British Airways staff to vote on Christmas strike action November 8, 2009 Passengers flying on British Airways over Christmas are bracing themselves for mayhem after 2,500 cabin crew backed union leaders’ decision to call a strike vote at a mass meeting. The ballot – in protest over the company’s imposed job cuts and two-year pay freeze – will start next week and close on 14 December. Unite [...]
WHAT GOD COMPLEX? BLANKFEIN IS JUST FEELING A WEE BIT LONELY November 8, 2009 One could feel a bit sorry for Goldman Sach’s chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. Push aside the fact that he earns more than the GDP of a small country for doing “God’s work”, and life on the 30th floor starts to look very lonely. “People are pissed off, mad and bent out of shape. [...]
Tourists will fill West End November 8, 2009 CENTRAL London shops expect to receive a glut of foreign customers this winter, enticed to the capital by the current weakness of the pound. The New West End Company, which represents retailers in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, is expecting a 5-10 per cent year-on-year increase in foreign shoppers over the festive period. [...]
Christmas will be make or break for our retailers November 8, 2009 WHEN the Christmas lights on Regent Street were switched on last week, it marked the beginning of the most important period of the year for high-street retailers. Many can earn 60 per cent of their annual profits in the peak weeks of Christmas. After a dismal end to 2008 when it seemed like retail chains [...]
The best Christmas markets in Germany November 8, 2009 BerlinThe German capital is also very much the country’s Christmas market capital, with over 50 taking place – and there’ll be extra festivity this year as the city marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. The most popular market is the one in central west Berlin’s shopping district, next to the [...]
OUT OF OFFICE November 8, 2009 JAPANESE WHISKY TASTING AT TSURUWhisky is almost as popular as sake in Japan and it goes surprisingly well with sushi. Japanese whisky is similar to Scottish in style and as good. To prove it, Tsuru restaurant will hold a tasting with five whiskies, and Japanese whisky expert Jen Dickson will demonstrate subtle difference between the [...]
THE TIPSTER GOOD RESULTS BUT OUTLOOK QUESTIONED November 8, 2009 WE ARE still in earnings season and mobile telecoms giant Vodafone is due to report its interim results tomorrow. Last week’s comments by Cisco that technology spending is on the up may be the sort of signal to encourage further support for the company, but with competitor Orange launching their UK iPhone sales on the [...]
Strike threat still on at BA as court date pushed to next year November 5, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ (BA) staff will still be balloted on strike action over the Christmas period, despite the union’s legal challenge to new contracts being delayed. The Unite union had requested a High Court injunction to block new working patterns, which BA is enforcing as it seeks desperately to cut costs at the airline, but the [...]
OUT OF OFFICE November 5, 2009 FILM BRIGHT STAR Ben Wishaw stars as Thomas Keats in Jane Campion’s powerful biopic. A CHRISTMAS Carol Animated version of the Dickens classic, with Jim Carrey as Scrooge. CD ROBBIE WILLIAMS Robbie’s first album in three years is called Video Killed the Radio Star. SNOW PATROL The Irish band’s Best Of should show they weren’t [...]
UK retail sales to dip in 2010 November 4, 2009 British retail sales will be flat over Christmas and are expected to fall 1.5 per cent in 2010, according to data from Deloitte. The business advisory firm said shoppers were moving towards supermarket groups and non-food retailers need to focus more on differentiating their products and improving customer service.