Forget the crushing consensus of trigger warnings and safe spaces: Our world needs more contrarians November 28, 2016 The news that the London nightclub Fabric is to potentially reopen is welcome. The progressive house music played there provided an antidote to the chart-toppers heard in the more salubrious salons of the West End. Similarly, those who speak out and stand up for what they believe in provide a contrarian view to mainstream thinking. This [...]
Claudio Silvestrin, architect to Kanye West and Calvin Klein, unveils his newest project in Hampstead, north London November 23, 2016 This brand new, ultra-contemporary mansion looks like it belongs in the sunny peaks of the Hollywood Hills. In fact, it’s nestled away in a quiet, exclusive corner of Hampstead, but its starry aesthetic is the creation of an award-winning architect who’s used to bringing the lavish home-stylings of the rich and famous to life. Claudio [...]
Chancellor Hammond must focus on the quality of infrastructure spending, not its quantity November 22, 2016 Keynes is back, or so it seems. Both left and right wing movements across the West are calling for greater government borrowing to finance infrastructure projects. In the US, Donald Trump is proposing to invest $500bn. In the UK, Labour’s John McDonnell wants an even more lavish £500bn programme, equivalent to around a quarter of [...]
Property transactions fell eight per cent in October November 22, 2016 Property transactions fell eight per cent year-on-year in October, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Read more: London's house prices won't rebound until 2020, according to JLL When accounting for seasonal changes in property sales, the number of residential property transactions in October came to 97,640, as compared to 106,120 in the [...]
JD Sports is opening another megastore on Oxford Street November 21, 2016 JD Sports is opening another megastore on Oxford Street just in time for the busy Christmas period. The 16,000 sq ft store will open at the West One shopping centre on 10 December and is the brand's second shop on Oxford Street. JD Sports said the new store will create 125 jobs. The sports retailer is [...]
Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rebound as dollar surge weakens and Opec hopes revive November 18, 2016 Oil prices rebounded this morning after a surge in the US dollar weighed on the black stuff and took Brent crude below $46 and US sweet crude under $45. Brent crude flat at $46.49 a barrel this morning, lifting from a low of $45.78, as optimism that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) managed [...]
Jimmy Choo’s share price rises on sterling’s slide November 18, 2016 Jimmy Choo's share price climbed this morning after the company reported revenue growth due to improved trading and store openings. The luxury retailer's share price was up three per cent at time of writing. Read more: West End gets Brexit boost as sales to tip over £9bn for the first time It said its success [...]
Retail sales defy gloomy predictions ahead of a bumper Black Friday November 18, 2016 Retail sales have outperformed expectations ahead of the nation's biggest shopping spree – Black Friday. According to the Office for National Statistics, the volume of retail sales increased by 7.3 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2015 – the highest growth rate for fourteen years. The amount spent online grew by [...]
Overrated Angela Merkel is no saviour for a free world fearing Trump November 18, 2016 Before hysterical Glastonbury-style crowds in Berlin in 2008, Barack Obama first burnished his international reputation as a “rock-star”. Then just a presidential candidate, his vision of cooperation between Russia and the West, of Middle East peace, and of “a global commitment to progress” was excitedly greeted as the start of a new chapter in US [...]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them review: a full-on Christmas blockbuster that’s bursting with imagination November 17, 2016 No more, JK Rowling vowed as the Harry Potter series – her magnum opus that took 17 years to write – finally came to an end. And she’s largely kept her word, apart from the studio tour, the theme park and the play that’s currently in the West End. Oh, and a website she runs [...]