Leisure/Hotels

2012 Olympic host losers look like winners

15 Jan 2009

London s games are already struggling. Big sponsor Nortel has gone bankrupt. The Olympic village may require more funds than originally planned. Vector in their respective economic problems and New York, Paris, Madrid and Moscow should thank their lucky stars.

Corporate sports sponsorship starts to flounder

16 Dec 2008

After 12 years, Vodafone isn t renewing its sponsorship of the English cricket team. It s unclear who will fill the gap. With the biggest corporate sponsors financial services and carmakers under huge pressure to cut costs, it s not just cricket that will suffer.

Gaming billionaires should cut their losses

16 Dec 2008

Partygaming s founder was right to hand himself in to US lawmakers and take a $300m fine, rather than bet on a softer approach under President Obama. After Wall Street s colossal losses, hedge fund collapses and a $50bn Ponzi scheme, gambling is more of a dirty word than ever.

Facebook adds old-media chaperone as a friend

12 Dec 2008

The social networking wunderkind is putting Washington Post CEO Don Graham on its board. The oldmedia aristocrat is a welcome grownup at Facebook. For Graham, it s also a shot at redemption: he passed on an opportunity to invest in the site before it really took off.

Formula 1 faces shrinking grid

5 Dec 2008

Honda is quitting the F1 racing championship. The automaker put in a dismal performance last year, despite sporting the largest budget. Its exit gives other beleaguered rivals like Toyota an excuse to make tracks. F1 needs to overhaul the economics of the sport.

Cubs’ latest strike-out bears bad news for baseball

7 Nov 2008

Sam Zell s sale of Chicago's lovable losers has run into trouble. Economic woes will crimp Americans spending on entertainment. And, unlike art or soccer clubs, Russian oligarchs haven t shown much interest in US ball teams. Prices look set to decline.

Hollywood may give YouTube path to profit

6 Nov 2008

Even though it draws huge crowds 5bn videos are viewed each month the Google video site has not reaped similarly big advertising revenues from Sarah Palin blunders and pet lovefests. A deal to offer Hollywood films would give YouTube its first shot at Alist money.

Kravis’s art investing can’t hold candle to buyouts

4 Nov 2008

The KKR founder sold a Degas painting Monday for just over $37m. That s more than the $28m he paid in 1999, for an IRR of about 3% a year. Of course that s without the benefit of leverage. And you can t put a buyout prospectus on the dining room wall.

What do the Beatles and AC/DC have in common?

30 Oct 2008

Neither band sells music on Apple s iTunes, yet both are getting into video games. Rock gods haven t exactly moved from getting high and scoring to getting high scores. The economics of games are more compelling and create fewer piracy issues.

Sotheby’s looks like a vanity purchase

24 Oct 2008

The auctioneer s stock has fallen 70% since July and hit the $8 mark at which it historically bounces. With just a $580m market cap it might also look like a bid target. But buyer beware: it has made some very robust guarantees in a faltering art market.

No investment ideas? Try wood, gut, metal and glue

24 Oct 2008

That is, as assembled by Stradivari. Stocks, bonds, oil and even paintings are proving unreliable investments. Fine violins, violas and cellos could be worth a look. Illiquidity is a problem, but returns go well beyond the financial. And there's an opportunity to start now.

Hirst marketing trumps financial woes

16 Sep 2008

As global markets collapsed, Sotheby s auction of Damien Hirst works fetched £71m, smashing Picasso s record for a sale of works by one artist. Hirst s auction is unique. But it may help that less than 10% of Sotheby s top buyers made their money in financial services.

XL won’t be the last to get grounded

12 Sep 2008

The UK holiday group went bust after trade creditors withdrew funding. Like Northern Rock, XL has found that when daytoday lenders go on strike, the effects are swift and brutal. Others addicted to shortterm finance, notably retailers, should take heed.

LVMH spies safe harbour in boats for billionaires

2 Sep 2008

In rough economic seas look for a safe harbour. LVMH is putting money on megayachts for the super rich. It s a small deal, but smart strategy. The moderately rich may be feeling seasick, but selling boats at $50m a pop should be plain sailing.

Man City scores sweet goal with Abu Dhabi

1 Sep 2008

The ailing Premier League football club is being sold by Thailand s exiled former Prime Minister to the more liquid cashrich Arab state. It s a sweet deal for the Blues as the Emirate bets it can spend its way to transforming this secondrate team into a brand to rival Man Utd.

The Games might benefit from more globalisation

4 Aug 2008

A US basketball star s decision to play for Russia in Beijing is getting flak in the US. But the Olympics are too tied to the old nationalist mindset. Free trade works in professional sports as in most crossborder businesses. The Olympics could join in: Welcome Team McDonald s.

Somersaulting all the way to the bank

16 Jun 2008

Middle Eastern investors are known for making the odd overpriced, trophy purchase. But a $2bn price tag for Cirque du Soleil, a circus? Amazingly, if you think of the 4,000strong troupe as a Disney founded on acrobats rather than cartoons, it starts to make sense.

Big Brown flop is metaphor for hedge fund risks

9 Jun 2008

The wonderhorse thought a shooin to win American racing s Triple Crown flopped spectacularly on Saturday. As well as denting his owners hedge fund ambitions, Big Brown s fate holds other lessons for investors including the dangers of concentrated bets and trendfollowing.

Curious Sotheby’s convertible raises questions

9 Jun 2008

The auction house has seen its stock fall 40% over the past year. Yet it is raising $150m through a convertible note with all sorts of bells and whistles attached. It looks like an odd choice for raising such a modest sum.

M&B makes room at the top for Tchenguiz

19 May 2008

The UK pubs group is inviting the property tycoon, a 26% shareholder, onto the board. That may partly be an attempt to quell criticism of the group s strategy. But at least Tchenguiz, who looks to have lost £200m on M&B so far, will be focused on driving up the share price.