The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Travel Picks: Top 10 golf resorts around the world
- Chinese premier criticizes EU move on trade measures
- Justice Department opposes AMR's $20 million severance for CEO Horton
| Travel Picks: Top 10 golf resorts around the world Posted: 24 May 2013 09:54 PM PDT LONDON: If your idea of a nature hike involves driving an elusive ball over acres of meticulously manicured greens, then bookmark this list of premier putting destinations created with golf enthusiasts in mind, hand-picked by the boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith (www.mrandmrssmith.com). Fore! Reuters has not endorsed this list: 1. Primland; Virginia, USA Pristine Primland hotel in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains is an elegant estate surrounded by 12,000 verdant acres. One of the many spectacular ways to explore the grounds is by playing across ridge tops and over valleys on the 18-hole Highland Course, designed to thrill every level of golfer. Rejuvenate following your day of sport with a bespoke golfer's treatment - sea salt scrub, mud wrap, deep tissue massage - at the sublime spa. All before retiring to your luxurious Fairway Cottage with a fieldstone fireplace and private deck, set just steps from the scenic greens. 2. Residences at Kapalua Bay; Maui, Hawaii Perched on the Pacific Ocean, Maui's Residences at Kapalua Bay hotel is the ultimate paradise playground with its landscaped lagoon pool, airy, modern suites, kaleidoscopic coral reefs, private beaches, and spa honouring traditional Hawaiian treatments. And, what draws club-toting travellers is the two championship palm-strewn golfing greens. Brush up on your technique at the state-of-the-art Kapalua Golf Academy, or tee-off on either of the world-renowned courses, each set against a background of sweeping ocean and ancient mountain vistas. It's possible you'll take more photos than you will strokes on these jaw-dropping courses. 3. Farm at Cape Kidnappers; Hawke's Bay, New Zealand Set in the foothills of Hawke's Bay in one of New Zealand's fted grape-growing regions is the Farm at Cape Kidnappers hotel. This 6,000-acre working sheep and cattle farm is dotted with 22-charming cottage suites, and has a par 71 golf course dramatically perched on a cliff above the churning Pacific. With deep ravines, jutting ridges and windswept terrain, this unique course is perfect for those who relish a challenge. And, no matter how things play out, reward efforts with a trip to the hotel's serenity-boosting spa followed by an epicurean feast paired with local wines. 4. Kirimaya; Thailand Khao Yai boutique hotel Kirimaya, a few hours' drive from Bangkok, is a grown-up rustic Thai retreat, and a most exotic setting for an exclusive, Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole golf course. With its single-track layout surrounded by lush jungle and mountains, you may feel as if you're the only one out on the links. Overall the resort exudes understated good taste and combines modern sophistication with an all-natural escape. Rustic trimmings such as antique doors and wooden decking give way to simply furnished rooms showing off the best of contemporary Thai design, as well as elegant tented villas. 5. Masseria Torre Maizza; Puglia, Italy In the coast-hugging countryside of Puglia, the 16th-century Masseria Torre Maizza hotel offers yet another tempting reason for an Italian adventure: a scenic round of golf. Immersed in a grove of olive and almond trees is a handsomely landscaped split-level nine-hole course with sea views. And, this spacious escape with cool, contemporary dcor and jasmine-lined pathways offers plenty of additional amusements too: an Aveda spa, private beach, two massive pool decks, cookery school and equestrian centre. 6. Stoke Park; Buckinghamshire, England Seasoned pros and untested novices will both feel right at home on the majestic grounds of Buckinghamshire's Stoke Park, whose 27-hole championship course has seen games by the likes of James Bond in Goldfinger. The acclaimed golf academy includes everything from a swing-analysis video suite to a driving range. If you can tear yourself away from the golf lover's dream, though, the stately mansion is equally impressive; the White House-resembling building was designed by 'Mad' King George III's architect and the highly acclaimed spa Stoke Park Spa is the perfect alternative if your other half isn't quite as passionate about the links as you are. 7. Finca Cortesin; Costa del Sol, Spain The Costa del Sol's elegantly sprawling Finca Cortesin boasts both one of Spain's top courses and the idyllic year-round weather to go with it. Host of the Volvo World Match Play Championship for three years and home to a Nicklaus Academy, this course is one of our favourite places to spend a day, from the Mediterranean views to the green-side Spanish dining. Afterwards, make for one of the three Moorish-tiled pools or head straight for the private Beach Club to recuperate. By night, sip potent cocktails and dine on fresh seafood at one of the three international restaurants. 8. Blantyre; Massachusetts USA If you unexpectedly stumbled upon Blantyre, a grand old Berkshires estate, you might think yourself somewhere in Scotland, between its castle-inspired architecture and the 18-hole Cranwell Golf Course that surrounds it. Hike around the rolling hills and admire the area's renowned natural beauty - the colourful autumn leaves are legendary - or participate in old-world sports like croquet and snow-shoeing. The illusion continues inside, where it's all roaring fires, antique accessories and cheese fondue whenever you want it. 9. Namale; Fiji For anyone but a golf aficionado, the tropical Fijian Namale Resort's nine-hole course, driving range and virtual golf simulator might go unnoticed amid the opulent hydrotherapy spa, snorkelling and diving excursions and picturesquely situated private bures. Private outdoor dining overlooking the ocean is de rigueur and resort-coordinated visits to local villages make stays that much more memorable. If you decide to just lounge by your airy villa's plunge pool, though, you'll be in good company - Namale has been a favourite retreat of such privacy-seeking celebrities as Ed Norton and Russell Crowe. 10. Carneros Inn; California, USA Nestled away in Northern California's legendary Napa Valley wine region, the 'agri-chic' Carneros Inn seamlessly blends local farm style with contemporary architecture and the area's relaxed vibe. Surrounded by rolling hills and lush vineyards, it'd be a shame not to spend as much time as possible outside. Fortunately, four world-class golf courses are within half an hour of the resort, including the Chardonnay Golf Club and Eagle Vines Golf Club, both within a 10-minute drive and both winding their way through acres of oak trees, creeks and working vineyards whose products you can sample at the end of a round on the links. - Reuters |
| Chinese premier criticizes EU move on trade measures Posted: 24 May 2013 09:52 PM PDT SHANGHAI: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang criticized the European Union over its plans to investigate alleged anti-competitive behavior by Chinese mobile telecom equipment makers and to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China, state media reported. The official Xinhua news agency reported late on Friday that Li had told business leaders in Switzerland such measures would "harm others without benefiting oneself". Li is the most senior Chinese official to comment on the troublesome issue so far. The European Union is considering whether to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China after the United States levied its own duties last year - a move fiercely opposed by Beijing. European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said this month he and fellow commissioners had agreed in principle to open an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy case against China, but would first seek to negotiate a solution with Chinese authorities. China has threatened to retaliate if the EU pushes ahead with the investigation. China hopes the EU will think about overall economic and trade relations between them and uphold the principles of free trade when handling the two cases, Xinhua quoted Li as saying. The EU is China's most important trading partner, while for the EU China is second only to the United States. Chinese export of goods to the 27-member bloc totalled 290 billion euros ($374.98 billion) last year, with 144 billion euros going the other way. - Reuters |
| Justice Department opposes AMR's $20 million severance for CEO Horton Posted: 24 May 2013 09:50 PM PDT NEW YORK: A plan by American Airlines' parent to exit bankruptcy and merge with US Airways Group In court papers filed on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis, the department's official charged with regulating bankruptcy cases in the New York region, said the severance deal for AMR Corp's She asked the court not to approve the outline of the plan that must also be approved by AMR creditors. The initial merger agreement called for $19.9 million in severance payments for Horton, but when Judge Sean Lane approved the merger at a hearing in March, he refused to green-light the severance package, saying it was a matter that should be left for AMR's Chapter 11 exit plan. Davis at the time had opposed the severance on grounds similar to those she cited on Friday. AMR filed its exit plan last month, laying out how it would effect the merger, pay back its creditors and exit bankruptcy. As expected, it also built Horton's severance deal into the plan. In Friday's filing, Davis argued that in bankruptcy severance is only acceptable when it is part of a program applicable to all employees and is not more than 10 times the average severance given to non-management employees. Horton's package meets neither criteria, Davis said. The severance has been a controversial issue from the get-go, drawing criticism from some AMR pilots. Horton was not liked by AMR's unions, which were forced to accept reductions in benefits as part of the bankruptcy and merger deal. An AMR spokesman said he did not expect the objection to delay the court approval process. "Consistent with what American indicated previously, the company expects that Mr. Horton's compensation arrangement will be addressed at the plan confirmation hearing," spokesman Sean Collins told Reuters. Davis also objected to a component of the plan that would provide top-priority payments of attorneys' fees and other expenses to many of AMR's creditors. She added that AMR gave insufficient information about many facets of its plan, including settlements between various classes of unsecured claimholders. AMR filed for bankruptcy in 2011, the last major U.S. carrier to go through the process after its competitors underwent restructurings in the last decade. It initially opposed a merger, but agreed to explore one under pressure from its unsecured creditors' committee and unions. US Airways CEO Doug Parker would run the combined airline, but Horton would serve as non-executive chairman until the first annual shareholder meeting, probably in the spring of 2014, after which Parker would become chairman. AMR shareholders would receive a 3.5 percent equity stake in the new company, which would make it one of the few major bankruptcies in which equity holders earn some recovery. An attorney for AMR's creditors committee has said the stake could be valued at between $350 million and $400 million. - Reuters |
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