Archive for June 11th, 2009
Contrary to a People.com report posted on Tuesday, Leonardo DiCaprio and his Sports Illustrated model girlfriend, Bar Refaeli, are not letting go of their relationship, says UsWeekly.com.
The rumors first began when multiple sources told People that the couple of three years had split due to his commitment issues.
“They’re taking time off for the time being, they’ve split,” said one informant. “It could just end up as a break but for now they’re doing their own thing.”
Apparently Refaeli wanted to move in together and the Titanic star didn’t. Read: The Truth About Moving in Together
When Refaeli walked the red carpet at The Young Hollywood Awards on Sunday, Us Weekly asked her what makes their relationship work. The 23-year-old supermodel dodged the question by saying, “Oh, I’m not going to get into that.”
Also according to People, Leo was also spotted the previous week chatting up a mystery woman at a New York City venue.
Despite all these breakup signs, DiCaprio and Refaeli were spotted on June 8 shopping together at Barnes & Noble. Furthermore, another source close to the two assures that they are still an item, Us Weekly reports.
The on-again, off-again pair took time off from each other last September, but reconciled months later. Engagement rumors had cropped up in March when Leo met Bar’s parents in Israel, but sources at the time denied that claim.
Scoop courtesy of Us Weekly. Photo courtesy of Splash News.
source: yourtango.com
June 11th, 2009
Sir Philip Green is thought to be mulling an expansion of his American operations following the success of his Soho store in New York City, launched in the teeth of the U.S. consumer slump.
Evidence from the Soho outlet, aimed at younger and more fashionable customers, suggests an appetite for Green’s fast fashion branding which includes the stylish ranges developed by supermodel Kate Moss.
So far sales in the first New York operation in lower Manhattan are understood to be running at 30 per cent to 40 per cent ahead of Top Shop’s expectations.
The business, located in an area of relatively low rents, looks set to be well in the black in its first year of operation.
This would be a considerable achievement for any British retailer exploring the U.S. market.
In the past British fashion retailers tapping the American market – with notable exceptions such as up-market Burberry – have found it difficult to win over the hard-top-lease and sometimes more conservative U.S. consumer.
Top Shop, with its combination of modest pricing, high fashion turnover and the
cache of the Moss range looks as if could break that mould.
Green is considering a second New York opening in a less trendy midtown Manhattan location currently dominated by the entrenched fashion groups such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Banana Republic.
If the fashion entrepreneur does proceed with his plans it is likely to stock the store with less edgy clothing than that on offer in Soho.
Top Shop believes that there is a good market for its ranges in the U.S.. Other potential locations for future stores are thought to include Miami, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago if suitable sites, without excessive-rents, can be identified.
The medium term plan, depending on the continued strong showing of the New York stores, is a roll out of ten to a dozen shops providing a useful international stream of income.
If Green pulls off his expansion in the U.S. it will be in contrast to a number of other British retailers, including Marks & Spencer, which have sought to tackle the North American market and failed.
The view within Top Shop is that if it can run the business profitably amid a time of suppressed consumer confidence and rising unemployment it will be well on the way, to establishing a durable U.S. chain.
source: dailymail.co.uk
June 11th, 2009
Adrian Camilleri, disgraced former mortgage broker and ex-boyfriend of supermodel Miranda Kerr, has been sentenced to a maximum of 21 months in jail for misappropriating an investor’s money.
The NSW District Court on Wednesday sentenced the 34-year-old from Edgecliff, in Sydney, to jail with a non-parole period of nine months, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said.
Camilleri was last week found guilty of one count of fraud relating to his mortgage broking business Asset Finance Service.
ASIC investigated Camilleri’s conduct between December 2005 and September 2006, a period he was the sole director of Asset Finance.
According to ASIC, Asset Finance was a mortgage broking business that sourced lending capital from private investors.
In December 2005, the company received $123,441 from an investor, with the funds to be used for either investment in short-term secured loans or to be returned.
However, ASIC said, the funds were not invested and Camilleri fraudulently omitted to account for them.
The principal investment has not been repaid, ASIC said.
source: brisbanetimes.com.au
June 11th, 2009
