Hilton may be a sound long-term bet but there is no rush to check

Hilton may be a sound long-term bet, but there is no rush to check in. Its chief executive, the well-respected David Michels, has already miscalled the recovery once and, like his peers, is hesitant to repeat the mistake On any long-term view, Hilton is a winner. Deciding whether to invest in a hotel company is infinitely harder. Dairy Crest has spent a lot restructuring since buying Unigate’s dairies in 2000, and now has impressive giant state-of-the-art facilities. The company is concentrating on own-brand convenience foods for supermarkets or caf? It’s a competitive industry and Uniq will struggle Avoid. Finding that not thrilling enough, it has been on an acquisition spree this year that has taken it into furniture restoration and locksmithing.

The stock has had a good run, but is still worth buying for the 4.6 per cent dividend yield. But it has already achieved more than many dotcoms and could be a rewarding exercise for those prepared to chance their arm.. It has also introduced what could be described as “bolt-on franchises”, where traditional printers are logged in to the system. With a yield of 6 per cent it might be worth having a look at, even if it has got a very silly name.s.o’grady independent.co.uk.. Underlying earnings per share for the six months to September rose 31 per cent, about 20 percentage points, with mobile revenues up 10 per cent Not to be confused with Vodafone is Viridian. But the chief executive, Graham Wallace, the man who has, more than most, been responsible for this prodigious destruction of shareholder value, (C&W shares are on a 15-year low, 90 per cent off their peak) remains in post.Having lost only about half my money, I suppose I’m one of the lucky ones I never thought I’d write it, but I agree with Lord Suit. The abysmal performance of Cable & Wireless has led many an investor, and others, to compare the company with Marconi; the squandering of an excellent legacy “chasing a dream”, in the phrase of Lord Young of Graffham, formerly among Maggie’s ministers and a past chairman of C&W.

The poor media attention Aberdeen and other managers have received has been justified, and brought on the companies by their actions. There are few things in life more humiliating than having to put out a statement that you are, in fact, still alive. Mark Twain may have been able to pull it off with aplomb, by “… How should he invest this? AH, Northamptonshire.A John Cooper, co-director of adviser Weston Financial Group, says: “Your father should increase the capital available in an instant access ’safety fund’ in a deposit account, or up to £3,000 in a mini sash Isa Shop around for the best rates, including internet accounts. Neither option would normally provide the same level of guaranteed benefit as the previous scheme.”If the company goes out of business, normally the accrued benefits would be ‘bought out’ and secured with an insurance company Individuals could transfer to pension policies of their own. Pensions could be left in the original scheme or secured under a group buy-out plan.

Roger Knight, head of compliance monitoring at the Banking Code Standards Board, adds: “What they [Lloyds TSB] have done is strictly correct under the Banking Code, but they could have been more proactive.”Q I am 48 with 13 years’ contributions in a final-salary pension scheme of a former employer. Q I am charged interest at 19.9 per cent APR on my Lloyds Classic Reserve credit card. Lloyds TSB tells me it is so high because I am a long-standing customer with an “old type of card” Customers with newer cards are charged 13.9 per cent APR. These are valuable advances but they may deter some men from long-term relationships unless they are financially safeguarded. I wish Bedlam well, but, for the time being, with someone else’s money.* Thursday’s ground-breaking decision in the Lambert divorce case will only add to the pressure for pre-nuptial agreements.