I read another scathing editorial about the payday lender, Wonga, this morning. Not content with fleecing low-income borrowers with annual interest rates on short-term loans that reach 4200 percent, seethed the journalist, the shameless company is now encouraging students to borrow their money in order not to miss out on cheap holiday deals.
Behavioural Living
Non-Trivial Pursuits
11. January 2012
I am not sure whether there are more of them these days or whether I just notice them more, but I have the impression that retail loyalty schemes are mushrooming. Whether at the department store, in the supermarket, or at the fuel station, retailers everywhere seem to be offering cards, vouchers and stamps. No doubt, consumer organisations have already trashed most of these schemes. And my considerable experience of airline loyalty programmes has made me aware of the many pitfalls.
A Gilded Trap is Still a Trap
6. January 2012
A personal shopping advisor – now that is what I call luxury. No need to battle with the masses in the busy boutiques and department stores. Instead, a personal shopping advisor identifies the most stylish, exclusive, and typically the most expensive items from the collection for the store’s most demanding guests and presents in a private showroom, preferably over a flute of rosé champagne.
The (Secondary) Christmas Market
3. January 2012
For all those who (despite our pre-Christmas advice) chose the wrong gifts for their nearest and dearest: do not worry. Online auction sites reported brisk business, already on the evening of the 25th December, as disgruntled recipients unloaded their unwanted gifts. In most cases, the proceeds were immediately reinvested into new goods. So that means that your badly chosen offering may already have found a new delighted owner and that your loved ones might already be enjoying a gift that was originally intended for someone else.
Lead Me Not into Chocolate Temptation
20. December 2011
I know exactly what lies in that elegantly embossed box on the middle shelf of the fridge in the office kitchen: the luxury chocolates belonging to my esteemed boss. If I lifted one of those tiny hand-made delights from the tray and popped it into my mouth, he might not even miss it. I could almost taste it. But then I remembered a study by an economist who was constantly annoyed because his drinks kept disappearing from the common refrigerator at his faculty.
Optimising Christmas Gift Giving
16. December 2011
What to get loved ones for Christmas – the perennial problem? Even if you’ve already found what you believe to be the ideal gift, you might not better off than those of us who have yet to make up our minds because you don’t know that it’s the right one? Will your other half glow with delight on the big day, or will you be rewarded with a long face and a polite ‘that’s nice’? Yet choosing a gift needn’t be left entirely to chance. What use is the academic study of happiness if not to inform us what it is that makes people happy?
A Worm in the Apple
23. November 2011
My relationship with my iPod has always been smooth and irritation-free. I’ve come to rely on the iTunes software for the management of my entire music collection and I use the shop for practically all new additions. Payments go over the online transactions firm, clickandbuy. Was this the weak link in the chain, I thought, when it recently notified me no less than 13 times that it would debit my bank account for the cost of an album I had bought ages ago. All the notices arrived via e-mail between midnight and 6am. I thought it was a hacker attack
Crumbs of Comfort
15. November 2011
I am very fond of good hotels on my business trips. Being on the road most of the year, I have come to appreciate the convenience of a high level of comfort and a touch of luxury. In Düsseldorf I usually try to go to an excellent hotel that opened only three years ago. When there is no exhibition in town, their prices compare favourably to the other five-star hotels. So I recently booked an overnight stay there, including continental breakfast, for €216. All non-alcoholic drinks from the minibar and a small fruit bowl were also included in the price, as well as unlimited use of the Wi-Fi
Third-Party Insurance for Mr Bean
28. October 2011
When the hapless Mr Bean, through a string of clumsy gestures, manages to convert a harmless sneeze into the destruction of a priceless painting, movie audiences laugh until they cry. Nobody actually thinks that something like that could happen in real life. They are wrong; not only does it happen, but Forbes magazine has taken to documenting the most expensive mishaps. Take the example of the Porsche owner who tried to dry the floor mats in his car using a leaf blower balanced on the back seats.
Stop-Loss Trees
19. October 2011
Hiking is my latest pastime. On any of the last few weekends you would probably have found me striding hill and dale, or walking through forests. Contrary to my expectations, I actually find it great fun. But I am awful at sticking to my schedule; I can’t even keep to the planned route. I invariably find it more interesting to circle an impressive rock formation, to follow a stream, or simply to clamber onto higher ground to admire the view.
Are Traders Relatively Psychopathic?
4. October 2011
It was probably because news of their research on traders’ behaviour surfaced at the same time as the tale of a multi-billion dollar loss by a rogue trader at UBS that the scientists at the University of St Gallen were able to garner international attention. Their study sought to compare the behaviour of some 27 bank traders with that of a similar number of psychopaths in a high-security German clinic, and with a control group.
Six Degrees of Separation
26. September 2011
A friend of mine contacted me yesterday to share news of what he considered to be a remarkable coincidence. In an e-mail (liberally dotted with exclamation marks) he informed me that his wife’s sister used to go to church with the sister of the UBS rogue trader Kweku Adoboli.
Confessions of a Bonne Viveuse
20. September 2011
I recently had the rare pleasure of being invited to lunch in the canteen of a major investment bank. By canteen standards, the food was very good. Although my chicken breast filet in breadcrumbs with chilli-sauce and basmati rice was but one of hundreds cooked that morning, it was delicious. On the way to the tray-return area, my host and I had to walk in front of huge display belonging to a fitness studio chain. A young woman dressed in the chain’s corporate colours, stepped out in front of us and asked in her friendliest voice: “Would you like to have your body fat measured?”
The Thirty-Year Stock Market Hangover
19. September 2011
September 1987 was an inauspicious moment to begin a career in the financial markets, but that was the first time I found myself in the centre of the dealing operations of one of the world’s largest commodity operators. I had recently emerged blinking from an ivory tower and found this new environment fascinating, exhilarating, totally incomprehensible. After scarcely four weeks on the job global stock markets crashed.
Sugar-Coated Sleight of Hand
6. September 2011
Phony outrage broke out in the office this morning when we learned that some snack manufacturers had achieved the feat of producing lower-calorie candy bars by simply reducing their size. The smaller bars contain the same proportion of sugar and fat as their high-calorie counterparts – and cost the same price – but there is simply less of it in the package.
Pursuing Happiness and Other Things
5. September 2011
All too often the main obstacle to our happiness is us. It is not as if we do not know what makes us happy. Most people intuitively know that the chance to spend more time with our friends and family, sleeping well at nights, and maintaining a healthy body and mind, are all recipes for wellbeing. However, when it comes to making a lifestyle decision, these are seldom the ingredients we choose.
Dissonant Debt
30. August 2011
A recent US academic study that showed college students feeling “empowered” by student debt has baffled many observers.[1] In an environment of over-indebtedness and increasing joblessness, one would have thought that a student loan would be perceived as a burden. But no, according to researchers at the University of Ohio, the greater the debt the higher college students’ self-esteem.
A Mother’s Fairy-Godmother
24. August 2011
The only consistent thing about my eight-month old son is his inconsistency. Any time I get to thinking that he has settled into some kind of rhythm, I am proven disastrously wrong almost immediately. Up until recently, for example, he slept blissfully the whole night long. Now he has rediscovered the sleep patterns of a new-born. The same applies to his eating habits:
Scooping up a Bargain
17. August 2011
Taking children on summer holiday to Italy is obviously going to entail several trips to the ice-cream parlour. Here at home, the cost-calculation is very straightforward – each scoop costs 90 cents or a euro – but in Venice the system is rather more Baroque.
The Goodness of Gold
3. August 2011
Money doesn’t buy happiness, but what about gold? At least, this must be the idea of the increasing number of people who have taken to the rivers to pan for gold in in recent months. They can count themselves very lucky if they find a few grains of gold dust. But most of these modern-day prospectors are in it for the fun anyway, even if secretly they hope to stumble across a nugget or two.
Does Warren Buffett Own a Dog?
29. July 2011
I had no idea that dog ownership was such an expensive undertaking. It was only after reading Wednesday’s post, and probing the author for some of the other expenses, did I realise how quickly the costs add up. Apart from the price of the canine and the other upfront costs (health check, basket, etc.), there are numerous running costs. Then comes third-party insurance, the trials of which were discussed on Wednesday, medical insurance, annual vaccinations, food, toys, fines, and probably a few other things the novice dog-owner has not yet thought of. Together we put a price on all of the outgoings and, assuming a 15-year lifespan for the pooch, came to the princely sum of €28,000.
The Insurance Market is a Dog
27. July 2011
After several months of deliberation I recently decided to get a Pug for my children. You can probably imagine what kind of comments the acquisition provoked among friends and colleagues of mine – one neighbour asked with a smirk if I hadn’t already enough children. But my first annoyance did not come from the effort of housebreaking a twelve-week-old puppy, it rather had to do with buying liability insurance for the little rascal.
Fare Dodging at a Discount
25. July 2011
Venice is known as an expensive city, but that is only partly true. San Marco and Rialto are always ‘flooded’ with tourists, but away from the masses one can actually find nice holiday quarters at affordable prices and reasonably priced restaurants. Only the pricey public transportation system offers no creative alternative, apart from going along the maze of small alleys by foot,
One Kid Too Many
22. July 2011
“Whaaat? You’re going to Venice for two weeks with three kids?” This was the kind of reaction I got when my friends and colleagues heard about my summer vacation plans. “Is that even a holiday, what with the heat, the city’s congestion and the foul stink that rises from the lagoon?” The comments contained more than a hint of jealousy which, although one of my favourite topics, is not what I want to talk about. Unfounded prejudice is not today’s theme either,
First Class Honours Bingo
19. July 2011
I had the honour of attending a university graduation ceremony recently. It was a grand affair, full of pomp and tradition. But I have to admit it was little boring. Each one of almost 400 graduates was invited to go up on stage to receive their degree and to shake hands with the Chancellor and other senior members of the teaching staff. Yet I was only interested in seeing one degree awarded. To pass the time, I decided to play a game of First-Class Honours Bingo.
Finding Happiness at Work
15. July 2011
Looking for happiness? Don’t overlook your chances at work. No, I don’t mean flirting with the secretary or making redundant calls to the guys on the IT help-desk. Even though it is generally thought that a bit of flirting can brighten up an otherwise dull working day, raise productivity or even improve career chances, it probably won’t make you happier on the job.
Rational Thinking Gets in the Way of Business
14. July 2011
The recipes for business success are as varied as businesses themselves. Certainly, a degree from a top university is no guarantee nor, contrary to what one might think, is a rationally thought-out business plan. Often, passion, tenacity and a sprinkling of good luck (being in the right place at the right time) are the major ingredients.
Emperor Tremonti
13. July 2011
‘If I fall, Italy falls. If Italy falls, the euro falls.’ Italy’s economics and finance minister, Giulio Tremonti, made this declaration to his staff at the weekend as news of a corruption scandal within his inner circle became known. With all due respect, Mr Tremonti, isn’t that a bit much? A Roman emperor couldn’t have said it better.
Holiday Pitfall
8. July 2011
At last, I’m in the final stages of my vacation planning, a thankless task, even though I’m no rookie when it comes to African tourism. There have been endless discussions with travel agents, innumerable internet searches, and dozens of glossy travel brochures have had their page corners folded down.
From Hand-Me-Downs to Shabby Chic
5. July 2011
Have you ever gone shopping for motorcycle leathers? Not just the jacket, but the full get up – pants, boots, the lot? If so, then you probably know already that it is not much fun, especially if the biker in question happens to be a woman. But I was tired of riding pillion sporting my boyfriend’s outsized fabric gear. That wasn’t the look I was after. I wanted something a bit more beguiling, seductive, and daring.