Plot your watch shop route November 6, 2014 If some nifty wristgear features in your beloved’s letter to Father Christmas, you need to plan your shopping expedition with appropriate precision – easy thanks to London’s bulging watch-retail scene The Square Mile The Royal Exchange, Bank Probably the UK’s most luxurious shopping mall, REX has become a mini-hotspot of horology, thanks to the recent [...]
Just starting out in the City? Here’s how to be noticed October 5, 2014 Dress smartly, finish your work, build your network, and you’ll be fine. As graduate schemes open their doors for a new generation of employees, the City is now flooded with fresh-faced grads, all eager to impress. But how to stand out? A few simple steps can go a long way to getting you noticed. [...]
The secrets of time management August 17, 2014 You can boost productivity through email subfolders, press-ups and a virtual assistant. At the office, often the last thing you can do is work. Emails flood in, colleagues make urgent requests, and fires need to be fought. But a few pointers can help get the most out of each day. IMPORTANCE, NOT URGENCY [...]
Pork barrel UK: Buying off voters with taxpayer cash has serious consequences August 4, 2014 THE CLASSICAL liberal French economist Frédéric Bastiat once said that “government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else.” Over the past year or so, numerous examples and allegations suggest that a more accurate pearl of wisdom for the UK would be: “Government is the great fiction, [...]
Mitchells & Butlers nearing finish line in its bid to buy Orchid pubs May 29, 2014 A BEVY of All Bar Ones and Harvester pubs could soon be flooding the high street after owner Mitchells & Butlers announced it was nearing a deal to acquire a portfolio of pub sites from operator Orchid Group. M&B, which runs about 1,600 pubs and restaurants across the UK, said it was in exclusive talks [...]
Secrets of London part II: Our homebuyer’s guide reveals more hidden gems October 3, 2014 In the second part of our series on hidden London, we reveal the secrets and ancient artefacts living side-by-side with some London’s newest and most innovative residential architecture. Here are just some of the treasures future homeowners will be living alongside, including Ernest Hemingway’s favourite riverside pub in London, a tribute to the [...]
Avoiding armageddon: Why preventing disasters may not be worth the cost June 18, 2014 Undergraduate economists often set a simple problem. When faced with a natural disaster, is government intervention worthwhile? Simple cost-benefit analyses will often do the job. The 1998 action flick Armageddon presents just such a problem. A giant asteroid is headed towards earth, and is likely to end all human life. In that instance, the answer [...]
The new Isa: Three things you need to know about it July 1, 2014 The new Isa (Nisa) is a day old and, despite speculation that a rush of investor funds could wobble providers’ systems, savers shouldn’t be deterred from making the most of the enhanced benefits of the liberalised tax wrapper. What has changed? Among several new rules, the amount of money an individual can shield within the [...]
Munich Re shares fall as flooding hits first half profits August 6, 2013 The world’s biggest reinsurance company Munich Re has reported a 4.5 per cent fall in first half profits to €1.5bn (£980,000) as it was hit by claims from natural disasters in the second quarter of the year (release). Share prices are down around 4.5 per cent. Net income fell to €529m from €808m in the [...]
Focus on… Ladbroke Grove: Feeling the love for Ladbroke Grove May 22, 2014 IT MAY be a small area, but Ladbroke Grove in west London is making a big impact on the property market. The area just north of Kensington and south of Paddington is a bustling collection of tree-lined streets packed with boutique shops, independent restaurants and Portobello Road Market. “It’s set itself apart from nearby areas [...]