It is about time for the dollar to reverse course October 26, 2010 THE US dollar has been the market’s whipping boy for some time now. For the last three months, the world’s reserve currency has persistently fallen against other currencies and most commodities, in a pattern described by one analyst as “everything up/dollar down”. With yields on dollar-denominated assets lower than ever before, lots of traders are [...]
Behind the scenes at the house of KRUG December 19, 2010 KRUG, the grand old Champagne house, has been feeling a little unloved of late. Revered across the world as a wine that’s emblematic and long-lasting, it is perhaps perceived as a Champagne to be bought, sold and stored, rather than drunk in celebration. This was not always so, and Krug wants to have fun again. [...]
Behind the scenes at the house of KRUG December 19, 2010 KRUG, the grand old Champagne house, has been feeling a little unloved of late. Revered across the world as a wine that’s emblematic and long-lasting, it is perhaps perceived as a Champagne to be bought, sold and stored, rather than drunk in celebration. This was not always so, and Krug wants to have fun again. [...]
The past lives on as Agatha Christie’s top hotel reopens October 17, 2010 ONCE you’ve been to Istanbul, Paris, Berlin and even London seem somehow paltry, a bit small-scale and even a touch banal. The enormity and seductiveness of the Bosphorous, especially at sunset, and the mesmeric mixture of ancient history, Ottoman splendour and Islamic architecture beguile every traveller. Its appeal was just as strong for the most [...]
SOCGEN STRATEGIST PUTS ASIDE HIS SHAME TO FLEX FOOTY MUSCLE November 7, 2010 THERE’S been some glowering across the desks over at SocGen, where a divergence in the viewpoints of European economists Albert Edwards and Dylan Grice last week played out via email to their amused army of readers. Edwards, in a note playfully entitled “Shame on you, Dylan Grice”, defended his own perma-bearish “Ice Age” view on [...]
Don’t let your pension shrink due to big fees October 21, 2010 WITH Britain’s traditional pensions model in crisis, more savers are opting to take full control of their pension. The latest data available from the Office for National Statistics shows that assets in self-administered pension funds grew from £620.4bn to £927.7bn between 2002 and 2008 and their total income was £61.6bn last year. This growth has [...]
FOCUS ON: BRENTWOOD, ESSEX October 14, 2010 CREST BASE Price: From £183,000 This new development in the heart of Brentwood has both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for sale. The living area is open-plan and each flat also has a bathroom and a kitchen. Depending on the stage of construction, you can personalise various aspects of the internal finish. For commuters it is [...]
Planning now will save time and cash later November 18, 2010 ALMOST everything you will ever want or have to do in life will cost you money, so it is worth – every now and again – taking stock of your situation to think about your goals and how you can plan your finances accordingly. Next week is Financial Planning Week, which should provide you with [...]
Flame and meat on Jamie’s menu October 27, 2010 IF you know where to look, there are still plenty of places in the City where you can have gristly pies, waterlogged vegetables and boiled potatoes smeared with marge for your lunch. However, in the past years the City’s restaurants have changed beyond recognition, with a sprinkling of Michelin stars and one of the country’s [...]
Two hot new hotels signal a new wave of cool for Miami October 31, 2010 HURRICANE SEASON”. It’s a phrase I’d blithely brushed aside clicking “add to basket” on my Miami flight, and continued to ignore while enthusiastically selecting “convertible” as a rental car. Now, trapped on the bridge to Miami beach, windscreen wipers going like the clappers and palm trees bent straining under the gale force winds, it’s one [...]