Indulge your inner vanity queen February 11, 2010 WHEN Claridges launched an ultraglamorous package last year that revolved around having a vintage Christian Dior dressing table in the room, alongside a “dressing table service” (a Frank Sinatra CD, a room service cocktail and more), it was official. Dressing tables are back. In our harried world, taking the time to sit before a mirror [...]
Thomas Cook boosted by Redknapp ads February 11, 2010 THE £5m advertising campaign featuring Jamie and Lousie Redknapp has helped fuel a 15 per cent jump in UK bookings in the past four weeks at Thomas Cook. The company said it is considering extending the campaign – which features the celebrity couple on holiday at exotic locations. Chairman Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: “The campaign is [...]
Firth shines in fashionable drama February 11, 2010 Film A SINGLE MAN Cert: 12A Fashion designer – and world’s most stylish dude – Tom Ford makes his directorial debut with A Single Man, and boy won’t he let you forget it. An adaptation of a Christopher Isherwood novel about a day in the life of a college professor named George who is grieving [...]
Expedia beats Wall Street expectations for quarter February 11, 2010 Expedia, the largest US online travel agency, yesterday posted a quarterly profit that topped expectations on a 26 per cent gain in travel bookings and said it would pay a seven-cent-per-share quarterly dividend. The results were generally positive for the company, but its shares tumbled 8.5 per cent to $20.35 (£12.98) on Nasdaq on concerns [...]
Marriott warns on outlook as profits rebound February 11, 2010 Marriott International posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday but said it would be difficult to predict the pace of recovery for the hotel industry, which has been hurt by tepid business travel. Business travel is an important step to recovery for Marriott , which relies heavily on corporate demand to help set room rates. Although [...]
Rolls-Royce is upbeat as its profits return February 11, 2010 ROLLS-ROYCE bounced back into the black last year and ended 2009 with a record order book, enabling the company to raise its dividend. The engine maker made a net profit of £2.2bn, compared with a loss of £1.3bn in 2008. Revenues climbed 14.7 per cent to £10.4bn and its order book increased more than fourfold [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND February 11, 2010 FILM The wolfman Ropey remake of the Sixties classic, with Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Adventure flick for teenagers. pretty woman 25th anniversary re-release for the rom com that made Julia Roberts’s name. DVD The time traveler’s wife Weak adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s romantic tearjerker. The [...]
Incentive fees boost Och-Ziff February 11, 2010 HEDGE fund company Och-Ziff Capital Management Group yesterday reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings because it collected more incentive fees as its portfolios delivered strong returns. The New York-based company, which participated in the Glazer family takeover of Manchester United in 2005, reported distributable earnings of $281.4m (£179m) or 69 cents per share. A year earlier, the [...]
De Beers secures backing of $1 billion rights issue from major shareholders February 11, 2010 DE BEERS yesterday won the backing of its shareholders, Anglo American, the Oppenheimer family and the Botswana government, to raise a $1bn (£637m) rights issue to refinance its debt. The Group is still in talks with its bankers over securing a $1.5bn credit facility from March and the money raised will be used to cut [...]
Air France-KLM dampens spirits in the markets as flies towards a £1.3bn loss February 11, 2010 SHARE prices dropped across the airline sector yesterday after Air France-KLM warned that it expected fourth quarter losses to be “of the same order” as its €535m (£466.4m) operating loss in the same period last year. The airline’s third quarter statement revealed an operating loss of €245m in the three months to 31 December. If [...]
