Has le Carre gone mad?
John le Carre has confessed he thought of defecting. In an interview intended to publicise his new novel The Most…
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Wealth
To the Victors, the Spoils
In the brutal times of the credit crunch, the Spear’s Awards remind us of the good work that goes on…
ByA Junior Minister’s Attack
McNulty’s attack on the former head of MI5 is unprecedented and outrageous. According to the Tony McNulty, Minister of State…
ByDemocracy and the West
Tour guides in Georgia invariably ask how Stalin is viewed in the west, inviting suggestions that he was sorely misunderstood.…
ByDora Loewenstein is London’s chief party girl
William Cash accepts a much-coveted invitation to meet Dora Loewenstein, queen of London’s society events and now doyenne of the…
ByIt’s All Right For Some
The past three months have been extraordinarily challenging for equity and bond investors — more so, I must say, than…
ByFight the Power!
Last winter, my son persuaded me to take the family to an exclusive beach resort in Mauritius where some of…
ByFrom Russia with Loot
The gas and oil that flow through snaking pipelines from Russia reach Europe with a great deal more ease than…
ByAnother Country
It is a little over ten years since the Russian state defaulted on its sovereign debt, an event that practically…
ByHaven on Earth II: Revenge of the Havens
So many countries are now taking notice of how they can best attract offshore money that a second instalment, covering…
ByGordon Fool
Gordon Brown has thrown his fiscal rules out of the window and mucked up the economy. How could he get…
ByRock Solid
Coloured diamonds may not be an obvious safe choice for the astute investor, but their track record speaks for itself…
ByNapoleonic Dynamite
At the opening of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in 1792, the Rothschilds were fairly prosperous antique coin and…
BySale Now On
Big American banks are getting rid of unwanted securities for knock-down prices, and the atmosphere is less end-of-the-season, more end-of-the-pier.…
ByNot From These Parts, Are Ye?
Sales of English country houses are still fairly strong, but foreigners beware: life in the sticks is not without its…
ByRoom and Boar
Vanessa Neumann talks to eco-laird Paul Lister about transforming his Highland estate into one of Britain’s most extraordinary nature reserves…
ByChance Encounters
Gambling is the last thing Russia’s high-end casino-goers want to do – they’re really only there to see and be…
ByDada? Da, da!
Ivan Lindsay on the emerging class of ravenously art-hungry Russian collectors for whom money is no object and objects just…
ByGet Unstuffed
It’s vast and vastly expensive but in other ways the Carnegie Abbey Club is refrshingly relaxed and unconventional, says Daisy…
ByThe Eccentric Billionaire: John D MacArthur – Empire Builder, Reluctant Philanthropist, Relentless Adversary
By the mid-1960s he was one of five living billionaires, the others being HL Hunt, Howard Hughes, John Paul Getty,…
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