Barclay’s Chief Executive, John Varley, has been brilliant on Sky TV, the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme (and later this week on Panorama). Not a moment before time, we have a senior current banking figure not only talking (that’s very rare) but talking like a human being. Read on ›

Yesterday Barclays Bank won the vote to endorse its billions of Arab fund-raising. Its board was attacked from all sides, even by those voting for the deal. Welcome to the world of recession business. Clients are going to have hard cases to sell. That’s our real job. It’ll be exhilarating. Read on ›

A new survey reports that over two-thirds of consumers “would remain loyal to a brand during a recession if it supports a good cause”. Why wouldn’t they say so? And so what? Let’s try a little rebelliousness here. Read on ›

It’s Saturday night. Door shut. The mother is banned from the living room. Even the dog – K9 – is not allowed to bark. Being Swiss and German respectively they just don’t get it. My half-British 11-year-old son does. Read on ›

London’s latest shopping extravagnza, the Westfield London Centre, was planned in a boom in another century and opens at the beginning of a recession.

Oh doom, oh gloom, oh glum. Thank goodness, Boris says that view’s nonsense. Read on ›

Yesterday in the midst of recession, Volkswagen briefly became the world’s most valuable company, worth £238 billion. Hedge funds were gambling, which is what they do for a living, that VW shares would fall. Read on ›