The Villagio Mall, which opened in 2006, is an Italianate-themed shopping complex with a hotel, theme park and canal plied by gondolas.
Costco Wholesale has the Highest Free Cash Flow Per Share in the Hypermarkets & Super Centers Industry (COST, WMT, PSMT) - comcast.net
May 28, 2012 (Fast Lane via COMTEX News Network) -- Below are the three companies in the Hypermarkets & Super Centers industry with the highest free cash flow per share. FCF/share is a valuable metric signaling a company's ability to facilitate growth in the business.Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) is highest with FCF per share of $4.37. Costco Wholesale Corporation operates wholesale membership warehouses in multiple countries. The Company sells all kinds of food, automotive supplies, toys, hardware, sporting goods, jewelry, electronics, apparel, health and beauty aids, as well as other goods. In the past 52 weeks, shares of Costco Wholesale have traded between a low of $70.22 and a high of $92.10 and are now at $84.48, which is 20% above that low price. The 200-day and 50-day moving averages have moved 0.30% higher and 0.72% lower over the past week, respectively.
Following is Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) with FCF per share of $3.11. Finishing up the top three is Pricesmart (NASDAQ:PSMT), with FCF per share of $0.97. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial News Network Online (FNNO) is a leading provider of digital financial news content for distribution on the web. You can count on FNNO to bring you the latest market news, earnings reports, analyst comments, economic data reports and more. Visit http://www.fnno.com today.
Copyright, Comtex News Network, Inc. 2012
The big beasts of the dressing room won Chelsea the Champions League - but do any of them have a future at the club? - Daily Mirror
We've all been told, time and again, how strong it is.
The most powerful dressing room in the country.
Too powerful for Luiz Felipe Scolari. The players who did for Andre Villas-Boas.
Indeed, the very men who, in the aftermath of Villas-Boas' exit, were blamed directly by Roman Abramovich for being responsible for the Portuguese manager's failure.
But the men who turned Roberto Di Matteo's vision into Champions League-winning reality, who delivered Abramovich his Holy Grail.
And while the click is ticking on the longevity of the men who have made Chelsea into the force they are, nobody in the Stamford Bridge hierarchy plans to call "Time" on them yet.
Of course, there will be some changes.
Didier Drogba, Jose Bosingwa and Salomon Kalou have been released and there is no certainty yet whether Florent Malouda and Paolo Ferreira will be back to see out their Chelsea contracts.
Then, of course, there is the court case hanging over the biggest voice of all, skipper John Terry. The findings of District Judge Howard Riddle after the Chelsea captain formally enters his "Not guilty" plea on July 9 will have huge repercussions.
For now, though, Terry remains part of the fabric of Chelsea - even if it seems nobody actually knows who "the manager" will be next season.
And while we were led to believe that Abramovich's anger at the players was so great that wholesale change had become a necessity this summer, it does seem the owner has had a partial change of heart.
What Abramovich actually thinks, of course, is always a guess, given his reluctance to say anything in public.
But chief executive Ron Gourlay rarely says anything which does not have the official stamp of approval and asked to discuss the power of the dressing room, he gave a clear insight into the thinking of the club.
Gourlay said: "From my experience in the role this idea of the players having too much power has all been blown out of proportion.
"There has always been big players in the dressing room since Roman bought the club.
"Big players have big views but it has never been out of control at any time.
"We're all in it together and that's where we sit with these things. It's not about player power. We asked everybody that everyone has to step up to the bar and work together. That's exactly what they've done."
The truth may be different, of course. Scolari explicitly blamed Drogba, Michael Ballack and Petr Cech for his exit - strangely enough, he excused himself from responsibility - but Gourlay insisted: "That's why we have big players.
"We have many, many captains in our team and players at international level, strong personalities, but used properly they're very good at ensuring we go out on the field in the right frame of mind and for our young players' development."
Young players like Nathaniel Chalobah and Lucas Piazon are set to be introduced into the first team frame next season, while it does appear as if it might be a make or break campaign, too, for Josh McEachran, who barely got a kick during his four months on loan at Swansea.
Gourlay added: "Chalobah and one or two of the guys, we have to get a programme through which they can play. There's no point in them sitting on the bench every week."
A promise for the future, for a conveyor belt of talent. Then again, at Chelsea in particular, we have heard it all before.
When it matters, understandably, short-term expediency tends to be put in front of long-term benefits. It is only if Abramovich is not going to fund the club's debts for ever that they will have to truly make Cobham a nursery.
In the meantime, it seems the loudest voices in football will be allowed to keep shouting. When they can point to the biggest pot in the game, that doesn't seem too hard a call to make.
The antis are growing in number and force, demanding the club says "No".
For many, unless Chelsea is at Stamford Bridge, it will not be Chelsea.
In reality, though, that is just not going to happen.
The sheer logistical problems that would need to be overcome - let alone the staggering costs - mean a move is essential.
But making public their interest in the potentially available site at Battersea Power Station, with plans for a 60,000-capacity home announced on the eve of the FA Cup Final, Chelsea knew what they were doing.
The local Hammersmith and Fulham Council seem to be doing everything they can to stymie any possible chance of Chelsea finding a home in the borough, which is why the Blues have listened to the blandishments of neighbouring Wandsworth, where the Thames itself is the natural and political boundary.
Suddenly, though, Hammersmoth seem to be changing their tune.
You sense that, if Chelsea had a choice, they would prefer to build on Earl's Court rather than at Battersea, although there is no doubting they wish the south bank option to remain open when the list of remaining contenders is announced.
Chief executive Ron Gourlay said: "We need a 22 acre site and there is not one other than Battersea, Earls Court or Stamford Bridge.
"But it will be challenging. We have even looked at a rebuild here at Stamford Bridge but it just doesn't seem viable. Moving away from the stadium is a major step but to keep the club moving forward is a challenge in itself.
"With Battersea there is a bidding process at this time. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will get some feedback because we are still working and looking at the Bridge to see if there is anything we can do here.
"It's no secret that mine and the board's preferred stadium is Stamford Bridge and to get the capacity we need to get economically viable plans and major planning applications passed.
"That's why we decided on a three mile parameter for a move. Battersea is within that. Earls Court and of course Stamford Bridge.
"We don't want to lose opportunities if they are there. We need a bigger stadium and we have to work out how to do it.
"I'm sure Hammersmith and Fulham want Chelsea to stay here. But it can only be done if it's economically viable and presently we haven't come up with that model."
Shopping: Get crafty for your Diamond Jubilee street party - birminghammail.net
It's nearly here! With just a week left to prepare for the party to end all parties, consumer editor Emma McKinney explores the 'make do and mend' ways to get streets ahead.
WITH the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee fast approaching, families across the Midlands are gearing up to stage street parties to celebrate.
And no street party would be complete without traditional bunting, say crafts experts, who hope the Jubilee could provide the perfect excuse to encourage consumers to tap in to their creative sides.
A revival of war-time’s ‘make do and mend’ mentality hit Britain less than a decade ago, when there was a surge in the popularity of knitting.
Then the Women’s Institute got an edgy makeover, with the help of London’s cool Shoreditch Sisters, and suddenly the UK was gripped by a new generation of people excited about making jam.
Hen parties became ‘make your own fascinator’ workshops and there was the emergence of sewing cafes and even craft nights in pubs.
Then along came the recession, which saw many cash-strapped people making their own clothes, sparking a staggering rise in the British sales of sewing machines - up 500 per cent in the past year alone.
The haberdashery department at John Lewis in Solihull’s Touchwood shopping centre has been feeling the benefit of the surge in crafting.
“We even sell sewing machines for young children now,” says partner Shenaz Jodiyawallah. “I think sewing is a skill that was dying out, but now people want to go back to basics and learn how to make things for themselves.
“I think people have realised that potentially the next generation would have no idea how to sew on a button if they didn’t do anything about it.
“We are finding people of all ages coming to us now wanting to learn how to sew, knit or crochet.”
Shenaz says you don’t have to be an expert to produce your own craft work.
“I think people would be shocked to discover how easy it is to make bunting,” she says. “You can be a complete novice and produce something beautiful, it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.
“You don’t even have to sew anything, you can simply cut out triangles and use fabric glue to put ribbon across the top to form the bunting.”
The haberdashery team are urging customers to visit the store to pick up top tips on how to make bunting, or any other hand-made craft – including dressmaking; clothes alterations or curtain design.
John Lewis is not alone – shops, businesses and organisations across the region are holding workshops and events to help people add their own creative touch to both the Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics.
Youngsters could learn new skills at Edgbaston’s Midlands Arts Centre, which is offering a Brilliant Bunting workshop for children aged six to 12 on June 3 from 1pm until 3pm.
Meanwhile, the Pavilions shopping mall, in Birmingham city centre’s High Street, is staging knitting workshops for beginners to mark the Olympics.
All work produced at the workshops will be used to create what has been dubbed as a “knit graffiti” installation, which will cover six pillars outside Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery from July to September.
The project, called K2TOG - Knit 2 Together, is aimed at welcoming the Jamaican and American Olympic teams, which are basing their training camps in Birmingham.
The brainchild of textile artist Sara Fowles, of Kings Heath craft group Stitches and Hos, it will see novice knitters using 1,300 balls of wool to create the installation, which has won the Inspire Mark from the London 2012 Inspire programme.
“We found out that the Jamaican and American teams were going to be using Birmingham as their base before the Olympics and I thought it would be really great to have a welcome for them,” says Sara. “The project will be knitted using six colours: red, blue, white, yellow, green and black, which come from the American and Jamaican national flags, and they are the same colours used in the Olympics rings logo.”
Nairobi blast at shopping complex injures dozens - myfoxny.com
Source: AFP
NAIROBI, Kenya -- A blast ripped through shops in central Nairobi Monday, injuring dozens in what the prime minister called a "terrorist" attack despite initial police reports that it was an accident.Speaking at the charred and wrecked small shopping complex in Nairobi's commercial heart, Raila Odinga contradicted the country's police chief, who had earlier said the explosion was caused by an electrical fault.
"This is terrorism ... this is a heinous act, we are under threat but we will not be cowed," Odinga said.
"The lives and property of Kenyans are precious and must be protected, we condemn the terrorists and tell them that their days are numbered."
At least 28 people were wounded, and four of them were in critical condition, the Kenya Red Cross said.
Kenya has been hit by a wave of grenade attacks the police have repeatedly blamed on Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents or its supporters.
Last month the hardline al Shabaab warned Kenya of revenge attacks for sending tanks and troops into Somalia in October.
The blast ripped the tin roof off a complex of small stores on Nairobi's Moi Avenue and windows were smashed across the street.
Minutes after the early afternoon blast, the pro-al Shabaab Twitter site Al-Kataib reported a "huge explosion in Nairobi" although it did not specifically claim any responsibility.
Wounded individuals were carried from the site of the explosion, many with cuts from broken glass or flying debris.
"I can't explain what I saw, it was just terrible, I saw a woman who was burning and people were trying to get her to hospital, she was bleeding profusely from the head and her lower part of the body," said witness George Mwangi.
Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere had earlier said the explosion was not a grenade or bomb attack, and that "preliminary conclusions" suggested it was an electrical fault.
However state electricity company Kenya Power later said its investigators had found all fuses were intact.
"It is therefore not possible that the explosion was caused by an electricity fault," the company said in a statement.
Copyright 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.
Hydro Ottawa Applauds Bayshore Shopping Centre for Going Green - Market Wire
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 28, 2012) - Hydro Ottawa is proud to present Bayshore Shopping Centre with this month's Companies for Conservation award for proving that small changes can make a big difference when it comes to energy conservation.
In all, 65 stores at the west-end shopping centre have upgraded to energy efficient lighting, as part of the saveONenergy Small Business Lighting Program. This province-wide initiative, which is administered locally by Hydro Ottawa, provides up to $1,000 in free energy-efficient lighting and equipment upgrades.
"Now, more than ever, businesses are looking for ways to cut costs and be more energy-efficient. I am thrilled that so many of these businesses are embracing environmental stewardship and participating in the saveONenergy programs," said Roger Marsh, Hydro Ottawa's Chief Energy Management Officer.
Bayshore Shopping Centre is involved in several energy management and sustainability programs. From promoting recycling to purchasing its electricity from a green provider, the company and its tenants are focused on reducing the environmental impact of their operations.
"Conservation is part of the culture at Bayshore. We're proud that our tenants are doing their part to reduce their carbon footprint," said Bert Vanderwal, Ottawa Operation Manager at Bayshore Shopping Centre.
Hydro Ottawa's Companies for Conservation program recognizes local companies and organizations for their innovative conservation projects. Bayshore Shopping Centre joins a growing list of business leaders who have also been recognized for their green achievements. Past recipients include: LCBO, the Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. Electricity consumers both large and small can learn more about saving electricity, and the programs that can help them do so, by visiting www.hydroottawa.com/commercial.
About Hydro Ottawa
Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. (Hydro Ottawa) owns and operates two subsidiary companies, Hydro Ottawa Limited and Energy Ottawa Inc. Hydro Ottawa Limited is the third largest municipally owned electrical utility in Ontario serving more than 305,000 customers in the City of Ottawa and the Village of Casselman. Energy Ottawa Inc., Ottawa's largest producer of green power, generates renewable energy and provides commercial energy management services.
NZ triplets among 19 dead in Qatar shopping mall inferno - Brisbane Times
Toddler New Zealand triplets are among thirteen children and six adults killed in a fire at one of Qatar's most upmarket shopping malls.
NZ Prime Minister John Key has confirmed the dead two-year-olds, Lillie, Jackson and Willsher Weekes, were the children of expatriate workers in the Persian Gulf state. Mr Key said the children were in a nursery or crèche in the mall.
"It's a great tragedy," Mr Key said this morning, adding that consular staff were on the way from Saudia Arabia.
Killed in a fire ... Lillie, Jackson and Willsher, with parents Martin and Jane.
"The family are obviously dealing with terrible grief."
The grandmother of the New Zealand triplets has spoken of the family's absolute devastation.
"Our daughter rang, what can you say? It's absolutely devastating," Jo Turner said.
Thirteeen children dead ... smoke rises above the mall. Photo: AP
Her daughter, Jane, had lived in Qatar for about five years. She had returned to New Zealand to give birth to the triplets, she said.
"They were everything to her. She was a great mum. She was a hands on mum."
Ms Turner said she was "devastated, absolutely devastated" when she heard the news this morning.
Nineteen dead ... family members of a victim react to the news. Photo: AP
She understood the children died in the fire, but did not ask her daughter for details.
"I didn't push her for any information. She just told us what she needed to tell us.
"It was just that 'our babies they died in a fire at the day care centre'."
Smoke rises above the shopping mall. Photo: AFP
'We tried our best'
Four teachers and two emergency workers, believed to be firefighters, were also among the dead, the Qatari ministry said on its official Twitter page.
Four of the other dead children were Spanish, Spain's Foreign Ministry said, and a three-year-old French child was also killed, the deputy minister for overseas French citizens, Yamina Benguigui, said.
Many of the victims died as rescuers struggled to reach the childcare centre at the Villaggio mall in the capital Doha, the Minister of State for Interior Affairs, Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani, said.
"We tried our best, but when we got there, the children were trapped inside," Sheik Abdullah told reporters in Doha.
"We are very sorry for what happened. We tried as much as we could to save these people.
Another 17 people were injured, including four children, according to authorities.
Most of those hurt were rescuers responding to the blaze.
'It was a very benign fire alarm'
Tarek Bazley, a former Radio New Zealand journalist working in Doha, said he was in the mall with his two children when the alarm went off.
"We were at the mall, in a large play area and a fire alarm went off. It was a very benign fire alarm, almost like a door bell. It certainly wasn't alarming like you would expect a fire alarm to be.
"I asked the attendant on the soft play area if it was something that we should be worried about. He said 'not at all. We had a fire alarm yesterday, don't worry'. So we continued," Bazley said.
"About 15 minutes later, a member of the public ran through and said 'you've got to get out, there is a fire in the mall'.
"We went out through a fire door that was luckily quite close to where we were and it was there that you could see the plumes of smoke coming out of the centre of the mall. Huge volumes of black smoke."
He said a friend was eating at a restaurant in the mall before seeing the smoke and went to the first fire escape that he noticed, only to find it was actually chained shut.
"They then had to leave by the service exit."
Mr Bazley said he wanted to leave quickly, but found it difficult because of the traffic.
"A lot of rubberneckers on the road and people on the nearby main street. It took us almost an hour to leave the area."
Firefighters climbed on roof
Witnesses earlier reported thick black smoke pouring from the ritzy mall about midday (local time) on Monday.
Amateur photos and videos posted online showed firefighters rescuing victims by climbing on the roof.
The Interior Ministry said the fire was extinguished hours later.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Sheik Abdullah said all buildings in the country abide by safety requirements, but a special committee will nonetheless be set up to monitor building safety standards, according to the ministry's Twitter feed.
The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations.
Retailers include many well-known Western brands, such as Foot Locker, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Marks & Spencer.
Malls throughout the oil-rich Arab Gulf are popular with families looking for entertainment destinations that provide relief from soaring summer temperatures.
The Villaggio includes an ice skating rink, theme park, cinema and indoor Venice-style gondola rides.
- with stuff.co.nz and agencies
Online shopping reaches new high - Voxy
The number of online shoppers has now reached over 1.6 million (49 percent of the total population aged 18+), an increase of 122,000 on the previous year and more than double since 2004.
Nielsen, the leading global provider of information and insights, has also found those shopping online are now rapidly increasing the frequency of their purchases. The number of customers who purchased six or more items in the past year increased by 21 percent compared to 2010 and those buying 11 or more items grew by 38 percent.
The most popular products and services are airline tickets with 50 percent of online shoppers purchasing in this category, followed by clothing/shoes/accessories (32%), books/magazines (29%), entertainment tickets (27%) and travel related services such as accommodation and car hire (24%).
The Nielsen Online Retail Report identifies a combination of factors for the increasing popularity of online retail:
- Convenience of comparing products and prices
- Promotional emails from daily deal sites
- Development in technology, specifically broadband and usage of the internet via mobile phones
- Increased trust in the security of online transactions
- Increased opportunity to purchase products outside of the consumer's locality
Tony Boyte, Associate Director of Research, Media, New Zealand, observes: 'There appears to be potential for even more growth with consumers indicating a willingness to purchase online across a much wider range of categories'.
Boyte adds, 'The amount of people researching products and services on the internet is now ubiquitous, this presents an opportunity for online retailers to convert these browsers into buyers'.
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