E-book readers, 3D TVs and tablet PCs compete to be top dog of 2010 January 10, 2010 HYPE and prototypes dominated the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. From the Ford car that lets you send Twitter messages while driving, to the scuba diving mask that can shoot high definition video at depths of 130 feet, the vast majority of products on display will not hit the mainstream. The [...]
Stars and spas in California’s flashy south January 10, 2010 THE Southern California sunshine danced on the ocean off Newport Beach as we stepped aboard the boat where we would be eating our lunch. We opened the champagne, tucked into the picnic, and took it in turns at the helm to guide the boat, silent as a whisper around the bay. This was a brilliant [...]
Cold weather helps to boost Domino’s January 6, 2010 DOMINO’S PIZZA said yesterday people staying in because of the cold weather helped its sales beat City forecasts. The fast food delivery chain, which has 608 stores in the UK and Ireland, said in a fourth quarter trading update like-for-like sales rose 8.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to 27 December, despite the downturn [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 5, 2010 WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING FINANCIAL TIMES ALWALEED’S CITI SHARES TO BOLSTER KINGDOM Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud, the Saudi investor, revealed on Tuesday that he plans to shore up the balance sheet of his investment vehicle by “donating” SR2.24bn (€416m) of shares in Citigroup into it. Prince Alwaleed said the initiative would [...]
M&B appoints Joe Lewis man to board of directors January 4, 2010 MITCHELLS & Butlers (M&B), the pub and restaurant group, said yesterday it will appoint Ronald Robson, a representative of rebel shareholder Joe Lewis, to its board from 22 January. The appointment will need to be ratified by shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on 28 January, it added. Lewis’s investment vehicle, Piedmont, which is [...]
The river views in Istanbul are fit for a Sultan January 3, 2010 IF you have never been to Istanbul, then this is the year to do it. the Turkish capital is one of the two European Capitals of Culture for 2010 it is sharing the privilege with Pecs, in Hungary. Istanbul is an interesting choice: it has long been considered the meeting place between east and west, [...]
London is the big smoke for cigar connoisseurs January 3, 2010 Those resolutions are going up in flames in the city’s new breed of smoking terraces, writes Timothy Barber SITTING back on a luxurious sofa with a glass of fine champagne in one hand and a cigar in the other, I’m among a group of around 25 men and a couple of women sending up a [...]
CORPORATE SCROOGES FAIL TO PUT DAMPENER ON XMAS PARTY SPIRIT December 21, 2009 ANOTHER year, another load of City types wistfully remembering the good old champagne-soaked extravagances of old? Well, not exactly. Company bosses are certainly trying to give the impression of having left behind those days for good, what with all those blanket bans on corporate decorations, measly £10-a-head allowances at the likes of Royal Bank of [...]
YO! Sushi owner raises its turnover December 17, 2009 Quilvest, the private equity firm behind the buyout of Japanese restaurant company YO! Sushi, more than doubled its turnover last year. The UK arm of Quilvest, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, generated revenues of £1.2m – up from £503,000 in 2007. However, accounts filed at Companies House show Quilvest UK turned a profit of just [...]
M&B opens door to rebel appointments December 17, 2009 PUB and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers has invited the four candidates put forward to join its board by rebel shareholder Joe Lewis to meet with headhunters and its nomination committee. The operator of All Bar One and Harvester yesterday said the meetings would enable it to formulate its recommendations as to how shareholders should [...]