McDonald’s will soon be offering a new work experience based qualification equivalent to a GCSE. Under the scheme the company will work with the exam board Edexcel to develop a BTec certificate to recognise the skills gained. The BTec course will be open to teenagers and will require them to complete a 10 day placement in a restaurant as well as completing work at school. The course is fully accredited and is equivalent to one GCSE at grade B or C. The placement adds up to a 80 hour study requirement and covers issues such as team working and communication skills. The qualification is designed to help prepare young people for the work place, helping to build their confidence and give them the edge when looking for employment.

According to this article Yorkshire pudding makers are planning a bid which could give them EU protected food status. They are hoping that if they win European rights Yorkshire puddings will gain the EU protection that brands such as Parma ham and champagne already enjoy. This would mean that to be called Yorkshire puddings they would need to be made within Yorkshire. The Yorkshire firms Roberts, Aunt Bessie’s and the Real Yorkshire Pudding Company are behind the bid and are being backed by the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber. Some British foods that already have protected status include Cornish clotted cream, Whitstable oysters and Stilton cheese.

Tesco are backing a new online estate agency. The agency called Spicerhaart is launching the website iSold.com. It will launch initially in the Bristol area and will be advertised to users of the Tesco website. The service offers a basic online selling service for a flat fee of £999 rather than charging a percentage of the selling price as is the norm. All dealings with buyers and sellers will be conducted over the phone and online and the business will be kept separate for the Spicerhaart high street outlets.

This green Ferrari has recently been unveiled. It is more than just green in colour, however, the vehicle is an electric hybrid. The Ferrari 599 has a top speed of 200mph and aims to cut pollution and fuel consumption. It runs on a zero emission electric motor which backs up a 6.0 litre petrol engine.

The European Commission has cleared the way for a genetically modified potato to be grown in the EU for the first time. The potato will be only the second GM product to be allowed. The Amflora potato can be used for industrial uses such as making paper and for animal feed but not for human consumption and has been specially developed for the special qualities of its starch. The starch can make yarn stronger, paper glossier and keep glue liquid for longer. Although environmental groups are strongly opposed to the introduction of GM crops the Commission has insisted the decision is based upon sound science. Although it has been approved individual countries still have the right to decide whether it should be grown on their territory. It is expected to be planted in the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands but it needs to be grown under strict conditions to stop it cross pollinating with non GM crops. For example being cultivated and harvested before it produces seeds.

According to this article the AA is to launch a new service to help people within the home. The AA will answer calls from householders who have problems with issues such as leaking pipes and broken down boilers or even those who need help putting up a fence or hanging a picture. Householders will use the same call centres which are currently used to dispatch the AA’s breakdown service. People will be given a time of arrival and a reference number and repair men will use an AA van but without the flashing lights. AA members will get a discount on the new service which will also be offered to new customers. The service is split into two parts. The AA Home Emergency Response which is an insurance policy against domestic problems and will tackle burst pipes and leaks. The AA Home Assist will tackle smaller jobs such as putting up curtain rails, mending fences and picture hanging. The service will have a stand alone network of patrolman and vans, separate from the existing fleet of roadside patrol vans. Typical prices for the Home Emergency Response are expected to be £9.95 per month for AA members and £11.95 for non-members.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has called on the government to scrap its plans to raise beer taxes. The tax is due to increase 2% above inflation in the next Budget in March and has risen 20% since 2008. The BBPA says taxing beer at a lower rate could save as many as 7,500 jobs at a time when many in the pub industry are struggling. Figures from Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) show that 40 pubs a week are currently closing and at the height of the recession this was as many as 52 a week. Personally I can’t see the government bowing to pressure when it has such a huge hole in public spending but I feel they should recognise the importance of the local pub in the community and do more to help the struggling publican.

This article is interesting it suggests that microbreweries are becoming increasingly popular and in some cases more so than the big brands. The article highlights Ascot Ales which are brewed by Chris Gill and his wife. They currently produce around 12 barrels of ale a week when working at full capacity and supply 70 local pubs. Unlike larger breweries they do not add rice and maize to keep costs down, preferring to stick to premium ingredients. Neither do they pasteurise the beer. This obviously means that it doesn’t last quite as long but taking out this process means that none of the flavour is destroyed. it seems these microbreweries which have small output levels and minimal staff are enjoying rapid growth in a time when people are looking something more tasty and perhaps more local. In contrast many of the larger multi-national breweries are seeing their sales fall. It certainly seems to work for Ascot Ales, they are currently seeking a larger premises so that they can increase production.

According to this article the recent cold weather has been responsible for a rise in the sales of bird seed. It seems people have been spending a lot of money on our feathered friends this winter. The demand for bird seed has helped the Garden Centre Group post a jump in profits as sales rose 8% in the five weeks up to 27 December. The combination of this and an increased demand for Christmas trees have meant the chain have posted a 17% rise in gross profits to £14m.

If this article is correct then online food shopping is set to double within the next five years. That’s according to new estimates from the Institute of Grocery Distribution. Their research shows that customers will spend nearly £7.2bn on grocery shopping online by 2014, that’s nearly double the figure spent last year. Personally I do most of food shopping online. It allows me to shop for the whole month without worrying about getting it in my small car and I find I budget better and am less likely to overspend.

It appears that divorce is now big business with companies offering divorce cakes and divorce parties. Now it seems Debenhams are cashing in on the market. They have launched a divorce guest list. Much the same as a wedding gift list it works in exactly the same way and not surprisingly contains many of the same items such as kitchen appliances, crockery and glasses. It takes into account that when a marriage breaks down one person leaves the marital home and has to start again with those essentials we tend to take for granted. With January being the peak time of year for divorce it will be interesting to see how much interest this idea generates.

According to this article online retailer Amazon is considering a move into the high street. The move comes as Amazon has started to stock larger products which can be problematic and expensive to deliver. If it goes ahead Amazon would have outlets where customers could pick up purchases that they have ordered online. The article suggests that Amazon is currently looking for high profile sites across the UK to pilot the scheme. The move would not only allow Amazon to supply those larger items but also allow customers to pick up their purchases at a time to suit them rather than relying on being in to sign for a delivery.

If this article is correct then it might be harder than usual to get your Christmas tree this year. According to the article the poor exchange rate is making is less profitable for foreign producers to export to Britain. This could mean that many popular varieties of trees are likely to unavailable this year and could also mean that the price of other trees will be considerably higher. Denmark would usually export around a million non-drop Nordmann fir trees to the UK but this year are only expected to supply 300,000. It appears it is simply more profitable to sell the trees to other European countries and to the former Soviet Union. Many British farmers will also be exporting their trees to the continent where they can earn 30 per cent than usual. Personally I was going to cut a branch from one of my conifers this year to use as a tree. After a house move we need to save some money and it seems the cheapest option.

According to this article Twitter and other social networking sites are costing UK businesses £1.38bn every year. A survey carried out on 1,460 office workers by IT services group Morse found that half of those surveyed used social networking for personal use whilst at work. On average people spent around 40 minutes a week using the sites. Although many companies have banned the use of Facebook at work many have not issued the same guidelines for Twitter and with both sites being available as mobile applications I wonder how many firms would be able to enforce a complete ban. How much of your working day is spent on social networking sites?

It seems that business is booming at McDonald’s despite the recession. According to this article many McDonald’s drive through outlets are struggling to cope with increasing demand as the recession fuels a boom in fast food sales and a move towards more expensive meals. In order to deal with the increase in business the company will be installing an extra lane to many of its drive through restaurants. This will enable two drivers to order their food at the same time thus increasing capacity. The two lane system will be trialled at outlets in Telford, Shropshire, Kent and Edinburgh, and if successful will later be rolled out across the country.

The postal strikes are an inconvenience to everyone, whether you run a small business or just simply want your mail delivered in the morning. Putting myself in the first category and at one of the busiest times of the year for my business strikes are certainly the last thing that I need as they lose me money. That said, I can also sympathise with the postal workers as I have family and friends who have been postmen for many years. There is certainly a very one sided dispute view of the dispute being publicised by Royal Mail and the government and many people who I talk to do not know why postal workers are on strike or the personal cost to those workers. Postman are not paid to strike, they have mortgages and bills to pay the same as every one else but many feel they have no option but to support strike action to protect the future of the postal service. If you want a little perspective on the subject I suggest reading the following article which shows a postman’s view of the situation and highlights working practices and pressures faced daily by your postman.

This article suggests that British people are concentrating on paying off the outstanding debt on their mortgages. In fact mortgage debt is being reduced at the highest rate since records began in 1970. During the final quarter of the year Britons reduced their mortgage debt by £8 billion, a contrast to the previous year when people were instead unlocking equity from their properties to fund large purchases. It appears that despite the low interest rates people are still opting to pay as much off of their mortgages as possible. Whilst this is good news for those who want to pay off their mortgages sooner, it signals that government measures to try and stimulate the economy are not working all that well. It seems people would rather play safe and reduce their debts rather than spend any extra money they might have, all of which is bad news for retailers and makes me think that this economic downturn could continue for quite a while longer.

This is interesting its a new scheme which has been introduced at a pub to allow customers to serve themselves. It has been introduced at The Wheatsheaf Inn in Willingdon East Sussex. Drinkers are able to serve themselves and leave the money in an honesty box. The landlord of the pub has said that he trusts his customers to pay for all of the beer that they drink. I have often thought that it would be a good idea to have self service available in the pub rather than queuing for drinks at the bar but I’m not sure everyone would be honest enough to pay.

It appears that one company at least is yet to feel the effects of the recession. Whilst many other businesses are struggling business is booming at Domino's Pizza. Profits for the last 12 months were up 25% to £23 million with like for like sales rising by 10%. There were also 52 new store openings last year. The company appears to benefiting not only from the fact that people are choosing to eat in rather than go out but also from the recent bad weather which has kept many people at home.

A businessman and 18 friends spent a record £105,805 on drink at a London nightclub. Among the drinks they consumed were £80,000 worth of champagne, 4 bottles of Cristal Rose, 6 magnums of Dom Perignon, 36 bottles of Cristal and 12 bottles of Dom Perignon Rose. I feel better now about splashing out on a bottle of wine with my meal last night.

I have noticed over the last month or so that most of the spam I get seems to contain simply a PDF attachment. I was wondering whether this was a new tactic designed to fool people into opening up a dodgy file. I came across this article today that claim spammers have stopped sending pictures in their emails and instead started attaching PDF’s. It appears that they are doing this to try and get around corporate spam filters. So far, it appears to be getting through my spam filter quite effectively with several hundred of these spam mails with PDF attachments arriving each day. Whilst my daily amount of spam mails continues to rise, I suppose one good thing about this latest trend is I don’t have to read about Viagra or penis enlargement unless I actually open the PDF.