Business
Hunterston’s closure is the nuclear accident no one noticed
So farewell, Hunterston B, the nuclear power plant on the Firth of Clyde that shut last week after 46 years’…
Gastro-nomics: a foodie’s guide to a changing world
Twice recently I’ve been asked my opinion of ‘Doughnut Economics’. The first time, I was tempted to cover my ignorance…
Why paying more dividends could save the planet
Climate emergency demands action, not rhetoric. So, on the eve of COP26, which UK news item promises to deliver the…
What’s really behind the net-zero zealotry of big businesses?
What’s really behind the net-zero zealotry of big businesses?
Why scrapping business rates is a bright idea
A worthwhile policy proposal amid the Labour conference dogfight? Now there’s a surprise. But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’s scheme to…
We'll all pay the price for reckless energy firms' gambling
You know that mate of yours who is always boasting they pay way less for energy than you because they’re…
How to solve the looming pigs-in-blankets crisis
This is getting serious. Never mind global shortages of microchips, plastics, copper and container ships; now we’re running out of…
Is it time for a Dad’s Army of lorry drivers?
Here’s a patriotic proposal: let’s form a Dad’s Army of lorry drivers, of which the Road Haulage Association reckons there’s…
What do oven chips have to do with virtue signalling?
Why does virtue-signalling matter? It’s a fair question. After all, if people display virtuous behaviour, need we care about their…
Foreign opportunists are turning Britain into a corporate car-boot sale
The snatching of a 12 per cent stake in BT by French entrepreneur Patrick Drahi, last seen here when he…
The pandemic’s transatlantic divide in executive salaries
‘Consider a temporary cut in executive salaries’ was the Confederation of British Industry’s advice to members at the start of…
The insidious creep of corporate friendliness
The insidious creep of corporate friendliness
The importance of gossip (according to the ancients)
Gossip appears to be good for the mental health. That should make the females of the ancient world some of…
Can John Lewis and Waitrose really remain partners?
Historians of unforeseen crises talk about ‘chaos theory’ and the ‘butterfly effect’, in which a small perturbation far away —…
Are Wall Street’s ‘Spacs’ about to make waves in the City?
This column generally takes a sceptical view of financial novelties and gimmicks. So my antennae have twitched in recent days…
The case for keeping business taxes low
Why should business pay tax at all? That’s a provocative but forlorn question to ask in Budget week. Business pays…
What Rishi Sunak could learn from the vaccine rollout
Barely a year has passed since Rishi Sunak’s first Budget. Its centrepiece was a £30 billion stimulus designed to calm…
How stupid do the script writers of Sky’s Devils think we are?
Here’s a worried question I want to plant in your head: when is TV drama going to start depicting the…
The City is losing its battle with Brussels and Amsterdam
No sign of progress towards a workable deal with the EU for financial services, on which news is due next…
What were the GameStop investors actually buying?
Best before The government plans to introduce labels on domestic appliances informing consumers how long they are likely to last.…
John DeLorean: man of mystery – and full-blown psychopath
DeLorean: Back from the Future was one of those documentaries — for me at least — that takes a story…
Business rebirth is always possible – with the right help
The online fashion retailer Boohoo is buying Debenhams without its stores and staff, confirming the demise of the high street.…
‘Inessential’ workers have helped keep the country afloat
A common sight across Britain these past ten months has been those rainbow flags fluttering in urban and village streets:…
My stamp duty solution for the Chancellor
On the Wednesday in early July when Rishi Sunak announced a temporary increase from £125,000 to £500,000 in the stamp…
Will video-calling kill bureaucracy?
Having grown up in a family business, my earliest exposure to corporate life was often baffling. I remember the first…
