Why a wealth tax is a very bad idea January 23, 2012 EVERY few months, when the going gets tough for the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable renews his call for a “Mansion Tax.” With the LibDems slumping to a disastrous 9 per cent in a YouGov poll, against 41 per cent for the Tories and 36 per cent for Labour, it was no surprise to see him [...]
The Gresham, an art deco palace on the Danube, is Budapest’s finest hotel January 16, 2012 Budapest is sometimes compared to Paris. While very pleasant indeed – especially if you go in the summer and lounge by the vast 19th century public baths in the scorching sun – the city doesn’t really compete with Paris in terms of beauty, architecture or cultural riches. With its history of hardship and decimation, how [...]
Cameron right to back shareholders January 9, 2012 SO David Cameron believes in capitalism after all. His proposal to give shareholders a binding vote on the pay of their CEOs is sound. Companies are owned by shareholders, not directors, government, workers or busybodies; it is shareholders’ job to be involved in key decisions and not become absentee landlords. Rewards for failure in business [...]
US trade gap narrows sharply in October December 9, 2011 The US trade deficit narrowed in October to its lowest in 10 months, but imports from China hit a record high, a new government report has shown. The trade gap totaled $43.5bn, in line with a consensus estimate from analysts before the report. However, the Commerce Department revised its estimate of the September trade deficit [...]
Cameron must be radical on Europe December 8, 2011 ONCE again, the British public is being mis-sold a European treaty. Some of what is being proposed is, as advertised, about “saving” the euro by trying to make it harder for nations to overspend and over-borrow. But what has imposing a Tobin tax on London, to raise billions that would be transferred to Brussels, got [...]
Raise a glass: whisky comes in from the cold December 7, 2011 A T some point in your life, it’s likely that whisky will have left its rich mark. Often it was the first spirit most of us tried; a sneaky nip from our parent’s drinks cabinet – and unfortunately, there are those who never shake off the idea that whisky is a bit, well, fusty. The [...]
Don’t underestimate the blends December 7, 2011 SOMETIMES seen as the poor relation to single malt, interest in blended whisky has been re-ignited by the trend for classic whisky cocktails and some innovative international serving methods. Blended whisky accounts for 92 per cent of global whisky consumption. New territories like the Far East are discovering its promise, especially as part of a [...]
London’s finest whisky cocktails December 7, 2011 ‘WHISKY BLAZER’ AT THE RIB ROOM, JUMEIRAH CARLTON TOWER HOTEL, KNIGHTSBRIDGE The classic cocktail for frosty nights, the fiery Blazer – famous for the arcing blue flame created as the burning whisky is poured back and forth between two glasses – will be a draw at the Rib Room’s soon-to-open cigar terrace. It’s here made [...]
Land of the rising dram December 7, 2011 HEAD up 25 floors to the top of Tokyo’s Shiodome Park Hotel and you find a craftsman at work. Ensconced in the centre of one of Japan’s finest drinking dens, the sultry Bar a Vins, Mr Takayuki Suzuki hand-carves perfectly spherical orbs out of ice. These he drops into a tumbler and pours over whisky [...]