It’s time for the City to stop ignoring Brussels January 19, 2011 DID we not learn anything from the great British fridge fiasco? You remember those surreal months, when TV bulletins lead every night with the giant fridge mountains swamping the countryside, growing by the hour. And it was all because Britain sent a junior official into the Brussels lion’s den, and his London bosses not only [...]
Price hike Britain January 18, 2011 Fears were growing last night that Britain faces an explosion in the cost of living, with spiralling inflation threatening to erode savings and squeeze households already facing higher taxes. The consumer price index (CPI) shot up in December at the fastest rate since the Office of National Statistics (ONS) began reporting it in 1996, the [...]
Intelligent luxury under a hot blue sky January 16, 2011 ABU Dhabi sounds like a heady jumble of car, construction and human. In the daytime, the air is thick with noise as it is thick with the pervading haze of dust blown in from the sandlands to the south and thrown up by the never-ending construction. It softens the otherwise relentless sunshine, rendering everything (including [...]
The rotten luck of the Irish January 13, 2011 RUGBY UNION LONDON IRISH forward Nick Kennedy insists spirit in the camp is as healthy as it’s ever been despite a run of 10 consecutive defeats. That miserable sequence of results stretches back to the beginning of November, before when the Exiles had won six of their previous seven matches and put themselves in healthy [...]
An Asian haven fit for Kylie, Elle and the Beckhams January 9, 2011 GUEST REVIEWER I ‘M lying on a contraption that could belong in a torture chamber, twisting my body into a shape resembling a pretzel. I’ve done more exercise in the past week than all year and not one glass of wine or cup of coffee, or chocolate bar or bag of crisps, has passed my [...]
Domino’s sales top forecasts January 5, 2011 THE country’s biggest pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza yesterday said it expected its 2010 pre-tax profit to beat market forecasts following a strong finish to the year, sending its shares to an all-time high. Domino’s, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, has excelled through challenging economic conditions as cash-strapped [...]
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: LORD FORSYTH REACHES THE SUMMIT January 5, 2011 FOLLOWING The Capitalist’s update on Tuesday regarding the progress of the eminent Lord Forsyth, he wrote yesterday with a triumphant missive and picture: He has at last reached the top of Antarctica’s highest mountain and had just enough energy left to take a few snaps of himself brandishing an ice pick atop the summit. The [...]
Behind the scenes at the house of KRUG December 19, 2010 KRUG, the grand old Champagne house, has been feeling a little unloved of late. Revered across the world as a wine that’s emblematic and long-lasting, it is perhaps perceived as a Champagne to be bought, sold and stored, rather than drunk in celebration. This was not always so, and Krug wants to have fun again. [...]
EXPRESS YOURSELF, WITH UBS’S STYLE GUIDE December 15, 2010 THE Swiss are famous for their precision, but only when The Capitalist got hold of UBS’s 43-page dress code for its branch staff did it become clear just how highly the bank values exactness. The dress code has been doing the rounds for a few days now, but you might not have had a chance [...]
FIRST GIG IN 600 YEARS TO COME TO GUILDHALL December 14, 2010 GUILDHALL has seen its fair share of important cultural events over the years:?the trials of Lady Jane Grey, Thomas Cranmer and those involved in the gunpowder plot. But only now is this hallowed hall to host the first ever rock concert in its 600 year history, in the miserable month of February next year, when [...]