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 [...]
Journey into the mighty history of Samarkand December 12, 2010 AROUND Tashkent airport, giant hoardings proclaimed in English: “Uzbekistan Airways Wish You Good Luck”. It might have been more unsettling to read that message driving into Heathrow before our departure. In fact, we’d had an incident-free flight on Uzbekistan Airways to Uzbekistan’s capital. Tashkent sounds endlessly exotic but isn’t really. Much was destroyed by a [...]
Gifts for kids December 8, 2010 DISNEY CARS LIGHTNING MCQUEEN 12-INCH BIKE, £99.99 Let your child be their very own Lightning McQueen on this bike modelled on the popular cars film. www.toysrus.co.uk BUZZ LIGHTYEAR, £49.99 The toy that goes to infinity and beyond. All good retailers TRON ZERO GRAVITY LIGHT-CYCLE, £34 The remote controlled Light Cycle can defy gravity by climbing [...]
The new four-seat frontier December 7, 2010 SHOULD a high performance sports car be practical and should practicality even be a consideration in terms of its design? What if the car is an Aston Martin? Good grief: has the world gone mad? Well it seems not, because these days when 50 is the new 40, a four-seat supercar can well be all [...]
Five ways to cut costs, whatever your business December 1, 2010 1. ASK “WHY?” If you think that something is wasteful, don’t accept that it is “just the way we do it here”. Bad habits can become engrained. In her book 100 Great Cost-Cutting Ideas, Anne Hawkins tells the story of a technology manufacturer which had been including needless technical information with all its products for [...]