The Battle for Virality: How the advertising industry stole Christmas November 14, 2016 Consumer capitalism is like an annual balloon, pumping in steady increments throughout the year. It grows and grows, stretching and straining around November, taut before the Black Friday Pin; the pressure too much, one prick and the balloon explodes in a relentless cloud of Christmas advertising. But where has this volley come from? We can’t even [...]
Tescooker? Everything you need to know about Tesco eating Booker January 27, 2017 The UK's largest supermarket, Tesco, announced this morning that it will merge with wholesaler and convenience store supplier Booker Group. Share pries for both companies flew, with Tesco finishing the day nine per cent higher, at 206.3p, while Booker rose 16 per cent to 212.3p – above Tesco's offer price. Here's everything you need to know about the [...]
Horse racing betting tips: Taquin looks value to upset Cue Card in Ascot Chase February 17, 2017 HATS off to the connections of Cue Card who this week scratched the lovable 11-year-old from next month’s Ryanair Chase, signifying their intentions to once again go for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The seven-time Grade One winner completes his preparations for this year’s Festival by running in Saturday's Ascot Chase (3.35pm), for which he is [...]
Christmas gift guide: All the luxury clothing and accessories gift ideas you’ll ever need December 2, 2016 We get it. You're busy. You're important. You have things to do, people to see. You don't have time for such fripperies as Christmas shopping. This year, instead of slogging around the shops anxiously trying to figure out what to buy for whom, just take our Christmas gift guide with you. Boom. Christmas shopping sorted. Don't [...]
Fitness when you’re over 40: Age is no excuse for not hitting your fitness goals May 10, 2017 What’s stopping you getting fit? This is one of my favourite questions in my consultations with clients. Lots of people say: “Well, I’m not as young as I used to be, the weight just won’t come off” – this is not a valid answer. Age is purely an excuse, not a barrier. Yes, you [...]
How to take the headache out of paying your small business tax bill January 30, 2017 The self-assessment tax deadline is tomorrow, and it isn’t just individual taxpayers feeling the heat. Many small businesses, particularly those structured as limited liability partnerships, will also need to file their tax returns and make payments to HMRC. Tax – whether corporation tax, business rates or VAT – can be a tricky issue for SMEs. We [...]
Govia Thameslink Railway heads to the High Court today in bid to thwart Southern strikes December 7, 2016 Long-suffering commuters are battling through yet another day of Southern rail strikes today. And Southern owner Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is trying to crack down on future industrial action: it's off to the High Court today in a bid to bring an end to at least some of the turmoil. Members of train drivers' union Aslef have [...]
Most people are enjoying this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert. A few aren’t November 10, 2016 The John Lewis Christmas advert has landed. And, predictably, the majority of Twitter luvvies are loving it – despite serious plot holes exposed by City A.M. Launching a day after Donald Trump won the race to the White House, the retailer’s customer director Craig Inglis said: “2016 has certainly been quite a year, so we [...]
Weak sterling pushes FTSE 100 to open at yet another record January 9, 2017 The FTSE 100 has opened at a record high, building on last week’s string of positive performances, with sterling weakness providing a Monday boost. London's blue chip index rose as far as 7,239.26 points, its highest point ever, after ending last week at 7,210.05 points. Sterling fell as low as €1.1542 against the euro at the [...]
Cheltenham Festival betting tips: Time to get on the Bacardys March 15, 2017 THERE is a tremendous sense of déjà vu when it comes to the running of this year’s Neptune Investment Novices’ Hurdle (1.30pm). This time last year a well-fancied English-trained runner was a warm order for the opening contest of the second day, with a Willie Mullins-trained second favourite lurking in the shadows. As the ground [...]