Nearly quarter past eleven

At the climax of the classic 1980s film Trading Places , the attempt by rapacious brokers Mortimer and Randolph Duke to corner the market by buying orange juice futures ends in bankruptcy after the price collapses. The duo might have had more success this year. Orange juice futures are the best performing "soft" commodity since the coronavirus outbreak struck with the price up by a quarter in the past month to 119c per pound. American consumers fearful of shortages have been stockpiling the juice in their freezers. Ole Hansen, head of commodities at Saxo Bank - and a fan of the film - says: “This time the virus has cornered the orange juice market.” Orange juice may have seen the biggest gains but the picture for "softs" is decidedly mixed. Some have been beneficiaries of the short-term stockpiling effect.  But others - like corn and sugar - have suffered as a result of a collapsing oil price , while cotton has been hit due to the dire economic outlook as billions adjust … [Read more...] about Prices of oranges, flour and coffee jump amid panic-buying

Boris Johnson has seemingly survived partygate; but can he survive harsh economic reality? Is this, in other words, a case of out of the frying pan of rule-breaking trivia into the potentially far more lethal flames of a seemingly intractable cost-of-living crisis? The Prime Minister is burning through his nine lives with ferocious speed, yet it is just about possible to see how he might see this one off too. To be sure, the economic narrative as it now stands is grim, with inflation surging to levels not seen since the early 1980s and the chances of recession rising by the day. Some business leaders I talk to already regard another near-term recession as inevitable. Indeed, the parallels with the early years of the first Thatcher government – when a global recession, initially prompted by an oil price shock, tore through the UK economy, with devastating consequences for inflation, interest rates, and employment – are quite striking in this regard. Without the triumph of the … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson jumps out of the partygate frying pan into the inflationary flames

Crossrail may be billions of pounds over budget and three-and-a-half years late but it's finally ready to roll. This extraordinary feat of engineering is due to be put into service on Tuesday, when it will adopt its correct title of the Elizabeth Line. The Queen made a surprise visit to Paddington station this week and officially opened the line. On the line: The Thames flows through Maidenhead, which will now enjoy a direct link to Central London thanks to its new Crossrail station Linking Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east with Heathrow and Reading to the west of the capital, it will bind together existing commuter railways, accelerating cross-city travel and relieving overcrowding on the London Underground — particularly the often hellish Central Line. Commuters' journey times will be slashed; Reading to London Liverpool Street, for example, will take under an hour. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Back to school! As Farrow & … [Read more...] about Crossrail house price hotspots: Reading, Maidenhead and Slough are set to reap the benefits from Elizabeth Line opening

By Hugh Schofield Published 15 March 2016 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing About 18,000 people in France are believed to have been defrauded in one of the biggest ever arts-market scams. They bought shares in rare manuscripts and letters to a value of nearly 1bn euros, before the company behind it was shut down by regulators. Now the victims of Aristophil want to know what is left of their investment. Up until a few months ago you could visit a place called the Museum of Letters and Documents, on the Boulevard Saint-Germain in the heart of literary Paris. Even this morning, Wikipedia English said the museum - with its stock of 130,000 rare manuscripts - was open for business. It isn't. What was once the haunt of dreamy youth is now a branch of Bang and Olufsen. The documents are in a warehouse in Seine-Saint-Denis. The closure followed the disgrace of a businessman … [Read more...] about Were investors conned into buying rare manuscripts?

Published 2 days ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Danish fashion tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen is still the richest person in Scotland, according to a study of the UK's wealthiest people. The 2022 Sunday Times Rich List found there were 10 billionaires in Scotland. Brothers Sandy and James Easdale, former directors of Rangers football club, are the wealthiest newcomers to the list. But Jim McColl, a former owner of the Ferguson Marine shipyard, lost his billionaire status. The 10 billionaires at the head of the 2022 Rich list have a combined wealth of £23.054bn - more than a quarter of this is in the hands of Mr Holch Povlsen. Who is Anders Holch Povlsen? Holch Povlsen is Scotland's biggest private landowner and owner of the Danish fashion retailer Bestseller. His personal fortune increased by £500m in the past year to £6.5bn, according to The Sunday … [Read more...] about Landowner Anders Holch Povlsen tops Scotland’s rich list again