Real Business

Why the days of megabuck-payouts are drawing to a close.

Topics: Finance | Management & HR

The government has asked Legal & General CEO Tim Breedon to look into how non-bank sources of debt finance can be developed. You might as well ask: "Which type of poison would you like to kill you?"

Topics: Finance

Despite a doubling of its order book, Christmas and the New Year is not proving a happy time for British bus maker Optare as banks and the government turn their backs on it.

Topics: Finance

From quantitative easing and the FSA to News International and the Royal wedding, our City Grump columnist reviews the smoke and mirrors of 2011.

Topics: Finance

David Cameron needs to step away from the glossy magazine pages, go and see Margaret Thatcher, and take a leaf from the Iron Lady's book of leadership.

Topics: Finance

Josiah Wedgwood and Steve Jobs revolutionised their respective industries. Three centuries apart, here's what you can learn from them.

Topics: Sales & Marketing

When economic strategies look mad, they usually are.

George Osborne's proposals for a "credit easing" scheme for small businesses, announced at the Conservative Party conference, is a PR triumph – but not much else.

Topics: Finance

The war being waged by politicians and bankers to combat 40 years of profligate overspending by western governments and households is seeing us subjected to an endless procession of lies, disinformation and cover-ups.

Topics: Finance

Following the last turbulent week, here's what Prime Minister David Cameron would write if he had to update you on the state of Britain today.

Topics: Management & HR

As times get harder, have you noticed how our movers and shakers come up with ever more deceptive phrases to gloss over difficult situations?

Topics: Management & HR

Everyone blames “rampant nepotism and failed corporate governance" for the News Corp scandal. But a bunch of non-execs and a pile of corporate governance manuals wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference.

Topics: Management & HR

A cardinal rule of personal capital preservation should be: never, ever invest in airlines, banks or textile companies. Here's why.

Topics: Finance

The Chancellor used his speech to the City this week to announce a programme of bank sales. No time, then, to underline the importance of equity investing to the financial health of the City and the country.

Topics: Finance

The media has been recently filling up many column inches with the marital infidelities of the rich and famous. Is there a lesson for business in there?

Topics: Finance