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☆ Another momentous year beckons for Britain's royal family
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The last year will go down as one of the most seismic in the history of the British royal family with the death of Queen Elizabeth months after she celebrated her record seventh decade as monarch, but 2023 could prove almost as momentous. Elizabeth's success had been to guide the monarchy into the modern world, riding out the many crises that befell her family. Most damaging of all is the rift with Charles's younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who now live in California, and their criticism of the royal household. Harry and Meghan's interview with U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 rocked the institution and the royal family will be anxiously waiting to see if there are further damning revelations in the book. The major set piece event for the year will be King Charles's coronation - a solemn and religious event conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion.

REUTERS/Thomas PeterDec 6 (Reuters) - China's capital Beijing dropped the need for people to show negative COVID tests to enter supermarkets and offices on Tuesday, the latest in an easing of curbs across the country following last month's historic protests. "Beijing readies itself for life again" read a headline in the government-owned China Daily newspaper, adding that people were "gradually embracing" the slow return to normality. That has sparked optimism among investors for a broader reopening of the world's second biggest economy that could boost global growth. This marks the first decline in Nomura's closely-watched China COVID lockdown index since the start of October, nearly two months ago. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Bernard Orr in Beijing; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But you have to go back centuries in some cases to get anything nearly as bad as 2022 for 'safer' sovereign bonds. "2023 will be the year of the bond," claimed Chris Iggo, chair of the AXA IM Investment Institute. "Road to recession - bullish bonds and quality credit," was how SocGen entitled their view. And while stock volatility makes forecasters nervy, there's a clear attraction for long-term funds in seeking both the fixed income as well as the lift to bond funds when sub-par price discounts disappear into maturity for most high-quality names. "Long high quality bonds in the U.S. and Europe seems like an obvious strategy for 2023," said hedge fund manager Stephen Jen at Eurizon SLJ Capital.

☆ From wine to fishing tackle, retailers pray Advent calendars draw in shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Doyinsola Oladipo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dior is selling a $3,500 Advent calendar inside a wooden and cotton canvas box fashioned like its Paris boutique on Avenue Montaigne. For toddlers, Walmart sells the Baby Shark Advent Calendar, priced at $44.99. And for anglers, there's a $34.99 fishing tackle Advent calendar with life-like and color-changing soft baits at The Fishing Shop. Selfridges & Co has 128 Advent calendars priced from 4.99 to 623 pounds this season, more than double last year's offerings. The ALDI Holiday Magic Wine Advent Calendar includes 24 unique labels and 16 wine varieties from eight countries of origin for $59.99.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Squire Patton Boggs on Monday said it will open an office in Dublin next year, becoming the latest international law firm to expand into Ireland. Agnew was a founding partner of Pinsent Masons' Dublin office. A Squire Patton Boggs spokesperson said the firm is currently looking at space in Dublin's central business district. Agnew said in an email that the exact timing of his departure from Pinsent Masons "has still to be agreed." Squire Patton Boggs was created in 2014 by the merger of Washington, D.C.-founded Patton Boggs and Cleveland-founded Squire Sanders.

☆ Morning Bid: Markets defy COVID blues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Clyde Russell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Elsewhere, The Guardian reported that British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is set to outline up to 60 billion pounds of tax rises and spending cuts next week, including at least 35 billion pounds ($39.56 billion) in cuts in the backdrop of the Bank of England's recession warning. Stock markets in the region chalked up gains across-the-board, underpinning Friday's rise in global shares after jobs data came in stronger than expected but also hinted at some slack in the tight American labor market. And staying on what the world's richest man is up to, Elon Musk laid out Twitter's mission, sparking debate on content accuracy. Twitter also updated its app to begin charging $8 for its sought-after blue check verification marks as it seeks to shore up revenue. China stocksReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsKey developments that could influence markets on Monday:Economic data: Germany Sep industrial output, UK Halifax Oct house prices, Euro zone Oct PMISpeakers: ECB Board member Fabio Panetta speaksEuropean earnings: RyanairReporting by Anshuman DagaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Six in ten Britons will spend less at Christmas -Deloitte survey
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Six in ten Britons believe they will have less money to spend over the Christmas period than last year, according to a survey published on Monday, adding to evidence that a thrifty festive season beckons. The survey from Deloitte found 38% plan to switch to cheaper brands or stores to seek out gifts, and for Christmas Day dinner 35% plan to do at least part of their shop at a discount supermarket. "Consumers are entering the festive season with budgets under more pressure this year, and it is not surprising that almost all are considering affordability and adapting their typical Christmas spending habits in one way or another," Oliver Vernon-Harcourt, head of retail at Deloitte, said. With inflation at a 40-year high of 10.1%, interest rates rising and consumer confidence close to the gloomiest on record, Britons have cut their spending. Deloitte's findings chimed with surveys last month from Kantar and Accenture, which both showed Britons planning to cut festive spending this year.

☆ Take Five: It's rate hike central
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - It's rate hike central with monetary policy meetings in the United States, Britain, Australia and Norway in the week ahead. Graphics by Vincent Flasseur and Sumanta Sen.1/ FOUR IN A ROWA fourth straight jumbo 75-basis point (bps) interest rate hike is widely expected when the Federal Reserve meets on Nov 1-2. Fed chair Jerome Powell has come under political pressure to be careful of putting U.S. jobs at risk by tightening policy too much. Inflation in the bloc hit 10.7%, accelerating from 9.9% last month and dashing hopes that peak inflation could be near. The European Central Bank just delivered its second 75 bps rate increase to control price pressures.

☆ ‘Armageddon Time’ Review: A Tale of Two Boys
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“Armageddon Time” is a curiously excitable title for a slice-of-life tale about an ordinary boy growing up in 1980 New York, but then again, 12-year-olds are curiously excitable people. Everything is a discovery; adulthood beckons while childhood limits. The internal push-and-pull provides for ample dramatic possibilities. Writer-director James Gray thoughtfully explores some of them in an autobiographically inspired picture in which he barely alters his name in creating a screen counterpart, Paul Graff (Banks Repeta). In the weeks leading to the 1980 presidential election, Paul, a boy from a smart, striving middle-class Jewish family in Queens, N.Y., is something of a misfit in school, where he has a tendency to act up in mischievous but basically harmless ways.

☆ Take Five: It's rate-hike central
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - It's rate-hike central with monetary policy meetings in the United States, Britain, Australia and Norway in the week ahead. Fed chair Jerome Powell has come under political pressure to be careful of putting U.S. jobs at risk by tightening policy too much. A consequential week for markets also includes Friday's October U.S. payrolls report, with economists polled by Reuters forecasting the economy created 200,000 new jobs. Inflation in the bloc is running at almost 10% and the European Central Bank just delivered its second 75 bps rate increase to control price pressures. Like other big central banks, the ECB is hoping for signs that peak inflation is coming.

☆ UK gilts rise but week of uncertainty beckons as Truss quits
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Investors further scaled back their bets on an outsized 1% point interest rate hike next month by the Bank of England. Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent questioned aggressive pricing in markets of future rate hikes in a speech earlier on Thursday. Twenty- and 30-year gilt yields , which had fallen as much as 13 basis points (bps) earlier in the day, were down 7 bps as of 1442 GMT. "UK financial market reaction to Liz Truss's resignation today has been fairly sanguine," said Daniel Mahoney, an economist at Handelsbanken. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Andy Bruce Editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Pounded
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. On Friday, gilts suffered their heaviest selling in decades, and before that, the yen and U.S. interest rate futures have been roiled. Global tension is also mounting over the war in Ukraine, as Russia holds widely-criticised votes aimed at annexing territory it has taken by force. Besides sterling, Asian stock markets fell on Monday. European futures fell 0.3% and S&P 500 futures fell 0.6%.

☆ Nationalist Meloni set to smash Italy's glass ceiling, become premier
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-29 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Leader of Italy's nationalist Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) party and frontrunner to become prime minister Giorgia Meloni, holds a closing rally in Naples, Italy, September 23, 2022. Fast forward three years, and the nationalist leader is also poised to become Italy's first female prime minister. It is from tomorrow that we must prove our worth," the 45-year-old Meloni told party faithful early Monday morning. All the tough talking inevitably draws comparisons in the Italian press between Meloni and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Just as Thatcher shattered Britain's glass ceiling to top office 43 years ago, so Meloni looks set to follow suit in Italy.

☆ See Europe's less-crowded destinations as Americans flood the hot spots
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-18 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

North Jutland, DenmarkSouthern Europe swells with crowds during summer, and it can also get hot to the point of extremely uncomfortable in July and August. Temperatures in Seville and other spots in southern Spain recently exceeded the 110˚ Fahrenheit mark (43.3 Celsius). MontenegroLeave Croatia’s jam-packed Dubrovnik to the hordes of “Game of Thrones” hangers-on and make for less-trampled spots in neighboring Montenegro instead. It’s just 40 minutes from the popular beaches of Taormina, which are flooded with “White Lotus” fans this summer. There are beaches all around the peninsula, but if you only hit two, Mylopotamos and Fakistra on the Aegean side are the can’t-miss spots.

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☆ 65-year-old retiree left the U.S. for Mexico: 'I now spend $160 a month on eating out and shopping—here's a look at my typical day'
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-01 | by ( Janet Blaser | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

I slip into my flip-flops, and coffee in hand, walk half a block to the beach to check out the waves. Being right on the Tropic of Cancer, the blue sky is gorgeous practically every day of the year! Joggers, dog-walkers, cyclists, fishermen, surfers and others all take advantage of the cool morning air before the sun comes up. Paola, the barista at my favorite coffee shop, starts my iced Americano as soon as she sees me. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards After a morning swim, hair still wet, I'd rather eat at my favorite coffee shop than cook at home.

☆ Qatar day trip: Zekreet Peninsula beckons with desert, art
▼ + stars: | 2018-02-28 | by ( Barry Neild | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Out in the hot, shimmering desert sands of western Qatar, something alien, colossal and very weird looms over the horizon. The steel plates, located across a kilometer of desert on Qatar’s Zekreet Peninsula, are the work of Richard Serra, an American artist known for creating imposing metalwork sculptures. While hardly overrun, “East-West/West-East” has become a place of occasional pilgrimage for locals, tourists and art devotees alike, adding to a roster of Qatar desert activities that includes dune bashing, Bedouin camps and camel treks. While there’s plenty to take in at “East-West/West-East,” the artwork isn’t the only attraction the Zekreet Peninsula has to offer. Somewhat more mysterious – in appearance at least – are the “desert mushrooms” of Qatar, another few kilometers along the peninsula.

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