From Hatton Garden heist to Eric Pickles in a pickle: Here’s what got us talking this week

 

 

A huge oil well, thought to contain more of the black stuff than has been produced by the North Sea in the last 40 years, was discovered on Horse Hill, near Gatwick. And it wasn't just the liquid gold that shot up that day; exploration company UK Oil and Gas's share price rocketed 164 per cent on the day of the discovery. 

 

But that wasn't the only oil story of the week.  We also learned that BG Group had agreed to a £47bn takeover by Royal Dutch Shell, in what will create the largest company on the FTSE. 

 

He was noticeable by his absence on the day, but chief executive Helge Lund stands to make a pretty penny out of just two months' work. 

 

 

The much anticipated Apple Watch landed on Friday morning, and within hours a quarter of the lines were sold out. Apple expected demand to outstrip supply – but how many units were actually available? Analysts – and investors – appeared cynical of Apple's latest launch, but that didn't stop people queuing just to see it in the flesh. 

 

 

That would be a pretty early call, but it is certainly one for the history books.

 

Eight thieves made off with the contents of 70 safety deposit boxes from London's iconic diamond district Hatton Garden over the Easter weekend, with what one ex-police chief called  “old-fashioned audacity”. 

 

At one point there was a theory that it was connected to last week's Holborn fire, but that was quickly debunked. Instead, we discovered, the burglars did not force entry to the building, but they did use a pretty big drill. On Friday afternoon, the police also admitted they ignored an alarm call from the premises that went off five days before the crime was eventually discovered. 

 

 

 

We had poptastic (but utterly bonkers) campaign video from the Greens lampooning the leaders of the other parties.

 

We had a car-crash interview from Eric Pickles, in which the communities minister struggled to explain the Tories' new paid volunteering scheme.

 

And somewhere near Bolton, David Cameron drove one schoolchild to what appeared to be extreme election fatigue. 

 

 

In another attempt to head off its looming debt obligations, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tsipras noted that Greece was allowed to choose its own allies – but he will have won no fans in the EU.

 

Just days later it transpired that secret plans were being drawn up to kick Greece out of the Eurozone. Tsipras' problems just won't go away. 

 

Mulberry's turnaround plan is starting to bear fruit. The bag brand reported a vastly improved set of results this week, and we spoke to chairman Godfrey Davis – who until very recently was also de facto chief executive – about how he has weathered the storm of the last two years.  

 

These two articles – which, taken together, make one long read –  consider the impact the General Election will have on markets. The first looks at previous close-run elections to see what happened to the FTSE 100 30 days either side.  The second considers which party has ruled over the best stock market performance.  

 

And with all the talk of non-doms – and whether they are good, bad or ugly – we considered the impact any change to those laws might have on our economy, and what exactly those laws are in the first place.

 

If, like most of us here at City A.M., you think cheese is the best thing since the sliced bread it sits on then this Boing Boing article is for you. It turns out that not only is cheese delicious, it also changed the course of Western civilisation. And adult humans began eating it before they could consume milk.

 

Assuming you haven't reached peak Apple Watch by day two, this article from The Verge is worth a read. The team visited stores around the world to get a taste of Tim Cook's big hope and the general impression was one of being underwhelmed. 

 

Lastly, with the battleground for streaming services rapidly being set, this infographic shows just how lucrative (or not) each platform is for musical acts by showing how many units must be sold, streamed or downloaded to earn a US monthly minimum wage. The issue with Spotify becomes instantly apparent.  

 

Don't forget it's the Boat Race this weekend – you can find the best places to watch (and drink) here.

 

And we're going to be glued to the Grand National later today. So will the bookies, but most will be hoping for a different result to us.