Top family ski hotspots December 5, 2010 WHISTLER, Canada NESTLED in the Coast Mountain range, about two hours north of Vancouver in far Western Canada, Whistler-Blackcomb is North America’s largest ski resort. It is also one of its best, having hosted much of the Vancouver Winter Olympics last year. Whistler is not just for Olympians, however – it is a wonderful resort [...]
Darling and Cameron slug it out March 24, 2010 LISTENING to Alistair Darling speak for almost an hour was never going to be an exciting experience, but yesterday he was political diazepam. At one point I expected the whips to come round handing out Pro Plus. John Denham, the local governments minister, in particular appeared to be battling with unconsciousness. The only person who [...]
It pays to be the canary in the mine August 5, 2010 LONDONERS in search of rental bargains are getting wise to the fact that moving a few miles east into the Docklands gets you more space and higher specs for the same money. Rental prices in the Canary Wharf/Docklands area are on the up, but still offer better value than most other places within a short [...]
Replenish and renew with a Spring spa treatment April 6, 2010 The Refinery 60 Brook Street, W1K 5DU, 020 7409 2001 www.the-refinery.com The spa: A quiet, calming oasis for debonair chaps to enjoy a spot of pampering. There’s also a branch in Harrods. The treatment: The Well-Being treatment (75 mins, £90) begins with you being cocooned in blankets in a quiet, darkened room. Starting at the [...]
BACON TOP OF THE CROP OF RICH LIST HEDGIES April 22, 2010 IT’S been rich pickings indeed for the hedge fund community this year, if leaked information from the Sunday Times Rich List’s rundown of the wealthiest hedgies in town is anything to go by. Apart from two individuals whose wealth has stayed the same over the past year (Nat Rothschild at Atticus and Steven Heinz at [...]
CITY: KEN CLARKE FOR CHANCELLOR March 10, 2010 KEN Clarke would make a better chancellor than George Osborne, according to our panel of City A.M. readers. Clarke, who held the job between 1993 and 1997 and is now shadow business secretary, topped the vote with 36 per cent and pushed Osborne – the official shadow chancellor – into second place. The City A.M./PHI [...]
City applauds Tory cut-price shares move February 22, 2010 CONSERVATIVE plans to offer millions of people cheap shares in Britain’s nationalised banks have received a tentative thumbs-up from the City. Shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday outlined a scheme to hand small investors shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group when the government exits its £70bn stake. The “people’s bonus” would reward [...]
Banks and champagne are out, but the Tory big beast is still standing May 4, 2010 KEN Clarke has gone awol. He left the last campaign stop at the same time as his chief of staff, who has long since arrived, but is nowhere to be seen. “He insists on driving himself,” one aide tells me, with an exasperated look. Eventually, forty-five minutes after we’re supposed to meet, he storms into [...]
DIAMONDS ARE AN INVESTOR’S BEST FRIEND March 11, 2010 WE’VE all heard a lot of novel investment advice over the course of the last two bumpy years, but investing in your own diamond mine has got to be a new one. Investment firm Capital Alternatives has set up a new venture, Capital Mining, which plans to do just that, having recently snapped up the [...]
Financial regulation needs analysis, not prejudice February 28, 2010 As Michel Barnier, the European Union’s Internal Markets Commissioner, prepares to make his first official visit to the UK this week, I would like to welcome him on behalf of the City. Despite reports that his appointment will damage our financial services sector – on the back of President Sarkozy’s perhaps rather provocative comments late [...]