Walzem Road improvements It’s taken a few years, but the…
It’s been nearly 28 months since Rackspace Hosting Inc. filed an explosive lawsuit alleging that it was ripped off in a Windcrest land deal, but the dispute isn’t any closer to being resolved.
Rackspace’s lawsuit to recover about $2.8 million that it says San Antonio developer Gary Cain fraudulently received was set to go to trial Monday. But it has been rescheduled for Oct. 1.
High street giant Marks & Spencer said today that it would roll out more discounts in a bid to pull in customers after weak homewares sales dragged on its Christmas performance.
M&S, which has more than 700 stores in the UK, recorded a 1.8 per cent like-for-like decline in general merchandise sales, excluding VAT, in the 13 weeks to 31 December, while food sales were up 3 per cent.
THE House of Avalon vintage clothing and coffee shop in High Petergate, York, is to close at the end of the month.
The shop, which opened in May 2010, is a social enterprise project by Harrogate-based non-profit organisation The Avalon Group, which works with adults who need support to live the life they choose, such as people with learning disabilities, mental health needs, and older adults.
House of Avalon has since made its presence felt in York’s vintage scene, taking part in catwalk shows, fairs and Fashion City York.
It issued a statement on Facebook and Twitter that said: “With great regret we must announce that The House of Avalon is to close, effective from Tuesday, January 31. This is due to a number of factors relating to the current economic climate.
“We are now having a 50 per cent off sale on all stock (excluding furniture). We thank you deeply for your custom, support and interest in our much loved vintage shop and café on High Petergate, York.”
INTERNATIONAL. Carlos Ghosn is spending more than a billion US Dollars to get a better foothold in Brazil.
To the lay observer, it’s hard to pinpoint just what’s going on in the car industry today: in Europe, the debt crisis means that car sales for 2012 are going to be uncertain; however, car sales in Brazil, Russia, India and China -the BRICS- are heading into another record year.
On the other hand, the Japanese yen has been steadily increasing in value against the U.S. dollar, making it very expensive to continue manufacturing cars in Japan, forcing carmakers to relocate their assembly lines.
Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, is among them. Unveiled in October, Nissan plans to spend US$1.4 billion on a new factory in Brazil and expand its existing Renault plant there.
Speaking to INSEAD Knowledge on the sidelines of the Women’s Forum of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards in Deauville recently, Ghosn said “The ramp up of the plant should be very fast.” Indeed. It’s expect
The owner of British Airways today tightened its noose around Heathrow with a 172.5 million acquisition of bmi that rival bidder Virgin Atlantic’s founder Sir Richard Branson claimed would “screw the travelling public”.
The deal gives IAG, the holding company of BA and Iberia, 56 more landing slots at Heathrow, lifting its share of the schedule at the world’s busiest airport from 45% to 53%.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, admitted that there would be job losses when bmi – which has 2500 employees – is bought from Germany’s Lufthansa, although he said exact numbers were not yet known. But Walsh hit back at Branson’s attack on the impact on consumers, saying: “I don’t take any notice of what he says. I don’t think you’d expect him to come out with anything apart from opposition.”
Walsh claimed the move was “good news for London and the UK” since BA will switch most of bmi’s short-haul slots to long-haul destinations in emerging markets including China, Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam. Read Full Article…
A diverse workforce helps businesses flourish and leads to a stronger staff of employees, a new study finds.
Led by Ryerson University professor Kristyn Scott, the study revealed that the more diverse a company’s workforce is, the more loyal, happy and productive its employees tend to be.
In order for the results to be seen, Scott said the commitment to diversity must be more than just superficial.
As opposed to a business that simply does what research and popular practice tells them to, such as showing pictures of diverse workers on their website, Scott believes businesses need to reinforce their commitment to diversity in every aspect of their corporate culture and practices to fully reap the rewards of a diverse staff.
“When you have an inclusive corporate culture, recruiting top talent becomes easier, group processes will be enhanced, which means employees are more likely to stay, which, in turn, increases the company’s bottom line,” Scott said.
The study uses the Campbell Soup Company as an admirable example of a diverse organization. Som
Walzem Road improvements It’s taken a few years, but the… 
