Fly away to the fantastical mountains of St Lucia September 22, 2013 There’s a lot of local charm beyond the idyllic beaches, azure waters and postcard sunsets, says Oliver Pickup WHAT connects Superman, Amy Winehouse, Oprah Winfrey, Blackbeard and Napoléon Bonaparte? No, it’s not my ultimate dinner party guest list – although that would be some karaoke line up. The link is that they have all been [...]
Team IT with these top accessories February 13, 2013 John Lobb Oxford shoes, £655 mrporter.com Bottega Veneta Curved intrecciato cufflinks, £270 mrporter.com Mulberry Heathcliffe leather briefcase, £895 mulberry.com
Review: Only God Forgives August 1, 2013 FILM ONLY GOD FORGIVES Cert 18 | By Steve Dinneen Three stars SO, ONLY God Forgives… Owwwwkaaaaaaay… Nicholas Winding Refn’s blood-soaked Bangkok revenge movie makes his previous film, Drive, look like a kids movie about a plucky stuntman. It’s essentially a collection of stylish, exquisitely orchestrated but disjointed scenes portraying a level of graphic violence [...]
Inflation remains unchanged at 2.7 per cent in January February 12, 2013 UK inflation remained unexpectedly flat for the fourth consecutive month in January at 2.7 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. It marks the longest period in which consumer price inflation growth has remained unchanged. The biggest upward contribution came from an 8.5 per cent rise in the price of alcohol [...]
Mark Carney to be grilled by MPs January 31, 2013 The future governor of the Bank of England will appear before a parliamentary committee on Thursday next week, the first public scrutiny of the man set to fill Sir Mervyn King’s shoes in June. Carney, currently governor of the Canadian central bank, will face MPs from the heavyweight Treasury select committee, chaired by Andrew Tyrie, [...]
KKR CASHES IN AS BOOTS SOLD IN $16BN PLAN June 19, 2012 PRIVATE equity firm KKR yesterday confounded its critics by pulling off a deal to sell 45 per cent of pharmaceutical giant Alliance Boots to US firm Walgreens for an initial $6.7bn (£4.3bn). In three years Walgreens will have the option to complete the takeover and buy the remaining 55 per cent stake. The deal will create [...]
Walgreens puts on its Boots to look for profit overseas June 19, 2012 HAS Walgreens just secured exclusive rights to the elixir of youth? By joining forces with Alliance Boots, the US pharmacist gains the UK high street stalwart’s No7 Protect & Perfect anti-ageing cream, made famous by a BBC Horizon episode in 2007 and a clinical trial supporting its effectiveness in 2009. That’s a handy flourish on [...]
In defence of One Direction: Why high earnings are no reflection of morality April 19, 2013 THE One Direction backlash has begun. Yesterday, critics reportedly dubbed the boy band’s £25m earnings last year “insensitive” and “grossly immoral”. Not only are millions of Directioners now up in arms, but an economics howler was committed to boot. Criticisms like these forget why it is that people get rich. Earnings are not a reflection [...]
Baugur chief to burger king January 13, 2013 Former Baugur chief Jon Asgeir Johannesson has re-emerged on the UK investment landscape – as an angel investor in an artisan beef burger maker. Johannesson, who led investments in some of the UK’s biggest high street names before the financial crash, has taken a 25 per cent stake in Muddy Boots Real Foods, a family [...]
Aviation bosses set out their stalls for London expansion February 13, 2013 TRANSPORT bosses locked horns over how to provide London with more flights yesterday, as rival firms ramp up campaigns aimed at the coalition’s Davies Commission on the future of air travel. Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said his firm will propose to Davies that the UK should allow a new runway each at Gatwick and [...]