Novelty ACTS May 5, 2011 IMAGINE an enormous aircraft hanger turned into Bond Street, repeat that several times, and you’ve an idea of what Basel’s annual watch industry knees up, Baselworld, is like. The March event has thousands of brands on show, and tens of thousands of dealers, buyers and industry executives (oh and the odd journalist) eyeing them up. [...]
Extreme engineering: TAG Heuer’s Mikrotimer May 5, 2011 BASELWORLD wouldn’t be Baselworld without a scene-stealing unveiling by TAG Heuer – a trend started back in 2004, when the rubber-belt-driven V4 concept was revealed to an incredulous crowd. Five years later, the concept was a reality, and we all learned to treat TAG Heuer as a serious player in experimental horology. Last year’s magnet-regulated [...]
BECAUSE IT’S WORTH IT May 5, 2011 IF YOU ever hear anyone discussing whether expensive watches are really worth the money that’s charged for them, try this true story on them. While snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef some years ago, a chap wearing a Rolex inadvertently knocked it against an outcrop. Torn from his wrist, the watch tumbled into the depths, [...]
A truly useful, if less than sexy, resource for the novice investor May 5, 2011 HOW TO BUILD A SHARE PORTFOLIO BY RODNEY HOBSON Harriman House, £16.99 Phillip Salter IF you own a handful of UK shares but lack a strategy beyond: “I like to shop at Tesco, so I bought a few of its shares,” this book will help you build a financial future upon more secure foundations. Written [...]
Britain must vote No to AV tomorrow May 4, 2011 FIRST it was wedding bells that drowned out campaigning for tomorrow’s referendum – and then it was Osama bin Laden’s death. But the vote on whether to change our voting system is nevertheless a hugely important moment for Britain’s democracy. We urge all of you who care about the way we are governed to take [...]
EU is set for its own sub-prime crisis April 18, 2011 HUMAN beings have an infinite capacity for self-delusion, especially when it comes to matters financial. I still remember how, in late 2006 and early 2007, all too few investors, financiers, commentators and regulators wanted to believe that the US property market was in the early stages of a crash or that there was anything to [...]
How to be the perfect interviewee March 30, 2011 GET THE JOB YOU REALLY WANT BY JAMES CAAN Portfolio Penguin, £12.99 IF YOU were going to create a parody of an inspirational business book, it would look a lot like Get The Job You Really Want (the “really” is actually underlined on the book’s cover). It has all the hallmarks of an inspirational business [...]
Cutting spending through the ages March 28, 2011 BEWARE, dear reader: this is a trick question. Which Chancellor of the Exchequer cut spending the most in a single year? Was it George Osborne in his Budget last week, which if this weekend’s protesters are to be believed is pushing through the most “reckless” reductions imaginable? Or was it the great Tory chancellor Nigel [...]
Why we shouldn’t bail out Portugal March 25, 2011 HERE’S a heretical thought: let’s not bail out Portugal. The near-bankrupt country has just seen its Prime Minister resign after losing a key vote on his government’s fourth austerity package in a couple of years, while Fitch has just downgraded the country’s credit rating. Yet the talk now is of a bailout – even though [...]
Moody’s cuts Spain’s debt rating March 10, 2011 Rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Spain’s sovereign debt rating by one notch and warned of further cuts to come. The cut in the rating – to Aa2 from Aa1 – drove the euro to session lows against the dollar, while the premium investors charge for Spanish ten-year debt instead of German Bunds expanded to its [...]