Six investment trends that will move markets in this decade January 3, 2010 YOU might say that trying to predict what will happen in the markets in the next 10 years is a mug’s game. A decade ago, the dotcom bubble was still inflating and Lehman Brothers was a flourishing investment bank. Nobody could have seen what the financial world would look like by the start of 2010. [...]
Shoppers defy cold to set Christmas record December 21, 2009 SHOPPERS are coming out in force in the run up to Christmas, setting records in the capital and throughout the country. The New West End Company, representing more than 600 traders in central London, declared sales have been even higher than expected. Jace Tyrrell, head of communications, said: “We have had a good weekend. We [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF December 14, 2009 Cox fires late to deny Rangers FOOTBALL: A goal deep into injury time from striker Simon Cox denied managerless Queens Park Rangers a hard-earned victory at Championship high-fliers West Brom last night. The visitors, with Steve Gallon and Mark Bircham in temporary charge, went ahead when Jonas Olsson’s attempted clearing header looped into his own [...]
It’s all Gold for Hammers as ex-City duo lodge £50m bid December 14, 2009 FORMER Birmingham City co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan stepped up their expected takeover of struggling West Ham last night by lodging a formal £50m bid. The Hammers are seeking new owners following the bankruptcy of Icelandic chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, while shirt sponsors, the XL holiday company, also went out of business. Gold, meanwhile, has [...]
Sun, sea and Hinduism all come together in Mauritius December 14, 2009 THE first thing that you notice about Mauritius is that it is a real place. By that I mean that it is a contrast to its holiday competitors in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles and Maldives. They are made up of dozens of tiny islands which are often owned by resorts and have been turned into [...]
Buy-to-let is back as rents stabilise and low prices attract landlords December 3, 2009 BUY-TO-LET is starting to look like an attractive proposition once again, as lower house prices and a stabilising rental market result in more enticing yields. Data from LSL Property Services – the company that owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies – shows that annual returns on landlords’ investments have turned positive for the [...]
West End rent is the highest in the world December 1, 2009 LONDON’S West End has regained its title as the most expensive place in the world to rent an office, overtaking Tokyo in the past six months as the recovery in demand for space begins to take hold. Despite recording an annual tumble in rents of nearly 18 per cent, banking and finance companies are increasing [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 30, 2009 FOOD AND MUSIC IN CAMDENA taste of Sicily is coming to Camden Town, in the shape of new restaurant Caponata, which opens tomorrow night. And Camden being the centre of London’s live music scene, it’s got its own music and arts space, called The Forge. Signature dishes in the main restaurant will include the, um, [...]
Forget Dubai’s woes: Iran is the real risk November 29, 2009 BANKS have written down $3 trillion or so over the past couple of years. We should therefore keep the crisis that is engulfing Dubai in some sort of perspective. The total debts of the Dubai government are around $80bn and nobody is suggesting that more than a small proportion will need to be written off. [...]
Think inside the Square: why the City is a top spot to buy a home November 26, 2009 IF YOU’RE looking for the ultimate Tube-busting pied a terre, the Square Mile can’t be bettered for history, beauty and – of course – convenience. Other financial centres are not exactly places you’d want to live: tightly packed with skyscrapers and fumes, they have a sterile, uninhabitable feel (just think of mid-town New York or [...]