Nigerian Times

NEWPORT, Wales, December 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- - Friends miss out as a third of Brits trim their Christmas present list Work friends and old school friends most likely to miss out 5 per cent of brothers are off the list as are 7 per cent of in-laws Brits set to spend average of £528 on Christmas presents One in five will go overdrawn or rely on credit card debt A third of Brits have reduced the number of people they plan to buy presents for this year, crossing off an average three people from their Christmas list. Friends are top of the list of those most likely to be dropped, as hard-pressed consumers look at ways of trimming their festive budgets, while Granddad's and Grandma's presents look the most secure. The new research into Christmas spending plans, commissioned by price comparison website Gocompare.com, found that on average we will spend £528 buying gifts for 10 people. While 70 per cent expect to spend the same amount or more as last year, 30 p...

Political and Natural Events Strongly Impact Room Rates in First Half of 2011, Says new Hotels.com Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®) LONDON, September 13/PRNewswire/ — Hotel prices have experienced pronounced volatility as a result of political turmoil and natural disasters in the first half of 2011, according to the latest Hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®). The average price of a room around the world rose by just 3% in the first six months of the year but this masked some steep rises and falls in regions affected by the historic events. Other factors such as currency strength and supply of rooms also impacted average room prices across the world, although the report shows that overall these were just 6% higher than when the HPI was launched in 2004, representing outstanding value for travellers. Prices fell 6% in Asia Pacific year-on-year but rose in all other areas: 4% in North America, 2% in Europe and Latin America and 1% in the Caribbean. Counting the Cost of the Arab Spring The upri...