World Business Briefing: Russia: Economy Expanded In Quarter Russia’s economy expanded in the first quarter at the fastest pace in six years as production of building materials increased to keep pace with a construction boom and consumer demand remained strong.... Read Full Article You Can Go Home Again, But Why? The newest Peninsula hotel in Tokyo has a seductive high-tech embrace.... Read Full Article Massive Blow To Free-to-air TV Networks buckle on jealously guarded electronic program guide which will now be available to all manufacturers.... Read Full Article TV Sports: A Race And Commercials Almost Merge Into One No other major sport uses its athletes as much as Nascar does, but, then, no other sport is as linked to its sponsors as Nascar is.... Read Full Article U.S.-Made Toys Benefit From China’s Troubles Manufacturers of American-made toys are emphasizing their products? safety after Chinese product recalls.... Read Full Article |
Instance NewsJust enough power to save themselvesEmerging market evangelism is nothing new, but often it has been based on dodgy data. In the 5th century BC, for instance, Herodotus, the Greek “father of history”, produced what might be regarded as the earliest commodities note. It described “ants bigger than foxes but smaller than dogs” that were mining gold in Asia.Read Full Article Toyshop Hamleys seeks to enter Indian marketHamleys, the world-famous toyshop, is preparing to enter the Indian market through a joint venture with one of the sub-continent’s largest industrial conglomerates.<br/> <br/> A source close to Reliance Industries, which is controlled by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, said that the group had held talks with the 248-year-old British-based retailer. A tie-up could be agreed within a month.<br/> <br/> As a British institution with an international reputation, Hamleys is likely to enjoy a head start in new markets. Its flagship shop in Regent Street is one of London’s ten most popular tourist attractions, with four million visitors a year.<br/> <br/> The durability of the Hamleys brand in the age of the Apple iPod and the Nintendo Wii was confirmed over the Christmas trading period when it emerged as a high street winner. Like-for-like sales rose by 11.3 per cent in the final five weeks of 2007, compared with a year earlier. Internet sales were up by 46 per cent, and revenues at the Regent Street store rose 7.7 per cent.<br/> <br/> Hamleys prides itself on a history of breaking down cultural barriers. A century ago, for instance, it became the first store in Britain to sell a novelty game from China called ping pong.<br/> <br/> Hamleys was acquired by Baugur, the Icelandic investor that owns Oasis and House of Fraser, for £47 million in 2003 and has since set its sights on international expansion. The group has a small presence in Denmark and is set to open in Jordan next month, the first of several stores planned for the Middle East.<br/> <br/> The retailer is also talking to potential partners in emerging markets, including China, as part of an ambitious plan to triple its revenues to about £150 million in the next three to five years.<br/> <br/> However, the group will face some hurdles in India. Its partnership with Reliance, the largest private sector company in India, is likely to have to take the form of an arm’s-length licensing deal, because retailers that sell several brands – as Hamleys does – are barred from investing directly in the Indian market.<br/> <br/> India’s highly fragmented retail industry is estimated to be worth nearly £200 billion a year and is expected to double in value by 2015. However, the prospect of foreign chains entering the market has triggered political concern amid protests from independent retailers.<br/> <br/> Gauging the Indian consumer’s willingness to splash out on relatively expensive toys will also be crucial. Marks & Spencer, which is also in talks with Reliance, has failed to make an impression in India so far after pricing itself out of the market. At the end of last year it was forced to reduce prices for its clothes, which it sells through an Indian joint venture, by up to a third.<br/> <br/> Reliance, whose interests range from chemical production to fresh food, appears to have set its eyes on the high end of the Indian market. The group is planning to build a number of shopping centres in large cities, including Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore, to appeal to the burgeoning middle classes. It has also held talks with the luxury marques Versace, Bulgari and Cartier.<br/> <br/> A Reliance source said: “We expect to have something substantial to announce in four to five months.”<br/> <br/> The talks came after Reliance rebuffed partnership approaches from the world’s three largest retailers - Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco – to strike out on its own.Read Full Article Key adviser says that UK’s new nuclear policy is flawedThe Government’s nuclear energy policy is fundamentally flawed because it relies on the “fiction” that a new generation of reactors can be built without state support, according to a key government adviser.<br/> <br/> Dieter Helm, Professor of Energy Policy at New College, Oxford, who has helped to shape energy policy for the past decade, is about to publish a paper in which he will lambast the Government’s new push on nuclear power.<br/> <br/> He told The Times that no country had developed nuclear power stations in such a way and that he believed that the Government would be forced to rig the market to ensure that new nuclear stations were built.<br/> <br/> Dr Helm said that the Government’s position, set out in a White Paper this month, was questionable on several fronts. “There never has been and never will be a nuclear power programme that is totally dependent on the market,” he said, adding that this was because of the extremely long time-frame required for nuclear investments - at least 50 years between upfront costs and decommissioning.<br/> <br/> He said that the Government should drop its “fig-leaf” approach and start detailed long-term planning itself.<br/> <br/> One problem that complicates the Government’s approach is that there is no long-term guarantee that a high price will exist for carbon, a vital prerequisite if funding is to be attracted. Dr Helm proposed a system in which the Government would auction long-term contracts for the supply of carbon emissions reductions over a far longer period, for instance 20 or 30 years. This would provide a revenue stream that could be used to secure finance.<br/> <br/> Dr Helm also criticised the linchpin role of British Energy, the struggling generator that owns eight of the most desirable UK sites earmarked for new build, as a potentially huge strategic mistake that could lead to “piecemeal decision-making” and spiralling costs. Because there are few other credible sites for new plants, the company is effectively able to pick and choose which will be used and which utilities it will choose to operate them.<br/> <br/> “The allocation of sites is being distorted by British Energy’s agenda and its desire to play a role in new nuclear generation,” he said. Dr Helm called for the Government to strip British Energy of the sites and for these to be auctioned to bigger utilities.<br/> <br/> British Energy rejected his claims, arguing that it is “ready for new build and has the sites, people, skills and experience essential to success”.<br/> <br/> Dr Helm said that on the issue of waste, the White Paper had effectively proposed a system in which utilities would pay for the State to absorb the risks of handling nuclear waste in exchange for payments into a fund: “It’s a fixed-price contract for the Government to take the waste. The Government absorbs the final-end risk.”<br/> <br/> Dr Helm, who is chairman of an advisory panel to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and a member of the panel on Energy and Climate Security at the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Department, was a member of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Sustainable Energy Policy Advisory Board from 2002 to 2007.<br/> <br/> A spokesman for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said: “We have been clear that new nuclear will be paid for by the private sector, so it is for energy companies to make a judgment about the economics of nuclear power.”Read Full Article Economy may be slowing but it is changing for the betterThe economic outlook for Britain has changed significantly during the past 12 months. The liquidity crunch, for instance, means that there is now less mortgage finance available and it is more expensive.Read Full Article Gaza Rocket Is Said to Have Longer RangePalestinian militants fired a Katyusha rocket in a rare instance of the use of a more sophisticated missile than the usual crude, Gaza-made Qassams.Read Full Article External News for: instanceOfficials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying ... - Baltimore SunOfficials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying ...Baltimore SunAccording to a disturbing report on OregonLive.com, earlier this month a 10-year old cat was brought to a clinic with shallow breathing and a very high ...and more »Officials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying ... - Baltimore SunOfficials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying ...Baltimore SunAccording to a disturbing report on OregonLive.com, earlier this month a 10-year old cat was brought to a clinic with shallow breathing and a very high ...and more »USC professor creates an entire alien language for 'Avatar' - Los Angeles TimesUSC professor creates an entire alien language for 'Avatar'Los Angeles TimesThis modern era of moviemaking has plenty of peculiar challenges for actors -- on green-screen sets, for instance, they have to watch a ping-pong ball ...and more »Officials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying ... - Baltimore SunOfficials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying ...Baltimore SunAccording to a disturbing report on OregonLive.com, earlier this month a 10-year old cat was brought to a clinic with shallow breathing and a very high ...and more »USC professor creates an entire alien language for 'Avatar' - Los Angeles TimesUSC professor creates an entire alien language for 'Avatar'Los Angeles TimesThis modern era of moviemaking has plenty of peculiar challenges for actors -- on green-screen sets, for instance, they have to watch a ping-pong ball ...and more »Sorry Ireland, what's done is done - MiamiHerald.comTelegraph.co.ukSorry Ireland, what's done is doneMiamiHerald.comHowever, their appeal was denied because in that instance, an Uzbekistan player entered the Bahrain defensive area while a penalty was being taken by one of ...Thierry Henry's handball proves that cheats sometimes do prosperguardian.co.ukDES KELLY: Dishonest Thierry Henry drives us down a road of camerasDaily MailIrish FA 'should sue over handball'The Press AssociationGaming Supermarket -Bleacher Report -WalesOnlineall 5,569 news articles » |
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