Slope back to the mountains one last time February 7, 2010 IT is around this time of year that the travel negotiations begin in earnest. At Christmas time, in our house anyway, the trading begins with: “I’ll see your night out with the boys, and raise you one spa weekend with the girls.” Now, with the “big” winter holidays behind us, there’s a desperate dash going [...]
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 [...]
HELL ON HIGH WATER January 3, 2010 Everyone’s favourite daredevil chief executive, Helical Bar boss Mike Slade, has been up to his old tricks again over the Christmas period in his ICAP Leopard super-maxi racing yacht. Slade, who’s broken a whole haul of records with the yacht since launching it on the race circuit, was unable to take line honours in the [...]
Indulge with a basket of gourmet treats November 23, 2009 IN the season of excess, hampers overflowing with foodie favourites and boozy delights have become central to our idea of seasonal indulgence. And these days they’re better than ever – the organic revolution and revival of interest in quality local food means that the best hampers are bursting with variety and class. Artisan cheeses, mouth-watering [...]
WH Smith is still upbeat in spite of drop in sales January 27, 2010 WH SMITH yesterday reported a four per cent drop in group like-for-like sales as customers bought fewer books. The figures for the 21 weeks to last weekend showed that the retailer’s High Street stores saw a comparative sales fall of five per cent while sales at its travel-based outlets dipped by two per cent. WH [...]
Eurostar train drivers set to strike on Friday over wages December 16, 2009 British train drivers on Eurostar services will strike on Friday and Saturday over pay, but the company yesterday said it expected no disruption for pre-Christmas travellers. Eurostar trains link London to Paris and Brussels and the coming few days are usually among the busiest of the year ahead of the Christmas holiday. A spokesman for [...]
Pearson raises its full year forecasts January 19, 2010 PEARSON, the publisher of the Financial Times and Penguin books, yesterday raised its full-year earnings forecast after it was buoyed by the success of its digital education business. Schools in Europe and America are discarding their dog-eared textbooks in favour of computerised learning materials, an area where Pearson has invested heavily. The firm said it [...]
Omega board faces coup January 3, 2010 OMEGA Insurance is under increasing pressure to replace the directors of its board after Invesco Perpetual, its largest shareholder, secured the backing of other investors to request a special general meeting. Neil Woodford, Invesco’s star fund manager, wants to oust Walter Fiederowicz and replace him with former Benfield man John Coldman as chairman of the [...]
LINKS OF LONDON FORECASTS FURTHER GROWTH THIS YEAR January 5, 2010 STRONG Christmas trading helped luxury jeweller Links of London enjoy a record year despite the recession. The company yesterday said it expected sales for 2009 to be up at least 28 per cent on the previous year’s figure in excess of £60m. Sales for 2007 were just over £45m. Links, known for its popular “sweetie [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW DO YOU EXPECT TESCO TO HAVE PERFORMED THIS TIME? January 10, 2010 JONATHAN PRITCHARD | ORIEL SECURITIES I see the figures being as much as four per cent up on last year. The Clubcard doubling of points has made a big difference and I cannot see any reason why the figures should not follow the trend of Sainsbury’s and be significantly up. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN [...]