Features

Jan- 2020 -

16 January

All hail Trump for his damp squib trade deal with China

Do you know what, I don’t know anything about the detail of Trump’s new ‘deal’ with China, designed to hit ‘pause’ on the escalating trade tensions between the two countries after a couple of years of rancour. But I am going to assume, given the president has described it as…

15 January

Boohoo more valuable than M&S – a sea-change encapsulated

From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto cliché to refer to Marks and Spencer as the “high street bellwether”, yet that is the status it has held for so many decades. The once mighty monolith was the first British retailer to reach a market capitalisation of £1bn and…

14 January

Javid mulls three-year passenger duty holiday for Flybe

Things are not looking rosy for low-cost airline, Flybe, but the chancellor Sajid Javid may have some proposals that save it from complete collapse. It is reported this morning that he is considering cutting air passenger duty on all domestic flights – a big boon for all the other airlines but also…

13 January

Pot for your pets: What does this mean for your pets?

Sales of cannabis extract cannabidiol (CBD) in the UK have roughly doubled in the past few years, and there are now an estimated quarter of a million regular users turning to the substance to support general wellness, and to treat sleep problems and chronic pain. Just like people, dogs are…

13 January

Why the debate over Huawei? Just hold off if there’s reason to worry

A debate has been bubbling away in government for the last few years about the safety of using telecoms kit from Chinese tech firm, Huawei, to provide 5G mobile phone networks in the UK. Some are worried that infrastructure made by the firm – which is thought to be very…

10 January

Cremation tattoos: A guaranteed way to keep your loved ones forever?

“We never really get over the passing of someone, we just work out how to smooth out the painful spikes of losing them,” says Bubblegum Ink’s tattoo artist Paul Cutler. “Cremation tattoos are the only guaranteed way to keep your loved ones with you forever.” Alongside the increasing number of…

10 January

Spooked markets seem soothed by Iran-US climb-down

When Iran decided to hit back on US military facilities after president Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, there was talk of the outbreak of war. NATO countries apparently implored Trump not to go for another attack, fearing that if he did things would escalate beyond control…

9 January

Who would have thought skinny jeans could be anyone’s undoing?

It’s not often that the business pages give you a good belly laugh. But today we have the spectacle of Marks & Spencer blaming its poor Christmas trading results partly on an oversupply of skinny jeans for men. Apparently customer surveys revealed that the high street bellwether’s ranges were “too old” the…

8 January

Greggs going vegan has paid dividends: we can all learn from them

There is an adage about business and entertainment emerging in the conservative media, which is “get woke, go broke”. It translates crudely to, “cave to the demands of social justice activists and you will suffer financially”. And while it is true that some have come a cropper by tilting the…

7 January

Northern Ireland’s business community want compensation for their Brexit troubles

To say that Brexit has been ‘divisive’ is both an understatement and also a cliché of the highest order. But Johnson’s election victory, as we are all now well versed, will not bring an immediate end to the arguing. Today we hear that business leaders and entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland want their…