Business
Ed Miliband could still win. Here’s what would happen next
He could still win. Here’s what happens if he does
Why cheap oil could mean a Labour victory
BP’s profits are down, and the oil giant is slashing up to $6 billion out of its investment plan for…
What’s good about austerity (whatever the Greeks think)
The only question I remember from my Oxford moral philosophy paper was ‘What is integrity and is it a virtue?’…
Blame Tony Blair for Labour’s new stupidity about wealth
Labour's attitude to wealth is sliding back into the 1970s - and Tony Blair's new career is one reason why
What to expect in business in 2015 (probably not the Triumph of Probity, Honour and Prudence)
You might recall a column I once wrote about a party at the Wallace Collection. It took place in late…
Are the Qataris ready for the curse of Canary Wharf?
I’ve written before of a ‘curse of Qatar’ that might explain misfortunes attending the Gulf state’s UK investments, of which…
Why are students of curation being taught to ignore the public and be suspicious of enterprise?
The world exists and then it disappears, piece by piece, the gaps widening until one age is replaced by another,…
Why I’m glad there’s no British Las Vegas
I didn’t realise that the Rialto Bridge has a moving walkway and muzak, that the gondolas beneath it float on…
The subversive wonders of Kilkenomics – where economics meets stand-up
‘What is a Minsky moment, anyway?’ asks Gerry Stembridge, an Irish satirist. ‘I’ve been reading about them in the papers…
What British start-ups are still missing
This issue includes the new Spectator Money supplement, in which I hope you’ll find a bouquet of stimulating ideas. The…
The fightback against wackiness starts here
Forced, studenty wackiness has taken over our culture. It’s time to take a stand
The one economic indicator that never stops rising: meet the Negroni Index
This dispatch comes to you from Venice — where I arrived at sunset on the Orient Express. More of that…
Storm warning: the world economy’s October troubles aren’t over yet
October is always a turbulent month, and I’m feeling uneasy about this one. The FTSE100 index, which looked set to…
Yes, Wonga lent at shocking rates – but it was customers who lied
‘Payday Lady is not trading at this time,’ says her website, sounding a little like La Dame aux camélias. Indeed (since…
It’s not just left-wingers who think the bosses’ pay boom is unhealthy
The FTSE100 index stands precisely where it did in the first week of December 1999. Whichever way you look at…
The man who could sell the British public on fracking
Iain Conn, who will succeed Sam Laidlaw as chief executive of Centrica, would have been a dead cert for the…
I know how ineffective sanctions are – but these ones just might work
‘Sanctions,’ said Kofi Annan, ‘are a necessary middle ground between war and words.’ Neither the EU nor the US will…
Forecasting is a mug’s game – but I was right about the economic revival
‘Perhaps I should shift my prediction to 23 July 2014,’ I wrote in April 2012. ‘That’s the opening of the…
It's time for Britain to abolish slavery – again
Who would have expected to find slavery on the outskirts of Cardiff? Not the locals, who were shocked when police…
How the internet can – and should – destroy estate agents
The internet can – and should – bring it about
Pfizer’s already beaten Ed Miliband. Now it just needs to offer the right price
Pfizer will almost certainly have to offer more than its second bid of £50 a share for rival drug giant…