Beyond Tokyo Japan offers tranquility, history and cute monkeys July 12, 2009 KYOTOWhen America was at war with Japan, it left Kyoto off of its list of air raid targets. Even as an enemy, the US realised that it would be inhuman to destroy the city, with its countless temples and winding streets that drip with history, some of it dating back to the Eighth century. Having [...]
VT is building a great warchest so get ready for a spending spree May 13, 2009 For a man with cash burning a hole in his back pocket, VT Group’s chief executive Paul Lester looks surprisingly unruffled. He sits in the airy second floor boardroom of the defence and support services firm’s London offices in the Blue Fin Building and is happy to tell City A.M. what he plans to do [...]
Bang for your buck: what the world’s best business hotels offer June 7, 2009 BUSINESS hotels often promise the world, but they often disappoint. Small things like a slow internet connection, a restaurant that closes early or trouble getting hold of an iron can play havoc with your plans. To work, they have to get so many things right. Let’s face it, you’re only going to remember the one [...]
Construction plunges August 5, 2008 Construction activity fell to a record low in July, driven by the collapse of the housing market and the stuttering economy, the latest survey showed yesterday. According to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s construction PMI, building levels fell to 36.7 last month, from 38.8 in June. Any reading below 50 means the sector [...]
Construction plunges August 5, 2008 Construction activity fell to a record low in July, driven by the collapse of the housing market and the stuttering economy, the latest survey showed yesterday. According to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s construction PMI, building levels fell to 36.7 last month, from 38.8 in June. Any reading below 50 means the sector [...]
Falling rents delay plans at Cheesegrater August 15, 2008 Analysts yesterday said they were not surprised by British Land’s decision to postpone the development of its flagship City skyscraper, the “Cheesegrater”. The developer, which saw the value of its portfolio slide by 5 per cent to £6.3bn in the three months to June, said it now expects the 225 metre tower in the heart [...]
Quintain cuts Wembley jobs August 6, 2008 Developer Quintain unveiled plans to slash costs yesterday, saying it was cutting jobs at its Wembley project and will pay no dividend for up to two years. The property company, which is redeveloping the 85 acres surrounding the north London Wembley stadium into a large retail, leisure and residential scheme, said it was axing over [...]
More firms on brink of bankruptcy July 21, 2008 The number of companies in Britain that are facing bankruptcy rose 685 per cent in the last year, new figures have revealed. Some 4,258 firms faced “critical problems” – defined as being embroiled in some kind of insolvency related legal action – in the second quarter of 2008, compared with just 542 in the same [...]
The shape of things to come August 14, 2008 Government rules on green homes mean that eco-houses are coming. It’s time to get used to the idea, says Alex Delmar-Morgan Nobody denies that if the world heats up, we will have to change the way we live, build and get around. As recently as five years ago, phrases like “global warming” and “carbon emissions” [...]
Persimmon in mass job cull July 7, 2008 Persimmon, Britain’s most profitable housebuilder, will announce tomorrow that it is cutting 20 per cent of its workforce, in the latest mass cull to hit the beleaguered sector. Persimmon is expected to say it is making at least 1,000 redundancies in a trading update on Tuesday, as it attempts to reduce costs and ride out [...]