What to drink this Christmas December 6, 2009 Champagne As chosen by Esme Johnston, director of www.fromvineyardsdirect.comPerrier JouetBelle EpoqueCream and honey, brioche and lingering nutmeg notes make this special edition bubbly a delightful classic that’s wonderful with food or on its own. £86.95 at www.thedrinkshop.com Serge Mathieu Superb grower’s champagne, it’s nutty and golden with creamy richness and a light, punchy mousse. Great [...]
Tesco takes the gloves off as Christmas price war hots up December 6, 2009 Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco has launched its most aggressive Christmas discount drive, designed to blow its upmarket rivals out of the water. The supermarket giant is slashing the prices of more than 200 products in its Finest range in a bid to stop shoppers defecting to Waitrose and Marks & Spencer for luxury food treats. [...]
Buy-to-let is back as rents stabilise and low prices attract landlords December 3, 2009 BUY-TO-LET is starting to look like an attractive proposition once again, as lower house prices and a stabilising rental market result in more enticing yields. Data from LSL Property Services – the company that owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies – shows that annual returns on landlords’ investments have turned positive for the [...]
Keep your eyes on the pies December 2, 2009 CHRISTMAS without mince pies would be like a British summer without rain – simply not possible. We love our mince pies – at least before a month of over-eating them makes us a stone heavier and permanently nausceous. But they can vary in quality. At their best, they are a combination of sweet, sour, gooey [...]
…AND WINES TO MATCH December 2, 2009 CROFT’S PARTICULAR A rich Amontillado-style cream sherry like this one works well for your more traditional pie – and traditional pie eater. It’s an unusually pale sherry, which uses fino instead of oloroso as the base wine, lightening up the style overall, and adding the interesting nuances. £10.06 at Waitrose. H&H VERDELHO MADEIRASometimes, nothing beats [...]
Bolland’s exit creates a gap November 22, 2009 Marc Bolland’s defection from WM Morrison to Marks & Spencer may have signalled the end of one succession saga – but has promptly sparked another, as the City clamours to predict who will fill the Dutchman’s shoes. Bolland is widely credited with transforming Morrison’s after its problematic acquisition of Safeway in 2004. When news broke [...]
Japanese whisky, the spirit of Christmas November 11, 2009 IF JAPANESE whisky sounds like a joke – something akin to the Jamaican bobsleigh team, or Indian wine – then you clearly don’t know very much about spirits. At last year’s World Whisky Awards, Yoichi 20-year-old was voted the best whisky in the world, while Suntory’s Hibiki was voted the best blended whisky. If you [...]
Clubcard lifts Tesco’s share of customers November 10, 2009 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is growing market share for the first time in two years as it fights back at its rivals, industry figures show. Tesco’s double Clubcard points promotion – which cost the group around £5m a week – helped its share of the grocery market climb to 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks [...]
M&S beats forecasts as it says no to discounting November 4, 2009 MARKS & SPENCER (M&S) yesterday said that there would be no blanket promotions that dominated the high street last year in the run up to the Christmas period, after its half year sales beat City forecasts. Executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose yesterday said that this year included very different circumstances. He said: “Last year people [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INDIA SOLD ON GOLDGold surged to an all-time high after India bought 200 tonnes of the precious metal, swapping dollars for bullion as the finance minister warned the economies of the US and Europe had ‘collapsed’. India’s decision to exchange $6.7bn for gold equivalent to eight per cent of world annual mine production [...]