CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 19, 2011 Alvarez & Marshal Alvarez & Marsal, the global professional services firm, is expanding its European real estate advisory business in Europe with the appointment of London-based directors, Patrick Anderson and Caspar Vredenbregt. Anderson and Vredenbregt both have over 12 years of experience in real estate development, investment and finance. Prior to joining A&M, Anderson was [...]
SWATCH CELEBRATES RECORD SALES January 19, 2011 SWATCH GROUP, the world’s largest watchmaker, gave an upbeat outlook for 2011 as it expects strong demand for its watches to offset the impact of the soaring Swiss franc. The group, best known for its colourful plastic Swatch watches, notched up sales of 6.4bn francs (£4.18bn) in 2010 in another record year, as consumers in [...]
Insurers hit by climate change January 19, 2011 Insurers are struggling to assess the risks from climate change, industry officials say, with the floods in Australia and Brazil highlighting the potential losses from greater extremes of weather. Overall losses from weather-related natural catastrophes rose by a factor of three in the period 1980-2009, taking inflation into account, while insured losses from such events [...]
ASML up on smartphone sales January 19, 2011 Profits at Dutch electronic chip-making equipment group ASML Holding hit a record €1.02bn (£843m) last year, with sales driven by strong demand for iPhones and other smartphones, tablet computers and digital cameras. ASML made a net profit of €1.022bn in 2010 on net sales of €4.5bn, and predicted sales in 2011 could rise to more [...]
Accor raises profit goal again January 19, 2011 Europe’s largest hotel group, Accor, raised its 2010 profit goal again yesterday as fourth-quarter sales slightly beat expectations amid a global recovery in demand for hotel rooms. Accor, the fourth-largest hotel group behind the InterContinental, Marriott and Starwood Hotels, said occupancy rates improved in the last quarter while the recovery in average room rates continued [...]
How to rob your bank January 19, 2011 SANTANDER has brought back its switching deal, giving new customers £100 when they move their main current account to its offering which pays 5 per cent interest for the first year. However, the bank has been voted worst for customer service in a string of surveys by organisations including Moneywise, MoneySavingExpert.com and consumer group Which? [...]
Mind the gap (between arrival times) and cash in January 19, 2011 HAS your journey to work been thwarted by delays in the past six months? Well, Tube passengers have failed to claim rebates worth a total of almost £20m, according to a website that is amassing a cult following among disgruntled commuters. Since the start of July, there have been 1,514 severe delays on the Underground [...]
Get booked in early for a Valentine’s to remember January 19, 2011 RESTAURANTS Sauterelle The cosy bolthole overlooking the inner courtyard of the Royal Exchange (right) is serving up a special Valentine’s menu on the day. Diners will be given a rose cocktail on arrival, followed by a five course meal showcasing head chef Robin Gill’s sophisticated seasonal style. And of course, while you’re there, you can [...]
Speakeasy cocktails come to Chinatown January 19, 2011 WHILE the new year has already seen a fresh batch of new London openings, one of the most original happened just before Christmas with the small but extremely endearing Parisian import, the Experimental Cocktail Club (www.chinatownecc.com). Touching down in Chinatown, an unusual destination address for discerning cocktail aficionados, ECC is nestled innocuously amongst the dim [...]
Price hike Britain January 18, 2011 Fears were growing last night that Britain faces an explosion in the cost of living, with spiralling inflation threatening to erode savings and squeeze households already facing higher taxes. The consumer price index (CPI) shot up in December at the fastest rate since the Office of National Statistics (ONS) began reporting it in 1996, the [...]
