Italian luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo is close to agreeing a deal to pay a record UK rent at its Bond Street store that will break the 1,000 pounds ($1,576) per square foot mark for the first time, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters.
The deal would break the previous record of 965 pounds per square foot for the valuable Zone A front section of a store set by jeweler Piaget on the same glitzy central London shopping strip in December 2009.
Under the deal between landlord NFU Mutual pension fund and Ferragamo, the retailer will extend its lease and increase its rent from 600 pounds to 1059 pounds per square foot at 24 Old Bond Street as part of a plan to expand its retail space, the source said.
Bond Street rents far exceed other central London shopping streets. Rents on the second most expensive strip of Oxford Street are on average 200 pounds per square foot lower and Marylebone High Street peaks at about 225 pounds.
NFU declined to comment. Ferragamo was not immediately available to comment.
Fierce competition for space on Bond Street, the UK's most expensive shopping stretch and the second priciest in Europe behind Paris' Avenue des Champs Elysées, has driven up rents and spurred deep-pocketed retailers to buy stores in order to guarantee ownership of top sites.
Unlike mid-market retailers, luxury brands have bounced back strongly from the depths of the 2008 downturn, helped by strong demand from emerging markets such as China and Russia.
The acute space shortage on the half mile stretch combined with strong demand from global brands that see a Bond Street presence as essential to European expansion plans, may boost rents to 1,500 pounds by 2013, consultancy Cushman & Wakefield said.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
China bans toddler palm-reading assessments
China has banned kindergartens in a northern province from offering palm-reading tests that the schools had claimed could predict toddlers' intelligence level and potential, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. Although many parents in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, eagerly brought their children to be tested, some later complained about the high cost and raised questions about the testing method, which test-givers said could reveal the children's aptitude in music, mathematics and languages.
"We have issued a circular to criticize the three kindergartens that offered palm-reading tests for 1,200 yuan ($190) per person," Xinhua quoted Ma Zhaoxing, the local education bureau chief, as saying, adding that the practice had been banned.
Authorities were investigating whether the company that designed the tests, Shanxi Daomeng Culture Communication Co., Ltd., had violated any laws, Xinhua said.
Fortune-telling, including palm-reading, has deep roots in Chinese tradition, although China's leaders have discouraged and punished devotees of the practice which they brand superstition.
"We have issued a circular to criticize the three kindergartens that offered palm-reading tests for 1,200 yuan ($190) per person," Xinhua quoted Ma Zhaoxing, the local education bureau chief, as saying, adding that the practice had been banned.
Authorities were investigating whether the company that designed the tests, Shanxi Daomeng Culture Communication Co., Ltd., had violated any laws, Xinhua said.
Fortune-telling, including palm-reading, has deep roots in Chinese tradition, although China's leaders have discouraged and punished devotees of the practice which they brand superstition.
Big freeze stops famed Brussels statue from peeing
The Manneken-Pis, a bronze statue of a young boy urinating that is a symbol of Brussels and a major tourist attraction, has had to stop peeing because of sub-zero temperatures, Belgium's tourist office said on Wednesday. Officials turned off the flow of water through the statue, which has stood on a Brussels corner since the 1600s, out of concern the cold might damage its internal mechanism.
Temperatures in the Belgian capital were set to fall to minus 10 Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday night, far below the average minimum for February.
"It all depends on the weather, if the temperatures go up again it will work again," a tourist office spokeswoman said.
The statue, which is on the site of a 15th Century drinking fountain, has more than 800 specially made outfits which city officials use to dress it up during the year. It is one of Brussels' most popular attractions.
For more information about the statue and to see pictures: http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm/4328
Temperatures in the Belgian capital were set to fall to minus 10 Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday night, far below the average minimum for February.
"It all depends on the weather, if the temperatures go up again it will work again," a tourist office spokeswoman said.
The statue, which is on the site of a 15th Century drinking fountain, has more than 800 specially made outfits which city officials use to dress it up during the year. It is one of Brussels' most popular attractions.
For more information about the statue and to see pictures: http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm/4328
Wanted: Retirees to live in Ecuador for a month free
Interested in adventure and exploring new places? An international magazine is looking for volunteers to spend a month in Cuenca, Ecuador to test its potential as a retirement destination. Applicants must be near retirement age, from the United States or Canada and be willing to relax, explore, shop, try local restaurants, maybe take a Spanish class, and report on their experience during an all-expense paid month in the Latin American country.
"We're not giving away a free vacation," said Jennifer Stevens, the executive editor of International Living magazine, which launched the competition.
"The idea is we will find a candidate who is already thinking about living overseas, is excited about the prospect. We are looking for someone who is adventurous and eager to try something new," she added in an interview.
The winner of the competition, who will be announced on May 30th, will receive round-trip air fare for two, a furnished apartment and $1,500 in living expenses, according to an ad posted on InternationalLiving.com.
The magazine said the competition gives it the opportunity to show readers the benefits of retiring abroad.
Ecuador, Panama and Mexico, in that order, were the top destinations in the magazine's Retirement Index 2012, which assessed a country's retirement potential based on property prices, special benefits, cost of living, assimilation, entertainment, health infrastructure, healthcare and climate.
Malaysia, Colombia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Spain, Thailand and Honduras rounded out the top 10 destinations in the index.
InternationalLiving.com estimates that a couple can live in Cuenca for as little as $915 per month after rent.
It is the first competition of its kind for the magazine, which is expecting thousands of applicants. If it is successful, Stevens said she is open to repeating the opportunity.
"I'm hoping we can get tens of thousands of people interested," she said.
The contest is limited to Americans and Canadians because they make up the bulk of the magazine's readership.
People interested in entering the competition, either solo or as a couple, should post a video no longer than three minutes to YouTube saying why they would want to spend their golden years abroad, as well as a month in Ecuador.
The competition closes on March 15. Magazine staff will select a shortlist of 20 applicants which will be posted on its website where people can cast votes online. But the ultimate decision will be made by the magazine staff.
"Anyone can vote," Stevens said.
No writing experience is necessary but if the magazine publishes the winner's report, they will be paid its normal freelance rate.
"We're not giving away a free vacation," said Jennifer Stevens, the executive editor of International Living magazine, which launched the competition.
"The idea is we will find a candidate who is already thinking about living overseas, is excited about the prospect. We are looking for someone who is adventurous and eager to try something new," she added in an interview.
The winner of the competition, who will be announced on May 30th, will receive round-trip air fare for two, a furnished apartment and $1,500 in living expenses, according to an ad posted on InternationalLiving.com.
The magazine said the competition gives it the opportunity to show readers the benefits of retiring abroad.
Ecuador, Panama and Mexico, in that order, were the top destinations in the magazine's Retirement Index 2012, which assessed a country's retirement potential based on property prices, special benefits, cost of living, assimilation, entertainment, health infrastructure, healthcare and climate.
Malaysia, Colombia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Spain, Thailand and Honduras rounded out the top 10 destinations in the index.
InternationalLiving.com estimates that a couple can live in Cuenca for as little as $915 per month after rent.
It is the first competition of its kind for the magazine, which is expecting thousands of applicants. If it is successful, Stevens said she is open to repeating the opportunity.
"I'm hoping we can get tens of thousands of people interested," she said.
The contest is limited to Americans and Canadians because they make up the bulk of the magazine's readership.
People interested in entering the competition, either solo or as a couple, should post a video no longer than three minutes to YouTube saying why they would want to spend their golden years abroad, as well as a month in Ecuador.
The competition closes on March 15. Magazine staff will select a shortlist of 20 applicants which will be posted on its website where people can cast votes online. But the ultimate decision will be made by the magazine staff.
"Anyone can vote," Stevens said.
No writing experience is necessary but if the magazine publishes the winner's report, they will be paid its normal freelance rate.
U.S. border cops nab go-kart hauling Mexican pot
U.S. border cops in far-west Arizona have seized an off-road go-kart and trailer packed with marijuana, in the latest bizarre attempt by Mexican smugglers to beat beefed up border security. The Border Patrol's Yuma sector said agents and officers from the Cocopah Tribal Police Department spotted the single-seater go-kart hauling a trailer through the desert near Yuma, Arizona on Tuesday night and gave chase.
The driver abandoned the homemade vehicle, which was spray painted a desert beige, fitted with knobbly off-road tires, and towing a trailer packed with 217 pounds of marijuana, about 100 yards from the border, and fled back to Mexico.
"It's not something that we see very often," agent Spencer Tippets said of the attempt. "Smuggling organizations are always trying to adjust and change their tactics," he added.
In recent years U.S. authorities have added additional fencing, agents and technologies including unmanned surveillance drones to tighten security along Arizona's porous border with Mexico.
Drug traffickers have responded with a variety of ruses including strapping marijuana loads to low-flying microlight aircraft and even hurling it over the border fence using medieval style catapults.
The go-kart and marijuana, worth an estimated $108,600, were turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. No arrests were made.
The driver abandoned the homemade vehicle, which was spray painted a desert beige, fitted with knobbly off-road tires, and towing a trailer packed with 217 pounds of marijuana, about 100 yards from the border, and fled back to Mexico.
"It's not something that we see very often," agent Spencer Tippets said of the attempt. "Smuggling organizations are always trying to adjust and change their tactics," he added.
In recent years U.S. authorities have added additional fencing, agents and technologies including unmanned surveillance drones to tighten security along Arizona's porous border with Mexico.
Drug traffickers have responded with a variety of ruses including strapping marijuana loads to low-flying microlight aircraft and even hurling it over the border fence using medieval style catapults.
The go-kart and marijuana, worth an estimated $108,600, were turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. No arrests were made.
Miami named most miserable U.S. city
Warm sun, white beaches, and million-dollar mansions notwithstanding, Miami has captured the dubious distinction of being the most miserable city in the United States, according to a new poll. The playground of the rich and famous is home to a crippling housing crisis, one of the highest crime rates in the country, and lengthy daily commutes for workers, all of which have propelled it to the No. 1 position in the Forbes.com list.
"Miami has sun and beautiful weather but other things make people miserable. You have this two-tier society: glitzy South Beach attracts celebrities, but the income inequality has skyrocketed in recent years," explained Forbes Senior Editor Kurt Badenhausen.
The rankings are based on factors including jobless rates, violent crime, foreclosures, income and property taxes, as well as considerations like weather, commute time and political corruption.
Reeling for decades from the decline of the U.S. auto industry, Michigan's troubled duo of Detroit and Flint registered at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, among the most miserable cities.
"Detroit and Flint are struggling," said Badenhausen. "Violent crime is highest in the country in Detroit; housing prices are down 55 percent. Detroit is closing schools and laying off policemen. In recent years they have been demolishing houses to change their city landscapes"
West Palm Beach, Florida and Sacramento, California rounded out the top five cities.
"We're trying to judge cities where residents have a lot of complaints. It doesn't mean that there aren't terrific things there," he said.
And for the haves Miami's charms remain undiminished.
"The one percent in Miami is doing fantastic. But for the vast majority, who make less than $75,000 (a year), Miami can be a challenging place," he said. "Forty-seven percent of homeowners sit on underwater mortgages. That's tough."
The complete list can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/75clrr9
"Miami has sun and beautiful weather but other things make people miserable. You have this two-tier society: glitzy South Beach attracts celebrities, but the income inequality has skyrocketed in recent years," explained Forbes Senior Editor Kurt Badenhausen.
The rankings are based on factors including jobless rates, violent crime, foreclosures, income and property taxes, as well as considerations like weather, commute time and political corruption.
Reeling for decades from the decline of the U.S. auto industry, Michigan's troubled duo of Detroit and Flint registered at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, among the most miserable cities.
"Detroit and Flint are struggling," said Badenhausen. "Violent crime is highest in the country in Detroit; housing prices are down 55 percent. Detroit is closing schools and laying off policemen. In recent years they have been demolishing houses to change their city landscapes"
West Palm Beach, Florida and Sacramento, California rounded out the top five cities.
"We're trying to judge cities where residents have a lot of complaints. It doesn't mean that there aren't terrific things there," he said.
And for the haves Miami's charms remain undiminished.
"The one percent in Miami is doing fantastic. But for the vast majority, who make less than $75,000 (a year), Miami can be a challenging place," he said. "Forty-seven percent of homeowners sit on underwater mortgages. That's tough."
The complete list can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/75clrr9
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