Versace, the favoured brand of celebrities such as Elton John and Jennifer Lopez, is pulling out of Japan after nearly 30 years -- highlighting the depth of the consumer slump in one of the world's largest luxury markets. The Italian fashion house has closed all three directly owned shops in Japan and is expected to shut its Tokyo business office at the end of the month. The company's retreat reflects Japan's diminishing role as a consumer of luxury goods such ...

A train carrying Rahul Gandhi, the heir apparent of India's ruling Congress party, was pelted with stones Tuesday night, police said. Gandhi was traveling on one of India's Shatabdi Express trains -- fully air-conditioned, speedy trains preferred mostly by India's wealthy and upper-class travelers. Gandhi's train was hit by stones -- and at least two windows were broken -- as it passed through a village en route to the capital of New Delhi from Punjab state, a spokesman for Haryana ...

Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won't bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and ...

The Rancho Bernardo Inn, a San Diego luxury resort, is offering rooms for $19 a night. But there's a catch -- you have to sleep in a tent and bring your own toilet paper. The declining economy has taken a toll on the Rancho Bernardo, a 200,000 acre luxury resort which has three pools, a golf course, three restaurants and a spa that was named No. 1 by Conde Naste in 2008. "During a brainstorming session, we were talking about ...

Things can't get much worse for many of the world's top luxury brands. This week Coach, the high-end handbag seller, announced that profits slumped 32% for the quarter. Same-store sales at Saks were down 23.2% in the first five months of this fiscal year. BMW's U.S. sales are off 28.9%. Bain & Company, the consulting firm, is forecasting a record 10% drop in the overall U.S. luxury market this year. According to Bain, luxury won't fully recover until 2012. ...

The conventional but sophisticated modus operandi used in twin hotel bombings prompted Indonesian officials to suspect one of the nation's most-wanted men, official media reported Saturday. Anti-terrorism officials linked Malaysian-born fugitive Noordin M. Top to the Friday bombings of the luxury JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels that killed eight people -- including two suicide bombers -- and wounded more than 50 others, reported the state-run Antara news agency. "Although the modus operandi was conventional, it was carried out in ...

The little number on the tag on a pair of pants that indicates size can mean a lot to a person, and retailers know it. That's why, in recent years, as the American population has become generally more overweight, brands from the luxury names to the mass retail chains have scaled down the size labels on their clothing. "You may actually be a size 14 and, according to whatever particular store you're in, you come out a size ...

Iraq and Iran have rarely had the luxury of ignoring each other; in the 1980s, the two fought a bitter eight-year war, and more recently, since the U.S. toppling of Saddam Hussein, Iran has taken an active — and some would argue malign — interest in its neighbor to the west. But while Western leaders and pundits wring their hands over Iran's disputed election, there's been little anguish in Baghdad. It's not for lack of information. Iranian ...

A U.S. company is offering a rare chance to holiday on a mega-yacht once used by a Hollywood star and her husband -- and thanks to the recession it's actually affordable. Seattle-based mega-yacht rental business CEO Expeditions usually charges around $100,000 a week to charter their 100+ foot yachts, however, they have introduced a deal waiving the charter fees -- so guests will only need to pay for the running of the vessel. The move to make such vessels ...

Find yourself on the southern edge of Africa with 48 hours to spare and a good set of wheels at your disposal? Then set the GPS coordinates for Franschhoek in the Western Cape, and from there take a spin down Africa's southernmost road — the Garden Route. Here's an itinerary for two days of indulgence. DAY ONE Rise early from your luxury overnight accommodation at the Franschhoek boutique hotel — a historic, six-room retreat, tel: 876 4723, and head east along the N2 highway, with ...