Hertz drives forward with growth plan April 26, 2010 CAR rental group Hertz yesterday agreed to buy smaller rival Dollar Thrifty for about $1.2bn in a deal that will make it the second-biggest US car rental company. Shares of Hertz, which also raised its earnings and revenue outlooks for 2010, rose as much as 18 per cent to touch a two-year high after the [...]
Opportunities for growth in green Asia April 13, 2010 TAKE a trip around emerging Asia these days and you won’t just see skyscrapers and coal-fired power plants growing out of places where there were once nothing but fields. Wind turbines, solar energy plants, incinerator manufacturers, water treatment plants and microirrigation developments are just as likely to spring up before your eyes. There is now [...]
Mything in action March 31, 2010 Film CLASH OF THE TITANS Cert: 12A THE first action blockbuster of the Spring is no classic, but as forgettable, brain-dead holiday entertainment it just about gets the job done. Starring man-of-the-moment Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation) as Greek demi-god Perseus, it’s a remake of the 1981 film that was chiefly notable for its stop-motion [...]
Greek tragedy will continue despite bailout and bond issue March 29, 2010 RIDING the wave of positive sentiment following the announcement of the EU’s support mechanism, the Greek Debt Management Agency yesterday sold €5bn of seven-year government bonds. As predicted, the response was poor and the yield very high, raising the chances that Greece will have to ask for help and Germany – despite its recent protests [...]
CITY TAKES AN OUTSIDE PUNT ON THE BUBBLY March 23, 2010 AMUSED ripples radiated from the City yesterday following this column’s speculation as to what tipple George Osborne – likely to be the country’s next chancellor if the Tories win the election – might drink if he ends up presenting the next Budget. It seems most readers agreed with The Capitalist’s prediction that Osborne would stick [...]
The budget is Darling’s last chance to convince voters and markets March 23, 2010 MORE than one budget is expected this year, and there is a good chance that tomorrow’s will be superseded by another once the election has been fought and won. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that there is still an awful lot riding on chancellor Alistair Darling’s words this week. Firstly, the budget provides [...]
Future sees its revenues tumble 12pc February 10, 2010 Playstation Magazine publisher Future said yesterday that first-quarter revenue fell 12 per cent and it expected trading conditions to remain difficult throughout 2010. The company said projected growth rates were very low and advertising budgets remained soft against tough competition, which continued to put pressure on yields. Future, whose special-interest magazines and websites range from [...]
For a late winter ski trip, north-east France is a red hot option February 8, 2010 YOU will hear many British voices on the slopes of the French ski resort of Morzine, but despite the fact that “the Brits are here” the region still retains a Gallic shrug. Unlike Meribel, which has long since been colonised by Brits, and where the main town is full of raucous British pubs like Dick’s [...]
Peacocks fashion expansion after strong Christmas trade January 10, 2010 Budget fashion chain Peacocks added to signs of a robust Christmas for Britain’s retailers, helped by its tie-up with singer-turned-designer Pearl Lowe, and yesterday said it planned to step up its expansion. The firm, taken private in 2005 by a consortium including US hedge funds Perry Capital and Och-Ziff, said sales at stores open at [...]
Brown drags down Labour’s election chances as punters look to Lib Dems January 10, 2010 RIGHT at the height of the aborted coup attempt by Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt last week, a Labour local council leader went on the radio and said that the leadership of the party is not an issue. Even if Jesus Christ came back and took over, he said, some people would never vote for [...]