Swedish, swift and very swish January 4, 2011 THIS is the first Saab to be launched since GM handed the brand over to Dutch supercar maker Spyker, and one that gives a flavour of what Saab might look like in the future. It’s been a long, long 13-year wait since the previous 9-5. Thankfully this one is a lot more attractive and slick [...]
What to do about financial illiteracy January 10, 2011 HERE is a suggestion for the City’s top banks: each should make an immediate and very large donation to a special new educational fund for financial literacy. I’m talking real money here, hundreds of millions for each of the mega-banks, as well as contributions from big insurers and wealth managers – when I first started [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 5, 2010 MS LAUNCHES NEW GROWTH PLAN Morgan Stanley this week announced the launch of its FTSE Gilt-Backed Growth Plan 4, which offers investors a fixed return equivalent to 8.5 per cent a year, paid on the first anniversary that the FTSE records flat or positive performance. If this does not happen, then investors still have some [...]
FOCUS ON: BASILDON, ESSEX July 15, 2010 COBURG LANE, Price: £152,500 This smart two-bedroom maisonette would be ideal for first-time buyers. It comes with off-street parking and access to communal gardens. There’s no onward chain. Contact: Balgores on 01268 271110, www.balgoresproperty.co.uk SAMUEL ROAD Price: £280,000 A spacious four-bedroom house with plenty of storage and a well-sized back garden. It is within walking [...]
Central banks will be net buyers of gold next year October 7, 2010 Central banks are expected to be net buyers of gold in 2011 for the first time in nearly two decades, the World Gold Council (WGC) said yesterday. “For next year, we will probably see a scenario where central banks are net buyers [of gold] for the first time in something like 17 years,” Marcus Grubb, [...]
FOCUS ON: GREENWICH, SE10 July 22, 2010 ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY Price: From £165,000 A luxury flat in an 18th century military school is not the typical home of a first-time buyer. But a regeneration project has turned the academy into a luxury development with studios, one-beds and two-beds on offer. Contact: Hamptons on 020 8856 0034, www.theacademy-woolwich.com FINGAL STREET Price: £435,000 A [...]
FOCUS ON: GREENWICH, SE10 July 22, 2010 ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY Price: From £165,000 A luxury flat in an 18th century military school is not the typical home of a first-time buyer. But a regeneration project has turned the academy into a luxury development with studios, one-beds and two-beds on offer. Contact: Hamptons on 020 8856 0034, www.theacademy-woolwich.com FINGAL STREET Price: £435,000 A [...]
Home comforts point to Indian World Cup glory February 17, 2011 JUST OVER a month ago and England were joint-favourites with some layers for the World Cup. They are now out to 17/2 with Victor Chandler and bookies will happily take your money. Lifting the World Twenty20, their maiden international trophy, last year and their rousing Ashes victory in the winter are fading memories after the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AUSTRALIA’S GROWTH RATE STALLS IN THIRD QUARTER Australia’s economic growth rate slowed markedly in the third quarter to its weakest level in two years as higher interest rates cut into housing investment and the rise in the Australian dollar hit exports. The 0.2 per cent rise in gross domestic product compared with the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AUSTRALIA’S GROWTH RATE STALLS IN THIRD QUARTER Australia’s economic growth rate slowed markedly in the third quarter to its weakest level in two years as higher interest rates cut into housing investment and the rise in the Australian dollar hit exports. The 0.2 per cent rise in gross domestic product compared with the [...]