Toyota is wounded but in the long term the brand is strong February 7, 2010 LAST week was surely the worst in the history of the Japanese car-maker Toyota. A global safety recall of 9m cars was projected to cost the company $2bn. The potential damage to future sales can only guessed at, but we can get a hint from what happened to its share price, which fell by more [...]
New challenge will harness Twitter power February 7, 2010 IN RECENT months, spread betting and forex trading companies have begun to really make the most of the new technologies that are changing our lives. American firm GFT and London-based City Index both offer iPhone apps so that their customers can manage their investments while they are on the move. Many other financial news providers [...]
THE TIPSTER February 7, 2010 IF THERE’S one industry that has not weathered the recession well, it is travel firms. They have suffered from consumers tightening their belts while the weak pound has made Britons even less likely to holiday abroad. But TUI Travel should have benefited from many of its less resilient competitors falling by the wayside. With its [...]
Slope back to the mountains one last time February 7, 2010 IT is around this time of year that the travel negotiations begin in earnest. At Christmas time, in our house anyway, the trading begins with: “I’ll see your night out with the boys, and raise you one spa weekend with the girls.” Now, with the “big” winter holidays behind us, there’s a desperate dash going [...]
BANG GOES THE BONUS February 7, 2010 Even with those pesky bonus caps, surely there’s room for a little celebration. And if you’re looking for luxury, you could do worse than visiting the banker’s paradise of Zermatt in Switzerland. As well as high altitude, good snow conditions and a link to Cervinia so you can ski to Italy for a long lunch, [...]
OFF PISTE AND PARTY February 7, 2010 There’s no doubt package holidays are easier to arrange – book it and it’s all organised for you. But for flexibility on dates and sometimes (though not always) price, it makes sense to head off the groomed path – off piste you might say – and put your holiday together yourself. If you’re looking for [...]
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT February 7, 2010 For the real high flyers, a day (or two) heliskiing offers the ultimate adrenaline rush. And of course there’s no problem finding virginal top-of-the-mountain snow for the very best of late season skiing. Danielle Stynes, of SwisSKIsafari (0041 273982194; www.swisskisafari.com) has the enviable job of putting together tailor-made helicopter and back-bowl skiing trips with idyllic [...]
ALL IN THE FAMILY February 7, 2010 Unless you have pre-school aged children (or an accommodating school) you’re bound to go skiing the weeks of half term (February 13 departures) or Easter (roughly the first two weeks of April). Luckily it’s still possible to book a last-minute deal for half-term, and it’s even easier to arrange if your children are old enough [...]
SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND February 7, 2010 Too many hours in the office… not enough time on the slopes. Luckily Ski Weekends has the answer for time-poor City workers. If you’re looking to cram as much ski and après-ski as possible into three or four days, Chamonix is the answer. The party town is just an hour-and-a-half drive from Geneva and has [...]
TRAVEL NOTES February 7, 2010 Top Diver at Amanyara Turks and Caicos’s sexiest resort will be adding sessions with the world’s best diver, Tanya Streeter, to its attractions. Streeter holds several world records and is considered the “perfect athlete.” She will be hosting free-diving sessions at the resort and -charmingly if slightly incongruously – giving talks about humpback whales during [...]
