Well hi there, and how's tricks? My apologies, and they are reasonably sincere, for having been absent from these (web) pages for two months. Since summarizing 2017 as the year that was I've taken a well-needed break from iPhone journalism to do some generally tedious yet altogether better paying work. Besides that, writing twice weekly about Donald J. Trump aka The Ingrate pumpkin, or the great march of the lemmings that is Brexit had become an infinitely depressing exercise, akin...

A new study has found that a third of UK office workers only tidy their desks if their boss is coming into the office. The reason?  Almost half (45%) of those questioned think they are more likely to get a promotion if they have a tidy desk. The research, conducted by office supply specialists Fellowes, also hints that there could be an organisational crisis in UK offices, with the average employee spending seven working days per year looking for misplaced paperwork....

An Islamic fanatic who used Twitter and Instagram to spread "poisonous" propaganda to promote ISIS has been jailed. Shafi Mohammed Saleem, 28, used more than 20 Twitter and Instagram accounts to share his pro-Daesh messages between 2016 and 2017. Detectives from the Met arrested at him home address in East London in April 2017 after investigating his online activities. One of Saleem's tweets included an image of two 'zombie knives', with just the word "itching". Another showed a second man...

A cannabis law reform lobbying group has hit out at a Tory drugs minister for what they call “hypocrisy” for opposing drugs reforms while her husband’s company has a lucrative contract growing cannabis. Victoria Atkins husband's company is in partnership with GW Pharmaceuticals, a UK biotech firm, which is developing Epidiolex, a synthetic drug made from cannabis plants and used to treat childhood epilepsy. Families with children with epilepsy around the world have been medicating the condition with natural cannabis...

Brunner – 46 years of dividend growth. Brunner has announced its final Results for the year ended 30 November 2017. Its NAV total return was 19.5%, which is ahead of its composite benchmark index’s return of 15.1%. In terms of specific drivers of performance, the extract from the annual report released this morning does not include any commentary on this or the investment manager’s review, so we are unable to comment on this here. However, the chairman, Carolan Dobson, says...

Lady Bird is a film that deals with the trials and tribulations of first love, losing your virginity, and the final year of high school in a way that is rarely seen on the big screen. Each section of the film is given its own space to breathe, and although the film sticks to its tight 93 minute running time, no scene feels rushed. The film in fact should be commended for leaving you wanting more, for making you want...

Boris Johnson’s ‘unity’ speech sparked an "overwhelmingly negative response" on social media, with 44 per cent negative sentiment displayed compared to just seven per cent positive. Mr Johnson was attacked for a lack of substance and a lack of understanding of the EU following his speech which kick-started the government's "road to Brexit" plan. Exaggerated optimism, incredulity over continued engagement with Europe and failing to address key issues such as the Good Friday Agreement and Irish border were also among the...

Blue Capital Alternative Income - Wind blown but still standing Blue Capital Alternative Income’s (BCAI’s) net asset value declined by 24.8% during 2017 (including dividends). BCAI’s manager says that the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, which accounts for most of the fall, was perhaps a one in 33-year event and that BCAI’s losses are in line with its internal projections for such a scenario. BCAI now has less capital to deploy although, with insured losses estimated by Munich Re at $135bn...

Jeremy Corbyn has said the powerful "can't carry on walking by" after a rough sleeper was found dead just yards from the entrance to Parliament. The Labour leader said it is time MPs took up the moral challenge to properly house everyone as the tragic case unfolded next to Westminster. Police were called to Westminster tube station just after 7.15am on Wednesday, following reports of an “unresponsive” man in an area where rough sleepers are known to gather, just outside...