Swiss class indoors, Swiss snow outdoors make an iconic St Moritz hotel October 24, 2010 THE lift doors opened and, there, standing in the grand foyer of St Moritz’s Suvretta House, stood a woman who seemed to epitomise this luxurious Swiss hotel. Tall, elegant and effortlessly chic in her glossy fur coat paired with long, expensive black boots, she oozed European-style opulence. Behind her, the stunning alpine view glinted in [...]
Hernandez gets United back on track October 24, 2010 STOKE (1) vs MANCHESTER UTD (2) MEXICO striker Javier Hernandez reminded Wayne Rooney there was nothing wrong with the quality of Manchester United’s summer signings by firing the Red Devils to their first Premier League away win of the season. Following a crazy week in which the England talisman had declared his desire to leave [...]
Amazon beats profit predictions but falls on extra operating costs October 21, 2010 THE WORLD’S biggest online retailer, Amazon, beat Wall Street expectations with its results yesterday, though shares fell as it announced higher than expected costs in the run-up to the Christmas rush. Revenue soared 39 per cent for the third quarter to $7.56bn (£4.81bn), though operating expenses also rose 40 per cent to $7.29bn. Pre-tax profit [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TRICHET OPPOSES DEAL IN EU BUDGET Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, has refused to endorse the full package of Eurozone sanctions decided by European Union finance ministers this week. The revelation came amid mounting criticism in Germany of a compromise deal that Angela Merkel, the chancellor, agreed with Nicolas Sarkozy, [...]
Queen agrees to £6m cut to annual civil list budget October 20, 2010 EVEN the Queen felt the pain of yesterday’s cuts. George Osborne said the Queen had “graciously” agreed to do her bit. She has agreed to a freeze in the palace’s cash allowance, known as the Civil List and funded by the taxpayer, for a year. The bulk of the grant goes towards paying staff, with [...]
Home Retail hit as Argos sales dented October 20, 2010 HOME Retail Group yesterday said that cash-strapped customers were abandoning its cut price retailer Argos as sales dopped. The company, which also owns Homebase, revealed that its overall profit had dropped 12 per cent to £103m in the six months to 28 August. A plunge in demand for furniture, video games and televisions contributed to [...]
A Qatari takes on Wall St October 20, 2010 KAPITOIL BY TEDDY WAYNE Duckworth, £8.99 IT’S 1 October, 1999 and Karim, a genius computer progammer from Doha, is landing in New York. He’s been brought to help a company called Schrub Equities protect itself from the Y2K bug – New York’s biggest security concern at the time. The opening of this first novel by [...]
OUT OF OFFICE October 20, 2010 LAST CALL: ENLIGHTMENT IN HAMPSTEAD Director Ed Hall’s new tenure at the Hampstead Theatre got off to an amusing start with Enlightenment – a play that is stylish and wide-ranging, if not particularly enlightening. Lia and Nick lose their 20-year-old son in a terrorist attack in the Far East. Things becomes sadder and odder from [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 19, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES INDIAN OIL PLANS RECORD $4.3BN IPO Indian Oil plans to raise a record Rs190bn ($4.3bn, £2.73bn) by selling 20 per cent of its shares in what would be India’s biggest IPO, as several state-run groups are rushing to tap the nation’s booming equity market. Sumit Bose, India’s minister of disinvestment, said yesterday that [...]
Apple rides high but iPad falters October 18, 2010 Apple last night smashed expectations to post record fourth quarter profits and revenues, boosted by blockbuster sales of its new iPhone 4. However, its landmark iPad tablet device lagged behind analyst forecasts as supply issues continued to dog the world’s biggest technology firm. Apple shifted 4.2m iPads in the quarter, falling well short of analyst [...]