Online investing and women

Playing the stock market has always been a very male thing. Now a new wave of women working from home is changing all that. Madeline Thomas reports

Samina Ayub and her three children, from left, Daanish, Amber and Urooj. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

Private investing, day-trading and playing the stock market has always been a very male affair. Yet, over the past decade more and more women have joined in. Ten years ago, just 17% of the investors who used the online broker Selftrade were women. This year, it is 34%.

This trend is not restricted to the one website. Stockopedia, a site specialising in broker research and stock market analysis, says between 30% and 40% of its user base is female.

"Gone are the days when online investing was completely dominated by men," says Edward Croft, chief executive of Stockopedia. "There are increasing numbers of smart, savvy women out there who are taking up the challenge of making their own investment decisions.

"They are showing that the traditional route of giving full control of your portfolio to an arms-length investment adviser is not the only choice." Many of the women who have turned to share trading have done so very recently. Selftrade's figures show that the proportion of investors using its site that are women jumped from 24% to 34% in just two years.

The increasing availability of information and share services online has helped fuel this trend. It has also shifted the emphasis away from affluent individuals and City workers.

Reading the blogs and message boards of sites ranging from the Motley Fool and Selftrade, to Interactive Investor and Stockopedia, it becomes very clear, very quickly, that investors are as diverse as the shares in which they trade. "The internet has made investing far more accessible and, as a result, we find that our users come from all walks of life and from all over the UK," Croft says.

However, as diverse as the investing community may be, many recent investors have taken the plunge because they have been dissatisfied by the performance of their more traditional investments. So, who are the new female investors?

Samina Ayub Debt recovery officer

Samina is a typical mum of three kids, aged eight, four and two. She is run off her feet and juggles the school run, nursery and childcare, and working four days a week as a debt recovery officer.

Samina has always saved. She was prompted to take the plunge into buying and selling shares after her two endowment policies – with Legal & General and Friends Provident – performed so badly. "I just didn't make anything on them. There was no point in doing them. I'm better off self-investing," she says.

Her disappointment in the performance of her investments came at the same time as she faced problems in her marriage, exacerbating the need for her to exert greater financial control.

"There was a time when I didn't mind someone else investing my money on my behalf, but I've had some issues – marital problems etc – so, financially, I need to be secure now. I'm much more conscious of the need to plan ahead and I've realised I need more control over what I'm doing."

Samina has been encouraged by her stepfather, Zahid, who has bought and sold shares for as long as she can remember, and has provided her with much appreciated guidance.

In the past year, Samina's confidence in her own investing ability has grown. Now, instead of just buying and holding shares, she has taken the plunge and sold shares and changed the weighting of her portfolio as the markets have changed.

"At the moment, I'm just invested in UK shares, mainly in power companies and energy providers, but I'm also looking to invest in US markets.

"I could trade a lot more than I do, but if I traded more I'd need to do more research, and I don't have the time for that. I'm doing this to plan for my future, as well, not just for the kids."

Samina's confidence has grown so much, thanks to the encouragement of Zahid, that she has now become an advocate of investing and has persuaded one of her friends to take up her hobby. "My friend is the same age – she's 41 – with kids the same age. She's a training manager with the civil service, but I've persuaded her, and she now buys shares. The risks are high but it's the best way to make some money grow if you've got the balls for it."

Kate Charity worker

Kate (not her real name) began investing in shares after her husband died. "My husband always managed the money. When he died there were all these decisions that I'd never taken that needed sorting. I carried on working and raising the children, and didn't really think about any investments other than to use the Isa allowance as it came up each year."

The turning point for Kate was when she stopped work seven years ago. "I just couldn't do the job and raise the kids on my own."

Suddenly she had more time on her hands and could do the research required to make sensible investment decisions. "I started off really small. Before, it was someone else always doing that investing and shouldering the risk, either in funds or in Isas, so when I started it suddenly seemed really risky to actually hit that 'buy' button. But I went in gently and read everything I could."

Kate has researched her investments thoroughly. She began by reading around her subjects. That gave her the material she needed to home in on her specialism – oil. Kate was looking to invest in something she could hedge against and, for her, that was commodity shortages. Many oil companies may list on the London Stock Exchange and be bought in sterling by UK investors, but they are essentially a dollar-denominated asset, which can remove the sterling risk.

"Once I found my forte, 90% of my active investing has been in oil shares. I'm not talking giants like BP, but small- and medium-sized companies. Their business is simpler to understand than, say, a bank or a pharmaceutical company, because they only have one product, so, as an investor, you're looking to find which company has an edge due to diligence."

Kate has now returned to work – for one of Britain's leading charities – and says her investing takes as much time as she wants it to take. "I don't run shorts, derivatives or warrants and I don't do spread betting. I just run straight equity positions so I can switch off if I'm on a fortnight's holiday, for example.

"I'm not glued to my PC, but I can do as much, or as little, as I choose."

Cynthia Former civil servant, now a housewife

Cynthia, who does not want to give her full name, feels she has to do her own investing in order to get any returns, having seen her hard-earned investments reduce in value under the guidance of a broker.

Having worked at the United Nationals Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for 12 years, Cynthia took its "golden handshake" payment, worth around €50,000 (£41,500), and moved to the International Atomic Agency. She left the UN altogether in 2003 and moved to Britain with her husband. As UNIDO was based in Vienna, Cynthia entrusted her €50,000 to an Austrian broker. Seven years later, her investment is now worth just €40,000 (£33,200).

"It's really hard to see my money lose so much value, but I feel stuck with it now. If I take that money out, then I've made the loss real. I'd rather keep the €40,000 where it is in Austria and hope it can make up its shortfall. I feel like I really have no control over that money.

"When I came to the UK I'd left my job so I decided to study for a degree in psychotherapy. That's finished now, and I'm a housewife, for the moment, so I have the time to take control of my circumstances again. I've always worked, and I'm used to working, so I can't just sit and do nothing. Investing gives me the chance to do my own research, and it's not that hard if you are thorough."

Having spent most of her working life outside the UK, Cynthia's investing strategy is strictly global. Her focus is on Brazil, China and emerging markets.

"When I was with UNIDO I travelled a lot through Asia and Brazil, so I know where the opportunities are. For example, Brazil will be hosting the Olympics in 2016, so I'm looking at small- and medium-sized construction companies that I know will benefit from that work.

"I'm also looking in Asia. I'm looking long term at construction, engineering and technology. My mum is from the Philippines, and I've travelled a lot to Asia for work, and this is an area I feel I know. I'm comfortable researching the data and the companies here, and I will have so much more control over my investment choices by buying and selling my own shares than I would if I chose another broker."

However, Cynthia (above) is not ready to sever all advice ties. She has opted for an advisory online service rather than an "execution-only" one because she feels reassured that she can talk through her decisions.

"I can do all my own research and come up with my choices, but then I can double-check, as well, before taking the plunge," she says.

It won't all be high-risk, small-cap, emerging market companies. Cynthia has also homed in on a couple of blue chip favourites, "to get a bit more security, for the dividends, and to balance the portfolio".

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Mobiles not linked to child cancer

Masts locations were not associated with cancer risk

A new study has found no link between exposure to mobile phone masts while in the womb and the risk of developing early childhood cancers, newspapers have reported.

During the study, scientists used complex transmitter data to estimate the signal exposure levels that almost 1,400 children with childhood cancers had experienced before birth, comparing them to the exposure levels of approximately 5,600 children not affected by cancer. The researchers specifically looked at three different measures of exposure – distance to nearest base station, total power output from nearby base stations, and estimated power density from nearby base stations. None of these measures suggested any association with the likelihood of cancer.

The rarity of childhood cancers and the practical constraints of individually measuring women’s exposure mean that the study authors had to make various assumptions about exposure, which may have affected the results seen. However, the study seems robustly planned and executed overall. Another limitation is that the study only looked at exposure during pregnancy and early childhood cancers, meaning it cannot tell us about exposure during childhood, or about longer-term outcomes.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, and funded by the UK Mobile Telecommunications Health Research (MTHR) Programme, an independent body set up to fund research into the possible health effects of mobile telecommunications. The MTHR is jointly funded by the UK Department of Health and the mobile telecommunications industry. The study was published in the peer-reviewed British Medical Journal.

This research was well reported by The Guardian and The Independent.

What kind of research was this?

This was a case-control study looking at whether there was a relationship between mothers’ exposure to mobile phone masts in pregnancy and early childhood cancers in their offspring.

This study design takes a group of individuals with the condition of interest (a case group of children with early childhood cancers) and compares their past exposures with a group of individuals who do not have the condition of interest (a control group). This study design is often used when the condition of interest is rare – as is the case with early childhood cancers – as a cohort studywould have to be very large to detect enough individuals with the condition to allow a meaningful analysis.

One of the limitations to this study design is that the exposures being assessed occurred in the past, and therefore it can be difficult to assess them accurately, particularly if researchers rely only on people’s recall of events. However, in this study, researchers did not have to rely on people remembering or estimating their exposure to mobile phone masts, instead they used data on where individuals lived and known locations of mobile phone masts. This increases the reliability of the information about exposure.

What did the research involve?

The researchers analysed data from 1,397 children aged up to four years old who had cancer (the case group). They were compared with 5,588 children without cancer (the control group) who were matched to the cases for gender and date of birth. They determined where the children’s mothers had lived during their pregnancy, and how near that was to a mobile phone mast. They then compared the cases and controls to see if their mothers had lived at different distances from mobile phone masts, or whether they were exposed to different levels of power output from these masts.

To gather a suitable case group the researchers had identified all children in Great Britain aged up to four years old who were registered as having cancer in the national cancer registries for 1999 to 2001. They also noted which types of cancers these children had. For the 1,926 cases of early childhood cancer identified, there was sufficient data to include 1,397 of the children in the analyses (73%). For each child with cancer, they used national birth registries for Great Britain to identify four matched controls: children of the same sex born on the same date, and who were not recorded as having cancer in the national cancer registries.

For each child the researchers used their registered address or postcode at time of birth. They excluded children without a valid birth address or postcode. The four national mobile phone operators at the time of the study (Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile) provided information on all 81,781 mobile phone antennae in use from January 1 1996 to December 31 2001. This included where the antennae were, how many there were at each site (base station), dates at which they started and ended transmission, and features including the type of antennae, orientation, height above ground level, beam width, power output and frequency.

The researchers excluded 4,891 low-power antennae covering limited areas (called microcells, and accounting for 6% of the antennae). In total the researchers had full data on 66,790 (87%) of the 76,890 remaining antennae. Where data was missing, it was estimated using the data that the researchers had on other antennae, or was assigned the average (median) value for the company.

For each child, the researchers calculated the distance from the nearest base station, the total power output from all base stations within 700m (at ground level power density is reported to drop off rapidly after 500m). They also calculated ‘power density’ for base stations within 1,400m, essentially how much power was concentrated in a given area (exposures from over 1,400m away were considered to be at background levels).

The researchers had based their calculations of power density in a given area on measurements taken in a survey of a rural area (151 sites around four base stations) and an urban area (50 sites). These calculations used complex mathematical models, which were checked against data obtained from other surveys and measurements. The model appeared to perform better in predicting power density in rural areas than in urban areas. Pregnancies were assumed to last nine months, and exposure over the nine months prior to birth was estimated for each child.

The researchers looked at how mobile phone mast exposure in the womb related to an outcome of any childhood cancer and to specific cancers (brain and central nervous system cancers, leukaemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas). They took into account factors that could affect results, including socioeconomic deprivation, population density and population mixing (migration into the area in the previous year). Data on these factors was obtained from the 2001 census for the small area containing the birth address (census output area).

What were the basic results?

Of the 1,397 cancer cases, 527 were leukaemia or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (38%), and 251 were cancers of the brain or central nervous system (18%). Cases and controls were similar in terms of social and demographic characteristics.

The researchers also found that:

• Children who had cancer had birth addresses 1,107m from the nearest base station on average.
• Controls had birth addresses 1,073m from the nearest base station on average.
• There was no significant difference between children with early childhood cancer and controls in distance of birth address from the nearest base station.
• There was no significant difference between the children with cancer and the controls in terms of total power output or modelled power density exposure at their birth addresses while in the womb.

Distance from nearest base station, total power output and modelled power density did not differ between healthy controls and children with specific cancer types (either leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or brain and central nervous system cancer).

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers concluded that they found “no association between risk of childhood cancers and mobile phone base station exposures during pregnancy”. They say that their results “should help to place any future reports of cancer clusters near mobile phone base stations in a wider public health context”.

Conclusion

This study appears well conducted. Its strengths include:

• Analysis of data from children born across Great Britain and inclusion of a high proportion (73%) of all registered early childhood cancer cases in Great Britain for the period assessed (1999-2001). This reduces the possibility that the area or children selected may not be representative of most cases.
• The use of three different measures to assess exposure to mobile phone base stations during pregnancy, none of which showed an association between exposure and childhood cancer.

The study’s limitations include:

• Only assessing the effects of exposure during pregnancy on early childhood cancers (up to age four). Longer-term effects or effects of later exposure during infancy and childhood were not assessed.
• Researchers did not measure individual exposure and therefore had to use surrogate measures of exposure – these may not fully capture or reflect individual exposure. Although measuring individual exposure would have been more accurate, doing so with a large cohort of pregnant women would be unlikely to be feasible.
• The researchers had to make certain assumptions in order to carry out their analyses. For example, they assumed that all pregnancies lasted nine months and calculated exposures based on registered birth address. In some cases, pregnancies may have been shorter or slightly longer than nine months, and mothers may have moved house or have spent significant amounts of time in other areas (eg for work). The accuracy of the assumptions may affect the results.
• The researchers were not able to assess radiofrequency exposure from other sources, such as low power mobile phone antennae, maternal use of mobile phones in pregnancy, radio or TV transmitters, or cordless phone base stations.
• The technology used in mobile phone masts may have changed since the study assessment period (1996-2001), therefore results may not be representative of modern exposure levels
• Although the researchers took into account factors that could affect results, these or other factors may still be having an effect.

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Rapper plagues Greater Manchester Police with 999 calls

A rapper is tying up police emergency lines by bombarding a force with nuisance calls.

He dials 999 before rapping to operators at Greater Manchester Police - who are not allowed to cut him off.

Despite officers blocking more than 60 sim cards, the man has plagued them since January 2009.

In the past three months he has made 700 calls, some lasting up to five minutes, costing the force £1,000 a month.

Supt Karan Lee said his "inappropriate outbursts" are putting "lives at risk".

During many of the calls, the operator answers the phone to be met with a barrage of music and rants.

His rapping is difficult to decipher but during one call he started shouting about his citizen's rights.

So far officers have managed to establish that most of the calls are made from the Moss Side and Trafford areas.

The call handlers are tied up for several minutes trying to deal with him.

Call handling manager Jason Unsworth added: "You can never guess when this man is going to call up, and that's part of the problem.

'No laughing matter'

"With the World Cup on at the moment, it's an added pressure when he does call, because it can be any time of the day, and he can be on the phone for several minutes.

"He is causing us a big problem because of the sheer volume of calls he makes and the time wasted dealing with him.

"We have to treat each call as if it was a real emergency, so it's frustrating and worrying when we get time wasters preventing people with real emergencies coming through."

Clips of some of this man's nuisance calls have been released and police are urging anyone who recognises his voice, or who has information about who is responsible, to come forward.

Supt Lee added: "Nuisance calls are no laughing matter. I do not know what motivates this man has to keep calling but we need to stop this man's time-wasting calls before someone's life is put in jeopardy."

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Emirates Orders 32 More A380

During Major Expansion Plan

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Coastweek -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel [centre left] tours the cabin with His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum [centre right] of the Emirates Airbus A380 flown to the Berlin airshow for the event.

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THE AIRLINES A380 SUPERJUMBO TO MAKE A MUCH
ANTICIPATED RETURN TO NEW YORK ON 31ST OCTOBER

Coastweek -- Emirates Airline, the Dubai-based international airline has placed an order with Airbus for an additional 32 A380 aircraft taking the total firm order for the iconic flagship of the 21st century to 90 super-jumbos.

The order for the additional aircraft has a list price of USD $ 11.5 billion.

The agreement was signed recently during a ceremony at the Berlin Air Show by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group and Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO which was witnessed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other dignitaries.

“This latest order, adding to 58 A380s previously ordered, affirms Emirates’ strategy to become a world leading carrier and to further establish Dubai as a central gateway to worldwide air travel.

“The A380 is our flagship in terms of passenger comfort, innovation, operating and environmental efficiency and revenue generation,” said H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al- Maktoum.

“Our latest commitment signals Emirates’ confidence in the growth to come in a thriving aviation sector as we build our fleet for tomorrow,” he added.

“Emirates supported the development of the A380 from the earliest days, a project employing tens of thousands of Europe’s best people and today’s increased order, is the best endorsement I can imagine.

“On behalf of all of us at Airbus, we thank Emirates for their support.

“The A380 is indeed a remarkable eco-efficient aircraft, a profit generator for airlines and a great flying experience for passengers,” said Tom Enders.

Meanwhile, Emirates’ A380 superjumbo will make a much-anticipated return to New York on 31st October, the airline has announced.

The aircraft’s reinstatement on one of Emirates’ double daily JFK routes comes as the carrier reported a significant increase in revenue for the Americas in 2009-10, representing a year-on-year rise of 8.1 percent.

Growth in the Americas helped steer the airline to a net profit of US $ 964 million, while 27.5 million passengers flew with Emirates over the last financial year, over 20 percent more than in 2008- 09.

“We promised to return the A380 to New York as soon as demand recovered and we have been true to our word,” said Emirates Airline President Tim Clark.

He continued: “Against some of the toughest operating conditions ever faced, the results for the Americas have been hugely encouraging.

“This achievement reflects our success in maintaining our business as usual approach and remaining faithful to our strategy of product and service excellence,”

“As we look to 2010-11 and beyond, Emirates will continue to invest in its products and services to build on the resurgent demand for air travel within the Americas.

“Our plans for the future also include adding new US cities to our four existing gateways: New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.”

Emirates’ expansion plans for the region will be boosted by a significant increase in capacity.

The airline is scheduled to receive 11 new wide-body aircraft in 2010, including Boeing 777s.

Emirates currently operates eight A380 aircraft, serving London Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland.

In March 2010, the airline also announced the start of A380 services to Beijing from 1st August and Manchester from September.

Additionally, Emirates has announced six new routes for 2010.

They are Tokyo, which was launched on 28th March, Amsterdam which was launched on 1st May, Prague and Baghdad which will be launched on 1st July, Madrid slated for 1st August and Dakar which will be launched on 1st September.

Emirates, the second largest airline in the world in available seat kilometres, is on track to become one of the largest airlines in the world.

In addition to the orders placed 32 A380s, Emirates has 48 Airbus 380s, 70 Airbus 350s, 18 Boeing 777-300s and seven Boeing air freighters on order totaling 143 wide-body aircraft worth more than $US 48 billion.

In a year where the aviation industry was rocked by the economic downturn, Emirates Airline recently reported its 22nd year of profit, up 416 percent to close at US$ 964 million over its 2008-09 profits of US$ 187 million.

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Coastweek -- Seated at the table making today’s announcement: H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group [left] with Tom Enders, President and CEO, Airbus [right]. Looking on in the back row, left to right: John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer -Customers, Airbus; Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline; Angela Merkel, German Chancellor; Rainer Brüderle, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology; Dr. Peter Ramsauer, Minister of Transport; Louis Gallois, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus.

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NICE Launches Controversial Salt Guidelines for Industry

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has called on the food industry to use less salt, sparking a backlash from the industry

Salt can be reduced by levels of 5-10 percent without custom

NICE’s new guidelines have stated that up to 40,000 deaths from heart disease and stroke could be prevented each year by reducing the levels of salt and saturated fat in our food. NICE believes a reduction in salt intake, aiming for a maximum intake of 6g per day per adult by 2015 and 3g daily by 2025, would result in 15,000-20,000 fewer deaths from heart disease and stroke every year.

The necessary changes could be made painlessly, according to Professor Simon Capewell, Vice Chair of the guidance group and an expert in public health from the University of Liverpool.

“If salt levels in food are reduced by 5 to 10 percent a year, most consumers don’t even notice any difference in taste - their taste buds simply adjust,” Capewell said. “Meanwhile they will benefit from better health and less risk of heart disease and stroke.”

“We have already seen good progress in this area. Salt levels in bread have gone down by 40 percent over the last five years. So although our target looks quite challenging, it is eminently feasible.”

The guidance calls for low salt products and low saturated foods to be sold more cheaply than their higher content equivalents, but NICE is not calling for a tax on unhealthy foods, said Professor Mike Kelly, Public Health Director at NICE.

“Taxation of foods is a rather blunt instrument that would not work,” said Professor Kelly.

“OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY”
Some in the food industry have responded negatively to NICE’s findings, however.

Julian Hunt, Director of Communications at the Food and Drink Federation, said yesterday: “We are surprised that NICE has found the time and the money to develop guidance that seems to be out of touch with the reality of what has been happening for many years.

"The food industry is leading the world when it comes to voluntarily changing the recipes of popular food brands so that they are lower in salt, fat or energy; introducing better-for-you choices at the same price as standard lines; and improving the quality of nutrition information available on packs. To give a specific example, industry reformulation efforts have already resulted in the levels of trans fats in foods dropping to such low levels that UK intakes are now well below the recommendations by the World Health Organization.

"The new Government has rightly made public health its top priority and has already set out a clear vision of its priorities in this area - including how it wants to create even more momentum behind industry's voluntary actions. We look forward to working with new Ministers, and other stakeholders, to bring that work to life in a way that makes a real difference for consumers."

Edited by Ellie Duncan

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England's summer tour ends with defeat to New Zealand Maori

New Zealand Maori 35-28 England

New Zealand Maori's Liam Messam, right, clashes with England's Danny Care in Napier. Photograph: Ross Setford/AP

England's five-match tour ended with defeat to the New Zealand Maori after an enthralling clash in Napier.

Martin Johnson's men dominated the first half and led 28-17 at the interval with tries from Steffon Armitage, Danny Care and Chris Ashton plus 12 points from the boot of Charlie Hodgson.

But the Maori had already served notice of their intent by hitting back from 13-0 down to take the lead with two brilliant tries from Hosea Gear and captain Liam Messam. And Gear completed his hat-trick as the hosts kept England scoreless in the second half to celebrate their centenary with another famous victory. The Maori beat England in 1998, the British and Irish Lions in 2005 and they overhauled Ireland in Rotorua last Friday.

England arrived in Napier on a high after their famous 21-20 victory over Australia in Sydney sealed a 1-1 Test series draw with the Wallabies. Johnson had branded this clash as the unofficial third Test and England made a fast start, playing expansive rugby from the outset with Delon Armitage to the fore.

England's early dominance was rewarded with a Hodgson penalty and then a try from Steffon Armitage as the tourists surged ahead. Hodgson stabbed a grubber kick in behind the Maori defensive line and the Northampton winger Ashton showed brilliant footballing skills to flick the ball back into play with his right foot just before it landed in touch. Steffon Armitage was already on the charge and the London Irish flanker dived on the loose ball to give England a 10-0 lead, with Hodgson landing the touchline conversion.

Hodgson slotted a second penalty as England succeeded where they had failed against the Australian Barbarians, by turning early pressure into points. But the Maori then turned the tables spectacularly with two brilliant counter-attacking tries.

McAlister got the Maori onto the scoreboard with a penalty but Hodgson wasted the chance of an immediate response by hitting the post. Maori full-back Robbie Robinson countered from the rebound and quickly left England's defence in disarray before fly-half Stephen Brett released Gear, who swatted David Strettle and Mathew Tait aside to score.

Maori scrum-half Aaron Smith then pilfered the ball from the back of an England scrum and launched another incisive break, with Brett drawing in three defenders before releasing Messam. Hodgson tracked back to make the tackle but the Sale fly-half could not drag Messam into touch. The try was given and McAlister's conversion edged the Maori into a 17-13 lead.

England were under pressure at the breakdown but returned to their point of strength in the scrum to win a kickable penalty and get back into the game. The tourists then scored twice in the last minute before half-time to storm back into the lead.

When Referee Craig Joubert awarded England a penalty at the ruck, Care spotted the opportunity to exploit a disorganised Maori defence, took the quick tap and beat lock Jarrad Hoeata to score. The Maori sought a response but Hodgson intercepted a pass from McAlister on halfway and sent Ashton over for the try.

England had dominated the breakdown and the tackle count in the first half but their lead was tentative – and within eight minutes of the restart it had been scrubbed out. Tait and Brad Barritt both fell off McAlister and when the ball was spread wide, Gear charged through a gaping hole in the England defence to score his second try.

The Maori then pounced again after another mistake at the breakdown and the ball was spread left to Gear, who capitalised on a major overlap to complete his hat-trick.

McAlister converted both tries to edge the Maori into a 29-28 lead after 48 minutes.

England's pack remained on top but Delon Armitage missed their only penalty shot of the second half with a skewed effort from long range.

The Maori closed out the game with two penalties from replacement Willie Ripia, which left England requiring a converted try to win – and they blew two golden chances.

Geraghty's attempted kick for touch went dead and when Ben Foden launched a searing break, he chose to chip ahead instead of passing to Armitage and the ball again slid over the dead ball line.

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Wimbledon 2010 live blog: 23 June

Andy Roddick, who was beaten by Roger Federer in an epic final last year, begins his title challenge today. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

Xan will be here from around 11am.

In the meantime, read a report on Andy Murray's straight sets victory over Jan Hajek yesterday and why, apart from Murray, have British tennis players done so badly?

For the latest live scores and results follow this link.

And for comprehensive coverage of Wimbledon visit our microsite.

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Bank of England member votes for interest rate rise

The Bank of England is responsible for setting interest rates

A member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has called for a rise in interest rates for the first time in almost two years.

Andrew Sentance voted to lift rates to 0.75% from the record low of 0.5%, due to stubborn inflation, minutes show.

It was the first call for a UK rate rise by an MPC member since August 2008, and will surprise economists, who expected another unanimous decision.

The other MPC members called for rates to be held at its June meeting.

The 7-to-1 majority ensured rates were kept at 0.5% for the 15th month in a row.

The Bank of England also decided not to inject any more money into the UK economy under its policy of quantitative easing (QE).

Inflation hit a 17-month high of 3.7% in April, and though it fell back to 3.4% in May it remains well above the Bank's 2% target.

Mr Sentance argued that the persistence of inflation had cast doubt on the Bank's prediction that spare capacity in the slow economy would be enough to bring inflation down.

But the other committee members said that this was not enough to justify a change in rates policy.

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