As bankruptcy looms for the financially strapped luxury automaker, it is not surprising that the firm missed a scheduled loan payment on its $192 million federal loan.

 The firm has tried to raise new funding to no avail since last summer. Henrik Fisker, the cofounder of the company, resigned last month.

The federal loan money received by Fisker was part of a government program to loan car companies money to help them build more fuel efficient products. Fisker executives have been called to Washington for a Thursday hearing, where they will be grilled on how they used that loan money.

There are more places for luxury travelers to Turkey than Istanbul these days, reports The Daily Beast in a story that provides a list of destinations that are cropping up on the high-end front.

The Museum Hotel in Cappadocia is one example of the new travel trend in a country previously viewed as good place to stay on the yacht. It is as described, a museum and a hotel, which is built inside a hill. The destination has received attention from several known media sources.   

The Museum Hotel certainly speaks the language of what international travelers say they want: luxury combined with authenticity. Standing not so much on a plateau as inside a hill, the property is carved into a bluff that overlooks the cliffs and ravines and strange pillars that make Cappadocia resemble something out of a Dalí painting.

The NBA playoff season is here and players are getting plenty of “face time” from innumerable media outlets. This extra exposure has put the best and the worst dressed players in prime time (Russell Westbrook). 

This story from the Los Angeles Times depicts the players in an array of attire that ranges from casual to suit and tie to the “Did you actually see yourself in mirror?” look.

LeBron James is usually one to lead the way in the suit-and-tie category, while Russell Westbrook has become the trendsetter with the off-kilter polo shirts, thick glasses, tight and colorful pants, and complete outfits that just make heads turn.

The luxury hotelier wants a boss who can run with the job.  The hospitality industry leader, which is 95-percent owned by Bill Gates and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, wants new blood to lead the growth.  

Katie Taylor, former chief exec of Four Seasons, resigned in February, after a 24-year tenure with the company.

The respective investment companies owned by the prince and Gates plan to significantly expand on the number of properties of the storied luxury brand to 150 properties from its current 90 locations.

As headhunters look for a new leader for the company, Four Seasons is being run by a nine-person committee. There are said to be internal candidates, but no one will be startled if the new boss is an outsider more in tune with its owners’ ambitions.

While questions linger regarding the sustainability of the luxury market in China, it is serving the high-end luxury brands well. Hermes has reported nearly a 13 increase in its first-quarter sales over the previous year.

However, the overall performance of the brand is down in both China and the European market. Fox Business News sites this as an indicator that the luxury market, as a whole, is weakening at this point.  

But Hermes's overall performance slowed from the same period last year when revenue rose 17.6% as growth in sales of leather bags roughly halved from the fourth quarter to 7%, a drop it blamed on lower deliveries from its workshops.

High fashion brand Ralph Lauren has agreed to pay $1.6 million not to be prosecuted and to forego illicit profits obtained through bribing custom officials in Argentina, CNN reports.

The transgression occurred between 2004 and 2009 and involves around $580,000 in payoffs. The SEC and the Justice Department both praised the fashion house for its forthright demeanor in handling this situation.

"There was no evidence that the improper activity in Argentina was known or authorized by anyone outside of Argentina or that similar practices were occurring at other foreign operations," the statement said.

With more and more people being overweight, the widening of customers is causing a customer-relations nightmare for the airline industry.

Airbus announced that is plans to offer extra-wide seats on its A320 aircraft at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg last week. Certain seats will be widened to 20 inches from 18 inches to be more accommodating.

The situation has become such a heavy topic that one small, three-plane airline, Samoan Air, announced that it will charge customers according to their size.

In the plan, the rows would continue to have three seats, but the aisle seat would be expanded to 20 inches wide, while the middle and window seats would be reduced to 17 inches. Airlines would gain a brand new product in each row, to sell at a premium or to reward their best customers.

With all the changes going on at Microsoft, maybe it would be a good place for reality TV show?

After 11 plus years with the firm, Peter Klein has resigned as the CFO of Microsoft, CNBC reports.  Klein held the C-level position for the tech-giant over the past three-and-one-half years.

It is the second C-level exec to leave Microsoft within the year, as Stephen Sinofsky, the former CEO of Windows, left in November. There is no finger-pointing or complaints attached with the resignations. However, various industry pundits are questioning whether Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is still the right man for the job.

In his resignation letter, Klein wrote: "I am proud of the work that finance has done and the impact we have had on the Company. One reason that now is a good time to leave is that the organization is very strong, and I am delighted we will be naming an internal candidate. I couldn't be more optimistic about both the Company's and Finance's future." 

Who is the boss, indeed!  

Lord Wolfson, the CEO of the UK-based retailer Next, is donating his entire $3.7 million bonus to the 19,400 full- and part-time employees of the company.

The chief executive said that the gesture was a thank you and a show of appreciation from the company for all the hard work and commitment of the workers, reports the Telegraph.

The report speculates that this move “could lead pressure on other chief executives to make similar donations.”

Lord Wolfson added: "I remain very grateful for the way in which everyone has helped to navigate our business through this recession.

"The task of growing sales and controlling costs looks set to remain a challenge over the next few years. But if we continue with the hard work, intelligence, initiative and common sense of recent years, then we have every chance of continued success."

A documentary about the Italian fashion house Gucci will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, reports Entertainment Weekly. 

The Director covers an 18-month period at the design studio, providing a behind-the-scenes look at how campaigns are shot under the creative direction of Frida Giannini. Actor James Franco appears in the documentary and is also one of the producers of the film.

Check out the video trailer embedded in the article by EW.com.

With the demographic on high net worth/high-income individuals set to grow three to five percent annually over the next several years, the trend of the highest end of the luxury market growing and experiencing record-setting sales is expected to continue.

The Economist reports that Rolls-Royce, a division of the BMW Group, sold a record 3,575 cars in 2012. Volkswagen’s Bentley Motors also experienced a record-setting year in sales, showing a growth of 24 percent in 2012 over the previous year.   

“One thing is for sure,” says Rolls-Royce’s boss, Torsten Müller-Ötvös. “You will see more rich people in the world.” The group of “ultra-high net worth individuals” from which his customers are drawn is expected to grow by 3-5% a year in the years ahead. And in East Asia, where sales are growing fastest, it is more acceptable—expected, even—to underline your success in life by conspicuous consumption.

Do Volvo owners dance to the beat of a different drummer than owners of the other luxury brands?

That is what the Scandanavian automaker is highlighting as its differential advantage with its latest advertising campaign in the USA. The campaign presents Volvo owners as being sedate lovers of luxury instead of over-the-top lovers of all things materialistic.  The point is that Volvo owners are minimalists who are more down-to-earth and less status-symbol conscious than Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus owners.  

The Brand Channel reports that Volvo’s sales peaked 10 years ago and have declined ever since in the U.S.  Ford sold Volvo to Geely, a major Chinese automaker, in 2010.

 An outdoor effort is targeted in Volvo's top markets, such as southern California, positioning the brand versus traditional-luxury competition—such as with the tag line, "Pretense is so past tense." In Los Angeles, one outdoor sign, already erected, refers to the Volvo S60 as "100% real. Can't say that about everything around here."

 

Celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson has launched a line of leggings designed to fit working moms with an exercise lifestyle, reports BroadwayWorld.com. The leggings are vibrant and feature a wide waistband and flat seams. The exercise attire is supportive but not restrictive.    

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is Tracy Anderson’s business partner in this venture. Ms. Paltrow also is co-owner of Anderson’s Brentwood Studio.  The ladies also plan to open a clothing store next door to the studio.  Anderson also sells tops and sports bras online.

“When I work out, I don’t care about things being moisture wicked. I like the Lycra spandex very thin. They’re supportive but not too supportive to where you can’t move and feel you can exercise properly. When you’re exercising you’re supposed to be able to not feel constricted. People show up in pants basically like Spanx, but that’s not the appropriate way to allow for circulation and movement,” [Anderson] explained. 

Purchases of high-end handbags and coats from affluent Asian consumers have bolstered Burberry’s fourth quarter sales position in China, reports Reuters.

While sales from China’s “aspiring luxury” segment were down, the most expensive items sold well. The word is that Burberry is putting less time in its European wholesale business and spending more on cultivating the higher end of the luxury market in China.     

Fourth quarter group sales rose 10 percent to 503 million pounds, beating Perry's forecast of 489 million pounds and following a better-than-expected third quarter result. Retail sales, which make up 75 percent of revenue, grew 14 percent to 376 million pounds in the period.

The computer that will fit on your face will not be welcomed in various public places, reports NBC News.

The issue is privacy for other guests and the potential chaos that could ensue from owners of the wearable computers broadcasting live videos and making recordings without anyone knowing about it.

For starters, you can forget about taking Glass to Las Vegas. "We've been dealing with the cellphone videoing and the picture taking over the years and we are quick to make sure that that doesn't happen in the club," Peter Feinstein, managing partner of Sapphire Gentlemen's Club in Las Vegas, told NBC News, explaining that hosts check in any electronics a patron brings that could be used for filming.

While the buyers of the hyper-car market are limited, the brands entering the small market are increasing, reports Vanity Fair magazine.

The new hyper-car market of supercars consists of limited edition supercars costing seven figures, such as LaFerrari, the McLaren P1, and the Lamborghini Veneno. It is noteworthy that several hundred of each these cars will be produced.

There is more to these cars than high-performance; it is also about the emotions too, according to the exec editor of Road & Track.

"Speed alone isn't much of a thrill," Sam Smith, executive editor of Road & Track told us, undermining our assumptions about both science and joy, "at least not without emotion, or context, or some sense that you’re in control. So I suspect hypercars won’t get much faster, but they will get lighter, more involving, and more practical."

Jackie Siegel is back … and wants to become a star on a reality TV show (yawn)!

The billionaire couple that was made famous for their excessive indulgences as depicted in the award-winning documentary, Queen of Versailles, is once again constructing their dream house—a 90,000-square-foot single-family residence in Orlando, Florida. Upon completion, the estate will become the largest house in the U.S.

Construction on their palatial manor also known as Versailles, as in the palace, was halted when the recession put a damper on Mr. Siegel’s time-share business. However, with his business back on track, the Siegels are back and living larger than ever.

David Siegel filed a lawsuit to prevent the airing of the documentary, as they felt it showed Jackie as a shameless, over-the-top consumption machine. If you missed the first running of the Queen of Versailles, Bravo will rebroadcast it on April 29. (We can't wait to see this one.) 

Although she is reveling in the attention now, Jackie, 47, says she didn’t realize that “Queen’s” director, Lauren Greenfield, was making a film when she moved in with the family. “I thought it was going to be an episode on, like, a home makeover show,” she says. Her husband hated the film and sued Greenfield, saying he was also unaware she was making a movie. In January, he lost the case.

The guilt is gone and big decadence is once again vogue.

While the state of the world economy is questionable, it is not stopping the affluent from living richly most conspicuously, reports Time magazine.  

It is newsworthy when sales for a premium luxury automaker priced at around $200,000 spikes more than 25 percent worldwide. Sales for Bentley Motors increased by 26 percent in the first quarter 2013, and the company is on track to sell more than 8,000 vehicles in 2013.   

However, Bentley is not the only supercar maker experiencing record-breaking sales.  Porsche experienced its best-ever sales for the month of January, seeing an increase of 32 percent over January 2012.  Additionally, Audi reported its best-ever first quarter sales, with a 35 percent increase.  It is a small wonder that more and more six-figure automobiles are appearing at major car shows around the world. What does it mean? A recent article in the New York Times offered some insight on the trend. 

The surge in the luxury market, analysts say, is a sign that wealthy consumers sense that the nation’s financial health is solidly improving in ways that reinforce a willingness to splurge on expensive new models.

“A lot of luxury customers were waiting to see how things would shake out in the economy and the stock market,” said Alec Gutierrez, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “But they are becoming more and more confident.”

Everything in Dubai is grandiose and opulent … even its police cars!

The police department in Dubai will be adding a Ferrari to its mix of police cars, according to Gulfnews.com, reports the Houston Chronicle.

It will be the second supercar to join the squad this month, as a $550,000 Lamborghini Aventador was introduced last week. The high-end police department also has several Chevrolet Camaros in the mix as well. 

"These sports cars will not be roaring and chasing speeding motorists," Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, told Gulfnews.com.

A shortage of affordable housing for middle-income professionals in London has prompted the Grosvenor Group Ltd to focus on buying rental properties to meet the demand.

 The prominent real estate company, which is owned by the Duke of Westminster’s family, believes that it will receive a better return on investing in rental properties versus luxury properties, reports Bloomberg News. Other real estate development firms and investors are following suit. 

Even the UK government is getting into the act, as it has upped its funding for newly built rental homes to 1 billion pounds from 200 million pounds.   Mark Preston, the CEO of Grosvenor Group Ltd., summarized his firm’s position on the situation tidily.

 Middle income professionals” who typically seek to buy homes are “finding the pricing and availability of finance is much more difficult and are therefore turning to renting,” Preston said. The growth rate in luxury-home values “is probably not sustainable,” he said.