I am a compulsive buyer and reader of business periodicals. As the son of a one-time magazine editor, perhaps it was inevitable. I get news, inspiration, ideas and contacts from them, and even contribute the occasional article. And now one of my retailers sells a wider range of titles than anyone else. So I'm excited to see that, in spite of the pressure on print publications from digital media, there is a rash of launches here and in the US.

The blockbuster is a monthly called Portfolio, from Condé Nast in New York. Launched last year, it attempts to bring Vogue content quality to the dry world of business magazines. While it looks spectacular, and is full of advertisements for luxury goods, Portfolio is almost too bulky to read and the costs of producing it must be huge.