Bah humbug! Cost of Christmas dinner was up again! Erratic weather & African swine fever affected food prices around the world. Higher turkey (up 6%, due to higher temperatures in summer), pork & Brussels sprouts prices increased wholesale cost of UK Christmas dinner by 3% from 2018. Vegetables were affected by rain in recent months. Chilled…
Month: December 2019
Bauble Roman tradition to hang fruit on trees led to Christmas baubles. Apples, candy canes & pastry stars, hearts & flowers decorated trees until glass baubles were invented in mid-16th c. in Lauscha, Germany. Queen Victoria’s tree, hung with baubles from her husband’s native Germany, appeared in a London newspaper & set off a trend. FW…
Outdoor lights Outdoor lights symbolise the Christmas season. Evolved from 17th c German tradition of lighting the tree with small candles. 1880 – 1st outdoor electric light display by Thomas Edison. 2 years later, his colleague, Edward Johnson made the 1st string of lights, with 80 small bulbs. Outdoor Christmas lights spark joy – &…
Rustic The rustic cottage offers refuge from politics, commercial pressures & the cold. Consumers fulfil the fantasy of a Christmas country cottage by renting one – even the smallest & most remote dwellings get snapped up quickly. Time with family & friends, in a timeless rural setting, is the antidote to urban noise, hustle &…
Guess the Word and Contact Us for Prizes! Series 52 starts soon….. 1st letter of each Post Title (in a Series) spells a business word – spelt correctly or jumbled up. Previous answers: Series 51 spelt P-A-W-W-I-S-H (WHIPSAW) Series 50 spelt L-I-O-N-S-M-E-E-T (MILESTONE) Series 49 spelt C-G-U-R-N-E-Y (URGENCY) Series 48 spelt T-I-C-K-S-L-O-P-E-S (STOCKPILES) Series 47 spelt …
Hedge funds Hedge fund fees pour out of the sky during market-beating alpha returns which averaged 18.3% pa in 1990s, 6.4% in 2000s, 3.4% pa since 2010. But buoyant markets now mask outflows to keep their global size constant at £2.3tn ($3tn, €2.7tn). In 2018, 580 funds out of 11,000 closed, outnumbering launches for a…
Saving Germans squirrel away 10% of disposable income regardless of economic crises or interest rates, double that of the average European or American. Only Swedes & Swiss save more. In contrast, Britons save about 3%. In 2016, their savings rate was actually negative. 1778: world’s 1st savings bank founded in Hamburg. Most Germans view the…