And the UK needs to become a real player This was a disappointing week for the embryonic British space industry when the first ever launch from the UK ended up with a big splash somewhere in the Atlantic. Virgin Orbit dropped a wing-carried rocket from its repurposed jumbo jet Cosmic Girl, but something went wrong. […]
Originally published in November 2020. While a good title is no guarantee of a good book, it can act as a guide. Choosing a title is challenging. It is hard to find a memorable word or phrase that not only sums up a work of fiction but ideally enlarges it. The working title for my […]
Why it’s so hard to run a sustainable innovation-focused restaurant For over a decade, Noma in Copenhagen has been one of the standard bearers of the high-end culinary world. This ‘New Nordic‘ restaurant made its reputation (and obtained its three Michelin stars and position in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking) by focusing on culinary […]
I wrote a post on global equities and discussed Bob Iger’s return to Walt Disney earlier this week. Coincidentally, I had lunch on Wednesday with an old friend who happens to be the savviest US equities investor I know in Dubai and we spent the better part of an hour discussing our positions in DIS, […]
Originally published October 2022. Part 1: an introduction for investors. We’ve all heard the old axiom: if it floats or flies, rent don’t buy. So, how does one treat a marina with its innumerable floating components? Marinas are niche real estate assets with one defining characteristic in common: a waterfront location. Most property investors or developers […]
I saw the phrase ‘friendship recession’ in a headline last week, which has a musical swing to it, but refers to growing social isolation, particularly among men, due to people working from home, avoiding crowded places, being reluctant joiners… And then I stopped reading, because sociology has always bored me, ever since I was 19 […]
The top five films coming your way, according to this writer. The bricks and mortar cinema experience may be in terminal decline, particularly in the USA. Only a handful of established blockbuster franchises are able to pack theatres on opening night, and with the envelope between theatrical release and streaming narrowing, consumers now have less […]
Two inconvenient truths are fundamental to the relationship between fund investors and asset/fund managers in real estate investing. They are straightforward and well-understood, but they are problematic. When real estate investments are performing strongly, it is possible to let their significance and implications slip to the back of our minds. But now that the long […]
Whether we consider the dollar’s level against a trade-weighted basket of other currencies or against a basket of commodities, its strength is arguably ‘the market story’ of 2022. As to why we have seen it move upwards in practically all dimensions, there are a host of explanations. There is the time-honoured dollar surge which happens […]
Originally published November 2022. …but REITs look well positioned. The cost of debt for real estate increased steeply in 2022, as credit conditions tightened, loan margins widened and recession fears started to bite. Rising rates have already caused greater financial market volatility, raising the risk of a market accident, as highlighted by the UK pension […]
