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Yes Malone, all good thanks.
Didn't know OO was paid of spectacles, except for the shape connection, not seen that before.

1d bearskin is a capital investment -bears, supports kin, family

In the seventeenth century it appeared in a proverb that warned not “to sell the bear's skin before one has caught the bear”. By the eighteenth century, the term bearskin was used to describe a commercial transaction,through the use of the phrase “to sell (or buy) the bearskin”

Nature abhors a vacuum is a saying. Are you sure the clue doesn’t say “a natural abhorrence”? If it doesn’t, it should

Quisling,yes, the clue says natural

My bad .... autocorrect changed natural to national.

No worries, thanks for clarifying, whetstone and jazzgirl

1d. I thought that this was ‘capital investment’ meaning ‘clothing for the head’. With a bearskin being the headgear worn by The Guards.

Jono
I just went for the explanation in Chambers under Bear2
concerning the Bear (and Bull) markets and investment; but yours also fits the bill perfectly

By the way, Whetstone, now that you are onto more recent Telegraph puzzles you may find some helpful hints and tips on The Big Dave blog. Here is the link to this particular puzzle which is from 2009…
http://bigdave44.com/2009/06/29/dt-25967/?ak_action=accept_mobile

I guess that was also meant for my eyes....... exits pursued by a bear.....