A true chalet paradise in the Alps September 16, 2009 ACTIVE Ski Retreats is not your average ski holiday resort. It’s not just that Sting has stayed in the chalet– it provides exceptional all-inclusive service, from the provision of the perfect ski boot, to delicious aperitifs to four course dinners, with an efficiency and enthusiasm that you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. All wood [...]
Back in the real world: how the rest of the country is coping a year on September 14, 2009 LET ME tell you about two pieces of writing. The first, a sign in an independent wine shop in an expensive part of London which I regularly cycle past on my way to work. It reads: “Just because we’re in recession doesn’t mean we have to drink bad wine.” The second is a piece of [...]
CPAlawyers set for riches September 13, 2009 A GROUP of 230 lawyers who control legal outsourcing firm Computer Patent Annuities (CPA) are all set to be made millionaires, as the firm gears up for a stake sale to private equity. The firm, which offers intellectual property support services, is expected to sell at least a quarter of its equity in a transaction [...]
Home Retail Group boosted by kitchens September 10, 2009 HOMEBASE and Argos owner Home Retail Group said yesterday it would match the previous year’s interim underlying profits, as sales of televisions and kitchens held up through the slump. Benchmark profit before tax will be “broadly in line” with last year’s £121m, it said. The group said customers were staying at home in the recession, [...]
Thorntons says the end of recession is now in sight September 9, 2009 CHOCOLATE retailer Thorntons yesterday posted a 4.5 per cent fall in full-year profit, as tighter margins offset a rise in sales, but said the recession appeared to be easing and trade was improving. The 98-year-old chocolate maker on reported a pre-tax profit of £81m for the year to June 27, including a one-off £1.8m pension [...]
PR PRO FULD CORNERED AT COUNTRY RETREAT September 8, 2009 SOMEONE has finally cornered former Lehman Brothers chief Dick Fuld, the “gorilla” of Wall Street, at his idyllic country pad in Idaho, just a week before the anniversary of the firm’s collapse. “You don’t have a gun; that’s good,” was Fuld’s opening shot to the Reuters reporter, before adding: “I’ve been pummelled, I’ve been dumped [...]
Flutter on football, and maybe make a mint on Murray September 6, 2009 FOR those who like a bit of spread betting to enliven their sport, the first big event is England’s World Cup qualifier against Croatia on Wednesday night, in which an England win will guarantee a journey to South Africa next year to see if Fabio Capello can succeed where countless others have failed. (The odds [...]
UK set for square root-shaped recovery September 6, 2009 IT is almost official: we are out of recession. The economy is growing again, albeit at a snail’s pace, the equity and debt markets have bounced back, some firms are posting higher profits and there has been a mini-renaissance in City deal-making. All of which is great news but certainly not enough to uncork the [...]
More retailers could follow Woolies as hard times continue August 31, 2009 RETAILERS were in August their most positive since November 2007, a recent survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed. Only 2 per cent of retailers surveyed by the CBI in August are expecting the situation to get worse, despite high street sales falling for the fourth month running. And indeed, with all the [...]
Tesco’s rivals eat into its market share August 18, 2009 TESCO, the UK’s biggest retailer, is continuing to lose market share, according to new figures, despite relaunching its Clubcard. The supermarket recently beefed up its loyalty card scheme, offering shoppers two points for every £1 spent, as opposed to just one. It had hoped the tactics would stop customers shopping at rivals like Asda and [...]