By Kirsty Mccormack and J J Anisiobi
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After a few weeks away lapping up the sunshine and filming his new reality TV show in Hollywood, California, Mark Wright has returned to British shores.
The dapper gent wasted no time in finding his feet and getting back to his old ways by heading straight to his favourite Essex nightclub, last night.
Following his night out, the 25-year-old looked in good shape as he appeared on This Morning, earlier today, and spoke about how his new holiday romance.
A bit of all Wright: Former TOWIE star Mark has returned to the UK and appeared on This Morning after partying last night in Essex
Mark dropped in to popular hangout Faces, in Essex, but didn't stay out too long because of his appearance on TV in the morning.
He tweeted: 'I'm being good. On the way home 2 my bed 4 the 1st time in 6weeks. Faces was great as per usual but I'm on this morning 2mo so have 2 b good.'
When he appeared on This Morning today, Mark spoke publicly for the first time about his relationship with Chelsea describing her as 'great'.
All dressed up: Mark looked dapper today but was more casual last night when he headed to Faces nightclub
He said: 'It's a difficult one because she's got so many commitments out there, but we met, we had fun, but it was never meant to be like that.
'She's great, we got on so well. We started out as friends but then it developed into something else.'
The thing that Mark liked about his new girlfriend the most was that she had no idea who he was or why he was famous.
He said: 'She liked me for me because she didn't have a clue who I was.'
Time to say goodbye: Mark Wright and Chelsea Rashoff say a tearful farewell at LAX airport yesterday
Mark hooked up with the U.S volleyball player while filming Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights, and the casual friendship developed into something more serious rather quickly.
The reality TV star was seen saying goodbye to Chelsea at LAX airport yesterday and looked very sad to be leaving her.
The ITV2 show didn't exactly receive great reviews when it aired for the first time last Sunday but viewers may be eager to tune in this weekend as the second episode will include how Mark and Chelsea first met.
Hard to let go: The former TOWIE star gave the 22-year-old a big hug and also kissed her
Their romance is clearly more than just an onscreen film, as the pair of them appeared to be tearful as they said farewell outside the airport terminal.
Outside LAX, Mark - who was wearing blue skinny jeans and a white T-shirt - was seen hugging Chelsea and kissing her as she flung her arms around his neck.
She was also wearing dark jeans and a white T-shirt and gazed at the Essex-born star as he prepared to catch his flight back to the UK.
The pair have obviously become quite close over the past six weeks, and perhaps Mark is considering letting Chelsea visit his hometown some time soon.
Confirmed couple? Chelsea tweeted this photo of her and Mark looking rather cosy recently
Svelte: Chelsea in her volleyball 'uniform' - a red bikini top and patterned blue bottoms
Roundup! Brown & Drake 'love fight', Kim on Oprah and much more...
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Tesco should review U.S. strategy: CtW Investment - Reuters
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - British group Tesco (TSCO.L), the world's third-biggest retailer, should reassess the strategy for its loss-making U.S. chain Fresh & Easy, a group that works with pensions and benefit funds sponsored by trade unions said.
The Change to Win Investment Group, which works with the pension plans of four major U.S. unions, said Tesco should set up a committee of non-executive directors to review its strategy for Fresh & Easy, which does not recognize unions.
It wants this committee to issue a report "that discloses the metrics and timeframe" the Tesco board will use to evaluate the division's future performance.
It has submitted amendments to this effect to Tesco's report and accounts ahead of the company's annual meeting in Cardiff on June 29 and said if the board rejected its proposals it would advise shareholders to vote against the resolution to receive the report and accounts.
"This proposal is union-motivated and follows several years of union opposition in the U.S. Change to Win is not a shareholder, and does not speak for shareholders," a Tesco spokeswoman said.
"Fresh & Easy continues to grow and innovate and is showing positive sales momentum. We are confident the business is moving in the right direction."
Earlier this year, Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke rejected shareholder calls to pull the plug on Fresh & Easy.
He said at the time he did not expect the chain to break even until its 2013/14 year, compared with the end of 2012/13 previously.
On Monday, Tesco reported underlying sales growth at Fresh & Easy slowed to 3.6 percent in its first quarter from 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
Tesco shares were down 0.1 percent at 305 pence at 0850 GMT.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Dan Lalor)
Source: www.reuters.com
Russian bids to keep Coryton refinery open - Financial Times
June 15, 2012 10:40 pm
Source: www.ft.com
Tesco Challenged by Union Group on Fresh & Easy Strategy - Bloomberg
Tesco Plc (TSCO) needs to increase transparency on its unprofitable Fresh & Easy store division, according to a union-backed U.S. pension-advisory group that’s seeking a review of the unit for the second consecutive year.
CtW Investment Group, which works with pension funds tied to the Change to Win labor-union association in the U.S., said it has “reached out” to shareholders who control 75 percent of the Cheshunt, England-based retailer’s stock to push for amendments to the annual report, including the call for a review. A Tesco spokesman said the proposal is union-motivated and CtW Investment isn’t a shareholder.
Tesco, the world’s third-largest retailer, entered the West Coast of the U.S. in 2007 with the introduction of the Fresh & Easy in-town store format focusing on own-brand items and fresh food. The chain has more than 190 stores in Arizona, Nevada and California. Shifts in strategy and benchmarks make predicting Fresh & Easy’s performance difficult, with total investment and losses exceeding 1.94 billion pounds ($3 billion), and there’s “inadequate disclosure” of costs, CtW said.
“This is an unusual action, but Change to Win believe it’s needed to demonstrate to the board the increasing shareholder discontent about Fresh & Easy,” the investment group said in an e-mail.
Goal Delayed
Tesco scaled back projections for Fresh & Easy in April, saying the brand will break even in the 12 months through February 2014, a year later than planned. Tesco last year said it would need 300 stores in the U.S. to break even, fewer than the 400 originally anticipated. The plan announced in April means Fresh & Easy will have just 230 stores by February 2013.
David Reid, Tesco’s chairman at the time, dismissed calls calls by CtW at the 2011 annual shareholders meeting for a strategic review of Fresh & Easy. Tesco’s 2012 annual meeting is scheduled for June 29.
Same-store sales growth at the division slowed in the fiscal first quarter to 3.6 percent from 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Philip Clarke said June 11 that Tesco “needs a bit more” from Fresh & Easy. The chain this week offered a new Kitchen To Go range of 150 freshly prepared meals such as $7.99 Texan-style pork butt for two people and a $5.99 dish of lobster macaroni and cheese.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Shannon in London at sshannon4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net
Source: www.bloomberg.com
TOWIE's Sam and Joey's alone time - Belfast Telegraph
Friday, 15 June 2012
The TOWIE model admitted it was hard being in a relationship that was played out on television but she said they now worked hard to spend quality time together away from the show, since rekindling their romance.
Sam said: "Me and Joey have been absolutely great. When we were together before, it was rushed and we didn't really make time for ourselves and our personal life. And this time TOWIE is TOWIE and the celebrity lifestyle, but when we get time together we just relax and we sit in and watch films.
"I think you need that in your relationship, because our lifestyles are so hectic, it's nice to actually sit down and relax with each other.
"Sometimes you feel under pressure, and other times it's fine. I think we're both looking forward to a nice holiday this year, just the two of us."
The reality TV star, who has released her autobiography, Living Life The Essex Way, also confessed it was tough having their arguments aired on TV for everyone to watch, but she had come to accept it was part of the job.
She said: "Some things like that you think 'I wish I could just deal with this myself with him'. But if it's out there it needs to be spoken about on the show otherwise it would look weird to the viewers. They'd think, 'Why are they all happy, what about them pictures we saw?', so you do have to play it out.
"Sometimes I wish some things could be kept between you both, but it has to be played out, because it's our lives and that's what we're on the show for."
She added: "It's hard to watch it back and hear myself shouting!"
Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Essex Purchases and Begins Construction on Two Communities in Downtown San Francisco - PR Inside
PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 06/15/12 -- Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS), announced today the purchase of two adjacent land parcels in San Francisco, California for the development of two nine story apartment communities containing a total of 463 apartment homes and approximately 9,300 square feet of retail space. The two development communities are located near Moscone Center in the SOMA district of San Francisco. The Company expects the properties to open in the spring of 2014 for a total cost of approximately $250 million.
The Company has entered into a co-investment partnership with an institutional investor for the development of the two communities. The Company will have a 55% interest in the venture and will earn development, asset and property management fees and may earn a promoted interest.
Amenities at the properties will include an urban park, rooftop decks, clubhouse with chef's kitchen, movie theater, fitness center and spa. The site is located in close proximity to high paying jobs, shopping, entertainment and multiple nodes of public transportation.
Michael J. Schall commented, "We are very pleased to announce the land closing and construction start of another in-fill urban apartment community located in one of the most vibrant San Francisco sub-markets. Over the long term, San Francisco has led most major U.S. metropolitan areas in rent growth given its unique combination of limited housing supply, dynamic job base, and desirable quality of life."
Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 400 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 158 apartment communities with an additional 8 properties in various stages of active development. Additional information about Essex can be found on the Company's web site at www.essexpropertytrust.com : ctt.marketwire.com/?release=899882&id=1718323&type=1& .. .
Bryan Hunt
(650) 849-5823
Source: www.pr-inside.com
Queen’s Birthday Honours: Carphone Warehouse founder knighted - Daily Telegraph
Sir Charles, as well as being chairman of both Talk Talk and Carphone, is also chairman of The Princes Trust. “I’m very surprised,” he said last night, adding that he would celebrate in Ibiza, where he was staying for a friend’s birthday party.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
And what did she think when you said you were famous in the UK for having no talent whatsoever?
- John, Minnesota, USA, 15/6/2012 22:10
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