Any other business
Why Elon Musk should forget Twitter and stick to Tesla
I spent Easter agonising over whether to throw the considerable weight of this column behind Elon Musk’s maverick $43 billion…
Who can put the toothpaste of inflation back in its tube?
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s food price index rose 13 per cent last month to stand a third higher…
Why Channel 4 shouldn’t be privatised
Enough of stagflation forecasts, each more frightening than the last. Enough – for now – of energy policy sermons, as…
How men’s pants predict economic crashes
Should you happen to spot me these days lurking outside a Calvin Klein boutique, notebook in hand, I assure you…
The moral of P&O: too many strategic assets are in foreign hands
P & O once stood for ‘Peninsular and Oriental’, with pleasant connotations of sailings to Cadiz and Constantinople – but…
Biden is right: the crypto world needs to be controlled
President Biden’s executive order ‘Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets’ won praise on all sides, an unfamiliar experience for one…
Is fracking the answer to the energy crisis?
I’ll approach the hot topic of a ban on Russian oil by way of personal anecdote: I’ve never been a…
At least BP and Shell tried to teach Russia true capitalism
BP will offload the 20 per cent stake in Rosneft, the Kremlin-controlled energy giant, that is the residue of 25…
Pipeline politics: what happens if Putin cuts off Europe’s gas?
The price of Brent Crude oil was hovering at $100 a barrel as Germany halted approval of the controversial Nord…
Bad news, Governor: the wage-rise spiral is already raging
I’ve had the opportunity recently to take part in wage-rise discussions for several small entities in which I’m involved. The…
Why windfall taxes are a rotten idea
Annual profits of £9.5 billion at BP this week followed a £20 billion jackpot at Shell last week, thanks to…
The ghosts that could come back to haunt Blair
I’m picturing Sir Tony Blair enjoying a fitting of his Garter robes after watching Boris Johnson stagger through PMQs. ‘I’m…
What’s really behind the crypto crash
‘Market turmoil’ looks set as the theme of the week, so let’s take a close look at a trading arena…
The TV licence is a dead duck
‘Tell me we’re winning the media battle!’ I imagine Unilever boss Alan Jope barking at his team on Tuesday, following…
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’…
Will the energy price spike bring down Boris?
What does the new year have in store for consumers — and families trying to make ends meet? A stumbling…
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…
Don’t strand Cambo until our energy future is secure
If the phrase ‘stranded asset’ hasn’t yet entered your vocabulary, here’s a useful example of what it means. The 178…
For industry, the pandemic isn’t over yet
‘So you think it’s all over? Ho ho ho!’ That’s the message from Satan’s dark laboratory (twinned with Wuhan’s) where…
Why you should be wary of buy now pay later
Are you logged on to Klarna, Clearpay, Laybuy or Zilch for your Black Friday shopping binge — or are you…
Shell’s Dutch departure is a boost for the city of London
The scrapping of most of the eastern leg of HS2, originally planned from Birmingham to Leeds, is a news item…
Bankers, not Greta, will save the planet
I have observed before how useful really big numbers can be in response to crises: when US treasury secretary Hank…
Don’t let China’s climate sins cloak its crushing of Hong Kong
China’s failure to bring anything new to COP26 surprised no one. The world’s worst carbon emitter offered no advance on…
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…
Prince Harry is surfing an investment wave
Does the economist David Blanchflower — who I described as the Bank of England’s ‘resident wacko’ during his 2006-09 tenure…
