Business

The lesson of Looney: every board should prepare for scandal

23 September 2023 9:00 am

Bernard Looney, the fallen BP chief, always had a certain swagger about him. I’ve no idea whether he was unsafe…

The UK’s treatment of Activision shows it is closed for business

27 April 2023 3:07 am

It was, admittedly, not quite as thrilling as an action sequence from Call of Duty. Even so, the statement put…

How kindness became big business

13 August 2022 9:00 am

In those moments when I most fear that the West is on the skids, I find it helps to make…

Water woes: who’s to blame for the shortages?

13 August 2022 9:00 am

Who’s to blame for the shortages?

Why Channel 4 shouldn’t be privatised

9 April 2022 9:00 am

Enough of stagflation forecasts, each more frightening than the last. Enough – for now – of energy policy sermons, as…

How to post a parcel without leaving your house

5 March 2022 9:00 am

Here’s a useful tip. Go to the Royal Mail websiteand you can ask your postman to collect letters or parcels…

The TV licence is a dead duck

22 January 2022 9:00 am

‘Tell me we’re winning the media battle!’ I imagine Unilever boss Alan Jope barking at his team on Tuesday, following…

Has Macron shot France's energy industry in the foot?

21 January 2022 4:15 am

Gas prices are soaring. Europe could be about to witness electricity shortages. Power companies are collapsing by the day, and,…

Hunterston’s closure is the nuclear accident no one noticed

15 January 2022 9:00 am

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

18 December 2021 9:00 am

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

30 October 2021 9:00 am

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?

30 October 2021 9:00 am

What’s really behind the net-zero zealotry of big businesses?

Why scrapping business rates is a bright idea

2 October 2021 9:00 am

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

21 September 2021 3:00 pm

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

4 September 2021 9:00 am

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?

7 August 2021 9:00 am

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?

31 July 2021 9:00 am

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

19 June 2021 9:00 am

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

15 May 2021 9:00 am

‘Consider a temporary cut in executive salaries’ was the Confederation of British Industry’s advice to members at the start of…