The hour-long lunch break: Is it worth taking? December 15, 2014 Even well-known executives aren’t afraid to take some “me time”. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have been known to take them together. The French often take twice as long as the rest of us (and the Italians longer still), while 20 per cent of Brits claim not to take one at all, according to [...]
FTSE 100 slips again as oil prices hit energy groups – London Report December 10, 2014 Britain's main equity index fell yesterday for a third day in a row as a further drop in the price of oil hit energy stocks. The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.5 per cent, or 29.43 points, at 6,500.04 points – its lowest closing level since early November. Following the decline [...]
The Royal Palm in Mauritius: The best resort hotel in the Indian Ocean is back with a bang December 7, 2014 The Royal Palm, haunt of former French presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, has just undergone a £10m refurbishment. It was already the best hotel in Mauritius and, in the words of Spinal Tap, it has just turned it up to eleven, upgrading to become the only six star hotel in Mauritius. The Royal Palm [...]
FTSE drops over Draghi’s lack of stimulus news – London Report December 4, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday largely due to a drop in commodity stocks and disappointment at a lack of concrete, new economic stimulus measures from the European Central Bank (ECB). The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.6 per cent, or 37.26 points, at 6,679.37 points. The ECB slashed its growth and [...]
Airlines call for duty cuts on all tickets December 3, 2014 AIRLINES yesterday called for Air Passenger Duty (APD) to be abolished, and welcomed news that the duty on economy tickets for children under 12 will be removed from 1 May 2015. The measure was announced as part of George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, and he also pledged to extend the exemption to include children under 16 [...]
FTSE falls back but airlines soar after Osborne’s tax cut – London Report December 3, 2014 LONDON’S top share index edged down from a one-week high yesterday, with moves in stocks exposed to measures announced in the Autumn Statement dominating in an otherwise quiet session. The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed down 0.4 per cent at 6,716.63 points. Large-cap airlines easyJet, up 2.46 per cent at 1,668p, and British Airways [...]
Opec’s decision not to cut production pulls down oil firms – London Report November 27, 2014 THE FTSE closed mixed yesterday, with oil-sensitive blue chips heavy fallers after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said it would take no action to ease a global supply gut of oil. Their losses were almost offset by gains elsewhere. The FTSE 100 closed down 5.75 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 6723.42. FTSE [...]
Edreams’ ticketing nightmares come to an end as sales pick up November 25, 2014 SPANISH travel company eDreams Odigeo said revenues rose three per cent in the second quarter of the year, thanks to strong growth in overseas markets outside of Europe. eDreams, one of the world’s biggest online travel firms, made its debut on the Madrid stock market in April, but was forced to suspend trading on 24 [...]
Park Hyatt New York: First major NYC hotel in over 10 years November 16, 2014 It takes big bucks to open a new luxury hotel in Manhattan – and even bigger cojones. Clearly, the idea has not been tempting for some time. New York’s last mega-launch was the Mandarin Oriental in 2003. Eleven years and one recession later, confidence has finally returned to the Big Apple – and, [...]
FTSE bounces into positive territory as oil price plummets – London Report November 13, 2014 THE FTSE bounced back yesterday from the previous day’s fall, with holiday cruise company Carnival and retailer Dixons Carphone among the top performers. The blue chip index closed up 0.4 per cent at 6,635.45 points, continuing its recovery from 15-month lows in October and marking its highest level in around one-and-a-half months. Carnival rose 2.8 [...]