Money News
C’est la vie
Whenever I return to England from my home in France I am struck at once by the number of grossly…
The other side of the Alps
Switzerland has always been different: something of a sovereign interloper, the guest in the corner of a party that no…
Art attack
Britain has the biggest art market in the European Union, but that market has been plagued over the years by…
Asking the right questions
‘Forecasting is a mug’s game’ is a dictum often heard in the financial world, yet more often ignored. As our…
The robots are coming — and they want to make you rich
In a world where we’re heading for driverless cars, drones that deliver groceries to your back garden and smartphones that…
The patient capitalists: why private equity is a force for good
Bert Wiegman places two packages on the polished conference table in a third-floor office off Regent Street and leans back…
Interest rates must rise, but when?
The direction of travel for interest rates appears clear. Both the US and UK economies are growing at roughly their…
All at sea
Just two forces will determine how the ‘storm-tossed barque’ of your portfolio fares in the choppy waters ahead. One of…
Clueless and uncertain
During his time as the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke was notable for taking bold, often controversial…
Thinking ahead
As the nights draw in and the year-end approaches, we should all take stock of how our finances fared in…
To frack or not to frack
What a curious world we live in. It is now conventional wisdom that we have all embarked on a journey…
Marques that touch the heart
Buying a beautiful car that speaks of a bygone era of motoring style is for many people the fulfilment of…
Sparkling value
We all know diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But what can they do for your investment portfolio? Jewels have…
Choices, perspectives and dreams
After pension rules were relaxed by George Osborne in April, savers were reported to be ‘cashing in their pension pots’…
The next horizon
Given that the chaos which engulfed China over the summer included the bursting of the stock-market bubble, a double currency…
Is it wise to follow the crowd?
Investors are pouring into the crowdfunding arena. Barely five years old, the sector is growing in the UK at an…
The minimalist optimist
When you put your money into an actively managed investment fund, it’s as well to remember that you are putting…
Sail away
You see them in harbours from the Med to the Caribbean: retired British couples sitting on their yachts sipping gin…
A business of dreams
The buying, selling and training of the thoroughbred racehorse is a multibillion-pound global concern that tends to be 18 months…
Fiddle fanciers
As with vintage wines, there is a finite supply of violins made before 1785 by acknowledged craftsmen such as Antonio…
Catching falling knives
There is a curious pleasure to be had watching stocks plummet — as long as you don’t own them. It’s…
Conservative gains
At a party in London’s St James’s on election night, the many senior business figures present were ecstatic. We’d had…
Like Christmas, but not in a good way
Well, few saw that coming. After a drearily overlong campaign, election night managed to surprise us after all. This election…
Big Oil: not over yet
It was the kind of megadeal that sets pulses racing in the City. When in early April the oil giant…
Little Oil: cash is king
The small oil and gas company sector, consisting chiefly of AIM-quoted companies, has been massacred over the past few years,…
Save now, save plenty
George Osborne, just before the election, waved his golden wand to give the over-55s access to their pension cash at…