Worldwide briefing

Essential news from around the world…

Mövenpick issues profit warning
Mövenpick Holdings, the Swiss hotels and catering group, expects a sharp drop in 2001 profits because of the economic slowdown and a drop in consumer confidence. The group said it also expected sales in 2001 to be below last year's. Mövenpick said that for the year to the end of Spetember sales were down by 2%. It cited the 11 September attacks, crises in the Middle East and at Swissair and the unstable financial markets as reasons for the decline.

Raffles profits up
Raffles Holdings, the hotel operator, has reported a profit of S$325.73m (£125.2m) for the nine months to 30 September, compared with S$50.95m (£19.6m) for the same period last year. The group said the increase was due mainly the disposal of its 55% interest in property company Tincel. Richard Helfer, president and chief executive of Raffles, said the third quarter had been difficult, however, with a slowdown in tourist traffic following the events of 11 September.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

California council protects fired hotel employees
The Santa Monica City Council in California is considering a plan to protect hotel employees who have been laid off because of a slump in tourism following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington last month. The new law may also force hotels and restaurants to re-hire staff when tourists start returning.

Cypriot caterer expands in Balkans
Louis Catering is expanding into the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Contract catering giant Compass has a financial stake in the Cyprus-based group.