It's under assault from multiple threats: out of town malls, online shopping, rising rates, parking restrictions and congestion charges, a consumer slowdown... You start to wonder whether the British high street is on its last legs.
China's capital Beijing is in a state of high excitement as it prepares to welcome more than 4 million visitors to the first Olympic Games in the country's history. Yet in the eight years since the games were awarded to the city, China has transformed itself in ways that were unimaginable back then.
Several scenes from Macbeth take place here. One of the rooms is still called Duncan's Hall; a secret chamber inside the crypt walls is said to be where the 4th Earl of Crawford played cards with the Devil on a Sunday, then was sealed up inside as a punishment. Lady Jane Douglas, widow of Lord Glamis, was burnt by James V for witchcraft in 1537 and haunts the castle as the 'Grey Lady of Glamis'. And the ghost of an African boy sits on a stone seat in the hall.
With prices in the UK property market down around 20 per cent over the past year, this could be an ideal time to seek out bargains. City banking bonuses have dried up (and many people have already lost their jobs), so the opportunities for shrewd and cashed-up investors are multiplying.
