NEWS from the SHOP March 29, 2012 Ted Baker quick to the draw with its new Spring/Summer menswear collection Ted Baker launched its menswear Spring/Summer collection this month, rather grandiosely dubbed The Great Exhibitionist and His Private Views. Its business-wear range focuses on suits in taupe, silver and navy jacquard, with a tendency towards lustrous material – very indicative of the bolder [...]
Salvage act not enough for Ferguson February 5, 2012 CHELSEA (3) vs MANCHESTER UNITED (3) MANCHESTER UNITED staged a trademark act of escapology, coming from 3-0 down to rescue a draw – but their manager Alex Ferguson insisted it still felt like two points dropped as his side failed to keep pace with rivals and Premier League leaders Manchester City. Unlucky to be trailing [...]
FIVE STAR REDS February 26, 2012 ARSENAL (5) vs TOTTENHAM (2) Revitalised Arsenal roar back from two goals down to defeat bitter rivals Tottenham as Wenger sets sights on pinching third place ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger insists his side can still finish the season ahead of Tottenham after they came from two goals down to blitz their bitter rivals in a [...]
Jobs fear cuts short protest January 22, 2012 THE protesters entered quickly and quietly in trademark style. They left with similar speed, however, when they realised their takeover of a City office block – owned by Berkeley Homes – risked adding to the ranks of the poor, rather than helping them. The takeover of Roman House in the Barbican was the shortest of the [...]
Fitness First faces £550m restructure January 22, 2012 GYM giant Fitness First is restructuring its £550m debt pile just months after global market turmoil forced it to put off a float in Singapore. The chain, which is owned by private equity house BC Partners, is set to meet its lenders over the coming months because of an expectation it will breach the terms [...]
HMV gets Xmas sales still flagging January 9, 2012 Struggling British entertainment retailer HMV got a little respite over Christmas as sales declines slowed, providing a glimmer of hope the firm may have a future. The group, which last month posted wider first-half losses, said it was in danger of going out of business and put its HMV Live division up for sale, said [...]
SuperGroup sales jump over Christmas January 11, 2012 SuperGroup, the company behind the Superdry fashion brand, posted a 22 per cent rise in group sales over the key Christmas period as it overcame distribution issues which had dogged the firm in 2011. The company, whose clothes are a favourite of celebrities such as David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio and Zac Efron, said total sales [...]
The Artist is an unmitigated triumph December 22, 2011 Film THE ARTIST ***** CERT: PG BY STEVIE MARTIN It may be silent, it may be black and white and you may not have heard of the leads, but don’t leave this fantastically original offering from frenchman Michel Hazanavicius to the artsy types. Impressing at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, this is a [...]
The Artist is an unmitigated triumph December 22, 2011 Film THE ARTIST ***** CERT: PG BY STEVIE MARTIN It may be silent, it may be black and white and you may not have heard of the leads, but don’t leave this fantastically original offering from frenchman Michel Hazanavicius to the artsy types. Impressing at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, this is a [...]
HAWAIIAN SHIRTS SET THE AGENDA FOR FEDERAL RESERVE COMEDIANS January 15, 2012 THE SUB-PRIME mortgage meltdown was rumbling ever-louder in the background, but the 2006 meetings of the Federal Reserve were still a laugh a minute. The transcripts of that year’s meetings of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee were released at the end of last week after a standard five-year delay. But for readers who didn’t [...]