It’s a month to go until the result of the referendum on the Transport Innovation Fund and peak-time congestion charging in Greater Manchester - and the debate is moderately warm!
Stockport council, led by Liberal Democrat Dave Goddard, is opposed to the TIF bid and has been a target of particular attention from the Yes campaign. [...]

I felt disappointed this morning when I woke up and heard a panel of enthusiasts spouting off about the best way to cook roast potatoes and no mention of the imminent collapse of the global financial markets. I’ve become accustomed to talk of plunging share prices, billion-dollar bail-outs and Chancellor’s statements of a weekday morning. As such, the subsequent focus upon Powys [...]

Michael Howard, the former Conservative leader now making a living as a Count Dracula impersonator, has waded into the Peston debate, demanding an investigation into how the BBC’s business editor found out about banks requesting a financial bail-out from the government. I sense some political momentum gathering behind this, having seen Michael Portillo honking on [...]

I may have created the impression the other day that I think Robert Peston is a tosser. This wasn’t my intention at all because, notwithstanding his numerous presentational faux pas, I actually deeply admire his ability to get up the noses of the Daily Mail (”Does this man have too much power?”), various bloggers and, [...]

God love BBC business editor Robert Peston, whose broad range of bizarre vocal ticks brings a light touch to news of even the most dire financial crisis. His willingness to experiment with the boundaries of word and syllable emphasis within a given sentence never ceases to amuse. You sit there waiting for it to die [...]

Yet another Manchester-based business news website/e-mail service has spasmed into life this month, prompting the question: Is there really enough business news to go round?
I’ve been a business journalist in Manchester for four years this month, covering the North West for a national magazine. During that time, the North West Enquirer came, ran out of [...]

The proposed Manchester congestion charge and the £3bn Transport Innovation Fund that the city is bidding for has created a turf war between two rival business lobbying groups in which few people - other than the odd business hack - seem to be interested.
For those who may have missed it, one group, called United City (geddit?), is in favour of the TIF funding package [...]

I went to the closing down sale of Danish furniture shop Ilva in Manchester today. Predictably, the place was a lot busier than the two previous times I’ve been there.
When Ilva opened its three UK stores a couple of years ago - in Thurrock, Gateshead and Piccadilly - it was supposed to be the new [...]

I’ve noticed a rash of new touchy-feely advertising slogans in recent days. It seems all products now have to revolve around us, as people (not just consumers), and how we engage with them on a deep and meaningful level. The message is that these advertisers aren’t faceless mega-corporations pushing out garbage to random, grabbing hordes [...]

Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader, which was launched last November, appears to be undergoing what might be called a soft relaunch with the help of the Guardian. Apparently, nobody likes the expensive, horrible-looking gadget but it’s rated as Bloody Great by, er, Amazon.
According to the paper’s report from the US BookExpo trade fair, Amazon CEO Jeffrey [...]