The art market may have simmered down, but a few artists are still in high demand

A little over a year ago, a contemporary evening auction unfolded like a Hollywood thriller, with billionaires in cameo roles and astronomical prices in lieu of stunts. Nowadays, a sale is more like a low-budget soap opera. In London this week, Sotheby’...Read More

Why airborne automobiles will never take off

WHAT is it about “flying cars” that makes otherwise sensible engineers lose touch with reality? Ever since Glenn Curtiss, a seaplane pioneer, racing legend and the Wright brothers’ rival, tried to make a flying car early in the last century, tinkerers have dreamed of having an ...Read More

Adding deliberate culinary insult to unintended injury

Last week’s column has aroused offence where none was meant. The aim—perhaps a bit fanciful, but it is summer after all—was to imagine menu items with names that reflect eastern Europe’s history and politics. Munchner Kloe [Munich dumplings], for example, would ...Read More

Want to know the secret of America's innovation edge? Call now!

MICHAEL JACKSON was not the only famous 50-year-old to meet an untimely death in the past few days. On June 28th it was reported that Billy Mays, America’s “infomercial king”, had gone to meet the Great Pitch Man in the Sky. “Hi, Billy Mays here” ...Read More

How to green your grill

SUMMER has arrived in the northern hemisphere, and with it one of the traditional rituals of languid, warm evenings: the barbecue. How pleasant to cook and dine al fresco, as the sun casts long shadows across the lawn. The steaks sizzle over a smoky heat, sending a delicious aroma into the air. But, of course, that ...Read More

Why is late Picasso enjoying a surge in demand?

In London this week, Sotheby’s and Christie’s held their regular June auctions of Impressionist and Modern Art. Christie’s evening sale realised a total of GBP37m ($60.4m), while Sotheby’s brought in GBP33.5m. Although Sotheby’s revenue was lower, it was deemed ...Read More

Getting earlier warnings before earthquakes strike

YOU never really get used to earthquakes. In 1994, your correspondent’s home in southern California was badly shaken by the Northridge earthquake, which delivered a wallop of magnitude 6.7 and some of the highest ground accelerations (up to 1.8g) ever recorded. A year to the day late...Read More

A row with China points to fraying tempers

DESPITE the periodic sighting of green shoots elsewhere in the economy, the landscape of global trade remains resolutely bare. The World Bank said on June 22nd that world-trade volumes, reeling from a drastic collapse in global demand (see chart), will shrink by nearly 10% this year. That would be...Read More

What would a politicised east European menu look like?

“What’s “Cutlet Carpathian Style?”, your columnist asked innocently in a restaurant in Budapest recently. “You’re halfway through eating it when the Ukrainians take it away and say the rest belongs to them,” came an instant quip in return. The ...Read More

Online, straight from the gut and politically incorrect

HERE is a qualification to conjure with: the Jack Welch MBA. At last, you too can manage like Neutron Jack, thanks to the legendary former General Electric boss’s $12m investment in Chancellor University in Ohio, which will offer the degree through its newly named Jack Welch Man...Read More