Culture and shopping in Shanghai and Hong Kong November 10, 2013 When Michelle Filmer went to China, she split her time between its two most vibrant cities. From luxury to history, she selects the top ten highlights of her visit 1. THE BUND The waterfront area in central Shanghai that runs along the west bank of the Huangpu river is known as The Bund. The west [...]
Great Portland joins forces with Hong Kong Monetary Authority November 7, 2013 GREAT Portland has joined forces with Hong Kong’s central bank to develop a scheme that will sit next to Crossrail’s new Bond Street Station. The West End developer said yesterday it will sell properties that form part of Hanover Square in Mayfair to the joint venture fund, GHS Limited Partnership, for £202m. The Hong Kong [...]
Beware the unintended consequences of making a Living Wage mandatory November 4, 2013 IT’S LIVING Wage week, and many are endorsing the principle of raising low pay, whether by boosting the minimum wage, or by forcing local authorities and pressuring other private employers to pay the Living Wage. It’s an attractive proposition, advocated by politicians as varied as Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson. But it is worth pausing [...]
Join in our City Fit Challenge and diet your way to health November 4, 2013 THERE isn’t a worker in the City who doesn’t sometimes struggle to balance work, a social life and their health. Late nights in the office make trips to the gym harder. Regularly eating out makes controlling your calorie count difficult and, on the flip side, making a commitment to an intense exercise regime can impact [...]
A rural idyll a stone’s throw from London November 3, 2013 Under an hour from the capital, the Four Seasons Hampshire is the perfect place to recharge your batteries THREE years ago, during my first ever stay at a Four Seasons Hotel, my friend and I invented a game. In order to win all you had to do was walk from our room to the bar [...]
Sorry to be a party-pooper, but this is the wrong kind of growth October 31, 2013 EVEN the Bank of England sometimes makes mistakes. It was forced to correct its most recent data on consumer borrowing yesterday, in a development that confirmed what many of us feared all along: credit is beginning to surge dangerously. Yes, the economy has rebounded; but in many ways we are seeing the wrong kind of [...]
A hipster’s paradise at 100 Hoxton October 29, 2013 RESTAURANT 100 HOXTON 100-102 Hoxton Street, N1 6SG Tel: 020 7729 1444 FOOD Three stars VALUE Four stars ATMOSPHERE Two stars Cost for two with drinks: £70 OUTSIDE, a young woman draws on a cigarette, her waistline not much thicker than the rim of the spectacles worn by boys who glance at her as they [...]
Profits rise for Burger King as costs drop 90pc October 28, 2013 BURGER King Worldwide, known for its Whopper hamburgers, yesterday said it plans to introduce fewer seasonal and limited-time menu items in a bid to help restaurant operators improve profits and speed up service. Burger King, which reported a better-than expected third-quarter profit, has recently added a string of attention-getting products ranging from bacon sundaes and [...]
Battle of the Burgers: Burger King serves up sales growth to equal rival McDonald’s October 28, 2013 Fast food chain Burger King has reported higher quarterly profits on the back of cost reductions and higher same-restaurant sales growth in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Burger King said that same-restaurant sales grew by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter – the same as the growth reported by rival McDonald's [...]
Why we should all remember the man who built Canary Wharf October 28, 2013 THREE major forces help drive progress: economic and legal institutions; people, especially risk-taking buccaneers and entrepreneurs; and chance. The creation of Canary Wharf is a case study of how all three factors interact: its rise from the ashes of the bankrupt Docklands transformed London’s economy, enabling it to build and retain a world class financial [...]