World's Expensive and Historical Marriage ever - 'Royal Wedding'

Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Royal Wedding
Prince William & Catherine Middleton
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 29: Prince William exchanges rings with his bride Catherine Middleton in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams inside Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, to Catherine Middleton is being held in London today. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne is to be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and will be attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.

Britain’s current economic situation, a $70million long bill, for a wedding that will be attended by almost 2000 guests, still seems pretty stupendous. Putting this total cost in perspective, Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in June last year cost only around $5million.

 The costs for:

Security Cost:  Approximately $33 million

Floral Display Cost: Around $800,000

Kate Middleton’s Wedding Dress Cost: between $300,000 to $450,000

Cake Cost: Approximately $78,000

Other Costs: $63,000

Total Costs: $70 million

 

The Royal Wedding and Britain’s Economy

29th April, the day when Kate and William get married, will be declared a national holiday. And, according to estimates by the Confederation of British Industry, shutting down the British economy for 24 hours for the royal wedding will cost the country $6billion, constituting the biggest cost of the event.

With U.K facing a fiscal deficit of $256-billion this year, this extra $6billion is a very dear loss for the nation.

What’s worse, the wedding falls smack bang in the middle of a string of other holidays, leaving only three working days between April 22 and May 2. As a result, many businesses are likely to stay shut through the entire 10-day period, a string of lost productivity that could remove $47-billion from economic output, according to an estimate by accounting firm RSM Tenon.

There is one small compensation though. Tourism and merchandise related to the royal wedding are likely to boost Britain’s economy by about $1billion.

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World's most expensive fish - Tuna - preparing for Tuna Curry

Friday, January 28, 2011

The Tsukiji Fish Market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. It’s also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors.

 

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World's most expensive fish - Tuna

The bluefin tuna is a species in decline. While the Pacific variety isn’t as endangered as the West Atlantic bluefin, it’s quite telling that half of the 600 devices that researchers from Tag-A-Giant attached to Pacific bluefins were returned to the New York-based operation by fishermen seeking the $500 reward for each device. Combine the pressure from fishing with the weather experienced in the region this year and you have a species that may not be around to see 2010.

It certainly doesn’t help that it’s such a tasty fish.

In early 2009, a 282-pound bluefin caught off the northern coast of Oma was sold to a pair of rival restaurateurs who set aside their differences to procure the massive fish for $100,000. In 2001, a 440-pound tuna was sold for the phenomenal price of $220,000.

In 2010, however, the 440-pound tuna’s record was beaten by the sale of a gargantuan 513-pound bluefin. Sold at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, the most expensive tuna in the world was also purchased by a confederacy of restaurateurs—this time the owners of two sushi restaurants in Japan and the owner of one in Hong Kong.

Part of the reason for these phenomenal prices, of course, is the bluefin’s rarity. While forty-one bluefin tuna were sold at a 2008 auction, only three were sold at the same auction in 2009. The economic crisis, however, may have been a boon for the bluefin population as consumers found the fish too rich for their wallets. In adition, The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas reduced the quota for the 2010 catch to 13,500 tons—around two-thirds of the former quota.

Still, offering a reward for the prize in the fish’s belly might not have been such a good idea after all.

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