Poundstretcher sales were down over Christmas. Poundland sales were up
The French Ministry of Finance saved €92,000 on its New year party by serving only peanuts & cakes
This years business rates will increase in line with last September’s RPI – a 17-year high which reflected the food & oil price inflation then raging
At least 25 supertankers are being used to store oil at sea waiting for the price to increase
Demand for plastics & chemicals has fallen. So has the demand for salt used as a raw material in their production. So there is less space being created in the Cheshire salt mines which we planned to use for storing gas to increase our meagre 15 days reserve
Stop press: demand for salt may rise to replenish stocks depleted by the recent Siberian weather
People return to or stay in college longer & study harder during a downturn so spending on college level textbooks has increased
West End theatre has had a bumper year
Brussels is to have mountains again. The EU is to buy & store 30,000 tonnes of butter & 109,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder
For the first time in 77 years General Motors was not the world's biggest car maker in 2008. Toyota sales were higher - but only because they suffered a smaller fall in numbers
People are turning back to the telly. Time spent watching broadcast tv grew by 3% last year
Eurostar is laying on extra trains for Valentines Day
