At first glance, this week’s title may sound a bit incongruous – what does recruiting have to do with space planning? Well, depending on who you talk to, there are many who say that a spacious, modern, and conveniently located office is a great recruiting tool, and that the extra cost incurred in having such an office needs to be offset against the performance benefits of getting better people.

This week's Gadget Watch takes a look at the JVC Everio GZ-HD40 video camera, the Canon Kiss F friendly digital camera and the au sports support mobile phone.

Sometimes life offers us synchronicity, and one such event happened to me a few days ago. I had just finished Part II of this series on calculating just how much space is needed to house your employees, when a client happened to ask me the exact same thing. This client is based overseas, but has a Tokyo office, complete with a local country manager and half a dozen staff. They are planning to ramp up fairly quickly, and want to have an office for 12-15 staff by the end of the year. Currently they are in a serviced office.

The activities of sovereign wealth funds have attracted a lot of attention recently. One such fund, Mudabala Development has recently partnered with the Kobe International Frontier Medical Center. Terrie questions the motivation behind this investment and raises some serious concerns about the viability of the business model.