Inquiring Minds

Potash problems.

In normal times, the business of fertilizer is only slightly more interesting than the soil one spreads it on: one of those super-simple, steady-Eddie, boring-but-profitable businesses every investor loves.

A new star.

Beverly Hills has a new shining star. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts opened in October in the heart of one of the world’s most desirable zip codes.

Toll to the troll.

Lower than the used-car salesman. Or the telemarketer. The repo man, too. Maybe one notch above that guy from Nigeria who’s always sending you e-mail. That’s a good approximation of the esteem with which the patent troll is held within the pantheon of the world’s professions.

A village oasis.

Rancho La Puerta may well be the original wellness destination, a resort and spa in Tecate, Mexico, just near the U.S. border. It is, and has been, where well-heeled hippies go, ever since it was founded in 1940 by Hungarian philosopher Edmond Szekely and his young bride, Brooklyn-born Deborah Szekely.

A literary stroll through Edinburgh.

The very stones of Edinburgh are steeped in literature. The city vibrates with the lives and words of its revered authors.

Hermès pulls back the curtain on craftsmanship.

In a world where just about every brand uses all manner of legal and shady contrivances to cover up cheap, overseas production, the relatively new retail category known as superluxury, is as refreshingly honest as it is pretentious-sounding. Unlike mere luxury brands, superluxury labels revel in the work of their skilled artisans.

Tiffany illuminated in Chicago

Tiffany. For some, that single word conjures images of diamonds. But to decorative arts aficionados, it suggests a world of colour, as in the designs of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The son of the man whose emporium came to signify Fifth Avenue at its finest, Louis Comfort Tiffany combined an artistic sensibility with a keen commercial instinct.

Best in class.

It can almost go without saying that the national airline carrier of the world’s richest country is better than most.

In Oregon's wine country.

One of only 20 hotels in the world to be awarded LEED Gold certification, the 85-room Allison Inn & Spa is the pinnacle of Northwest elegance.