Latest articles by Jody Clarke
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It’s a dog’s life for far too many funds
Features The latest list of 'dog' funds - those which have underperformed its benchmark by at least 10% over three years - is double what it was for 2006. So which funds are the worst offendors?
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Profit from Big Brother’s embrace of the Olympics
Features This year's Beijing Olympics will be the most watched in history - and not just by sports fans. China is spending billions on surveillance and security infrastructure. Jody Clarke picks two stocks to watch.
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Move over Dubai - Hong Kong property is better value
Features When property developers start handing out free Bentleys with sales, it's a sure sign that a bubble is about to pop. Sweeteners aside, ignore over-rated Dubai and head for Hong Kong instead.
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My first million: From riches to rags and back again
Features Rubbish removal may not seem the most obvious place to make money, but public-school-educated ex-banker Jason Mohr knew he was on to something with his slick version of the rag-and-bone business. And he was proved right.
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A piano maker inspired by Stradivari
Features It may have been an Italian that invented the piano, but the country had long ceased to make them. Until Paolo Fazioli decided to combine his education in mechanical engineering with his musical training to reinvent the instrument, that is.
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Why recession spells opportunity for budding entrepreneurs
Features Martyn Rose of Publishing reveals how he made his first million - and why he sees the forthcoming recession as a great opportunity to add to his portfolio.
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An optician with an eye for opportunity
Features When Alexis Amor hit on an idea with the potential to put other opticians out of business - by offering glasses at 30-50% less - his rivals tried to stop suppliers from dealing with him.
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Why are our trains so awful?
Features The train operators are pushing up prices again - and yet the service they provide remains as terrible as ever. Jody Clarke looks at who's to blame - and whether renationalisation is the answer.
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The Irish stock market is cheap, but it’s no bargain
Features With an economy heavily reliant on a faltering housing market, Ireland's far from being a buying opportunity. And all the positive thinking in the world won't change that.
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Buying houses – an easy way to riches?
Features For a man who makes his living selling property, Dave Liniger is relaxed about the US housing slump. Perhaps that’s because he reckons he’s seen it all before.
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Is the US heading for recession?
Features Even optimistic pundits are warning that Americans will have to start tightening their belts. And if they do, so might everyone else, says Jody Clarke.
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How Harold Tilman turned a £5,000 loan into £200m
Features The son of a tailor and milliner, it was hardly a surprise that Brixton-bred Harold Tilman, now owner of Jaeger, decided to study at London College of Fashion.
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It'll be a grim Christmas for retailers
Features “Buy when there’s blood on the streets,” goes the saying – and some may well feel it applies to the retail sector just now. But it makes more sense to buy heavily discounted goods than faltering retail stocks.
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Quality coffee that soon caught on
Features When you find out why Jeremy Torz abandoned a good career as an optician to go and work in a coffee shop, you might remark – as his bank manager did – that he was insane.
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My first Million: Arnold Fulton
Features Jody Clarke finds out how Polish -born Arnold Fulton reinvented the umbrella and founded the largest manufacturer in the country.
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Can you bag a property bargain in Ireland?
Features Despite the best efforts of property developers, Irish house prices are falling fast. Jody Clarke looks at what Ireland has to teach the UK about the real cost of low interest rates.
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My first million: Liz Davies, Just Flights
Features It’s never easy starting your own business. So the last thing you need is your former employer trying to make life even harder. But that’s what happened to Liz Davies.
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Is the art bubble about to pop?
Features We’re all aware of the sky-high prices many artworks can now command – but as top auction houses fail to shift apparently fail-safe bets, boom could be turning to bust, says Jody Clarke.
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My first million: Charlie Bigham, Bigham's
Features Charlie Bigham’s decision to throw in his job at the age of 28 to tour the Middle East and India in a camper van has proved very profitable indeed…
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My first million: making big deals out of Indian meals
Features Charan Gill landed in Glasgow in 1963 aged nine with his Punjabi grandfather’s words ringing in his ears. He would, said his grandfather, be judged on his ambitions. However, it was a chance encounter with a friend which changed the course of his life.
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How to cash in on Canada's riches
Features Canada's economy is on a roll and its underlying strength is primarily a commodities story. We look at the best ways to play the main protagonists - uranium and oil.
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My first million: Paul Smith, Celador
Features When Paul Smith first pitched the idea for Who Wants to be a Millionaire, it was rejected on the grounds that 'viewers didn't want to watch other people winning lots of money'. Twelve years on, ITV's then-director has been proved very wrong.
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My first million: Fiona Price, diva-biz.com
Features When she joined a firm of IFAs, Fiona Price was shocked that there weren't any women around. And that's how the idea for an IFA aimed at women came to her.
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Follow the funds out of commercial property
Features As funds begin to favour companies backed by property assets rather than property itself, it's time to rethink the commercial property sector.
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