat capacity and load factor assumption of around 70%, it may have carried in the region of 15 million passengers.

It has not been possible to calculate an accurate CASK figure for Eurowings, but 2015 revenue and operating profit data reported by Lufthansa allow its costs to be calculated. Combining this with ASK figures for 2015 from OAG schedules data leads to an estimated CASK for Eurowings (including Germanwings) in 2015.
This approach indicates that the Eurowings business has a CASK that may be at least two thirds higher than Vueling's, which is close to easyJet's CASK. Eurowings' CASK is considerably more than twice that of the ultra-LCC Ryanair. This much higher unit cost is only partly explained by its shorter average trip length (only 15% less than Vueling's, for example). It suggests that the term LCC really does not apply, at least not to Eurowings' old incarnation.
In 2015 the vast majority of the business now called Eurowings was still operated by Germanwings. These CASK estimates highlight Germanwings lack of cost efficiency and explain why Lufthansa no longer wants to use it as its LCC operator. This has become even more acute since Ryanair stepped up its presence in Germany.

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Posted in: Airlines

Soon after sanctions were removed Iran Air placed firm orders for 118 Airbus aircraft and 20 ATRs,

Iran has huge pent-up demand and potential after almost 40 years of isolation from the international community. Despite the isolation, Iran’s economy approaches those of Turkey and Spain. The country has a young population with a median age of 28 years, which is active on the internet and social media (despite restrictions), having strong aspirations to travel and engage with the rest of the world. 

Soon after sanctions were removed Iran Air placed firm orders for 118 Airbus aircraft and 20 ATRs, with options for a further 20 ATRs. Private airlines are estimated to have an interest in entering into commitments for a further 100 aircraft over the next twelve months. The fact that Iran’s airlines have continued to operate and expand during the lengthy period of isolation is testament to the resourcefulness of their people and their commercial and technical skills.
Geographically, Iran enjoys almost the same aviation advantages as the Gulf states; for now, that is where the similarities end. But the potential is self-evident.

Financial arrangements and uncertainty still remain as obstacles

Due to sanctions on the acquisition of new aircraft the average age of Iran’s commercial fleet of 230 aircraft is one of the oldest in the world, at around 24 years. As of 16-Jan-2016, up to 40% of the Iranian commercial fleet had been grounded due to the inability to acquire parts or contract maintenance services. However, with the lifting of sanctions a number of these grounded aircraft have been returned to service.
Given the challenges of operating an ageing fleet without the ability to access full maintenance services, it is perhaps not surprising that Iran has a poor recent safety record, with seven fatal accidents since 2009.
In addition to wearing away the ability to keep aircraft in the air, sanctions have imposed legal and operational obstacles in virtually all of the day-to-day activities of airline management, particularly for international operations. Iranian airlines have faced difficulties in procuring even the most basic supplies, from fuel to catering.
The fact that Iran’s airlines have continued to operate and expand during this period is testament to the resourcefulness of their people and their commercial and technical skills.

Passenger traffic has continued to expand – despite sanctions

Despite all of the challenges the passenger traffic handled by Iranian airports has doubled over the past 10 years. The acceleration in growth in the past couple of years is expected to continue following the lifting of sanctions. 
Iran’s airports handled an estimated 48 million passengers in the 12 months to Mar-2015, of which domestic movements account for just over 75%. (The latest airport-wide breakdown is only available for the prior year, 2014.) There are more than 50 airports in the country but the top 10 handle 90% of traffic.
In fact, the cities of Tehran and Mashhad alone represent 65% of the total traffic. Tehran has two airports, Mehrabad which is primarily domestic, and Imam Khomeini International Airport which is exclusively international.
The development of a domestic-international hub at Tehran will be difficult if traffic continues to be distributed in this manner. The two airports are situated on opposite sides of the city, with substantial connection times.  For the time being, this increases the likelihood that international traffic to/from regional centres in Iran will connect over offshore hubs in Dubai and Istanbul on foreign airlines, subject to bilateral access being permitted.

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Posted in: Airlines