Property

1. Bonus boom will buoy luxury property market

   A wave of around £6bn ($9.9) in bonuses expected to be distributed to City financiers in spring will support London's prime property market in areas such as Chelsea and Kensington, although the mainstream market is expected to continue to decline.

2. Top-end mortgages are strictly for VIPs

   To secure a big mortgage it is no longer enough to be a mere millionaire. Lenders are inclined to favour the ultra-wealthy, with other assets in their stables and new business to offer.

3. Blackstone in negotiations to restructure $20bn debt at Hilton

   Blackstone Group has begun talks with lenders to cut up to $5bn (€3.4bn) from the $20bn debt load carried by Hilton Worldwide, as the private equity firm seeks to protect its single biggest investment, according to sources.

4. Luxury residential property funds preempt recovery

   Funds investing in high-end residential property are making a comeback as investors seek returns from undervalued prime property.

5. Swiss mortgages build on firm foundations

   The Swiss franc’s appreciation may be strangling some of its mortgaged-to-the-hilt neighbours, but in the landlocked alpine nation, business couldn’t be better. Switzerland’s mortgage market, one of the largest in the world as a proportion of gross domestic product, is in growth mode.

6. Property rich list reveals casualties

   The UK's 100 richest property tycoons have seen £43bn (€46.86bn) wiped of their collective net worth, after the recession dragged commercial property prices down by 44% over the last two years.

7. Your Chance to Buy The Taj Mahal (of Illinois)

   The luxury-housing crash has provided us with an endless stream of over-the-top foreclosed manors and distressed estates. Most lead to the inevitable question: what on earth were they thinking?

8. The hills are alive… with luxury properties

   Super-luxury property developments are taking root across the country, tapping the rising demand from the world’s wealthy.

9. Switzerland prime property booms as wealthy move in

   There is a well-worn legend that a labyrinth of caverns runs through the Swiss Alps, to provide refuge for Switzerland’s citizens in the event of global disaster. But with the prospect of tougher tax regimes for the European wealthy prompting an increasing number of people to move to Switzerland, they might need to dig more tunnels.

10. London prime property now just 5% below 2007 peak

    Luxury London property is being buoyed by an increasing number of cash-rich foreigners, who in some cases are willing to pay above the asking price for the best properties the capital has to offer.