I have been thinking of rearranging the home office to try and create a feeling of more space so have been looking around at some new office furniture. I came across this UK based website that has a good selection of computer desks, office chairs, cupboards and book cases. They offer free delivery on all UK orders and optional installation on selected items and many items are available on next day delivery if you order before 3pm. The prices are quite reasonable as well so if you are looking for some new office furniture then you might want to check them out.

In their latest attempt at world domination Amazon have recently launched an online grocery store. In a move that could be direct competition for retailers such as Sainsbury's and Tesco Amazon are now offering food and household products. They will stock around 22,000 brands including Walkers, Kraft and Pampers and offer customers deals for buying in bulk. They also offer a few more unusual products that are harder to find elsewhere such as a whole lamb for £119.95. Looking around the selection the prices are not really any cheaper than other online retailers. There is also less fresh food on offer. I think it would probably suit people looking to do a bulk shop for cupboard staples but for me it won’t be replacing Sainsbury’s as my online retailer of choice. This is mainly due to the ease of shopping and the fact I can easily find what I need, for example accessing “my usuals” list rather than searching for each products. I may, however, use Amazon if I want to bulk buy an item and save a few pennies.

According to this article Waitrose will soon be stocking a range of food created by chef Heston Blumenthal. For those who are not familiar with the chef he is famous for some rather unique creations such as snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, as well as being involved in trying to turn around the misfortunes of the Little Chef brand. The dishes in the Waitrose range are more familiar classics rather than food with the wow factor. They will include beef and ale pie, spinach and mushroom pie and chicken ham and leak pie although it’s not clear whether they will some twists in the recipes. Either way it could be something to look out for next time you are in Waitrose.

According to this article the number of new UK car sales rose by 10.8% in June. This is compared with the same period last year and is despite the end of the car scrappage scheme. Figures from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that 195,226 new car were sold in June which is way above expected performance levels. Although private sales were 3.3% lower than last year there has been a rise in both the the fleet market and the business sector which saw an increase of 18.4%.

According to this article a group of MPs are calling for a ban on ticket touting at big sporting events. It is currently only illegal to re-sell tickets for professional matches, however, it has been suggested this should be extended to other event such as Wimbledon, the Grand National and Six Nations Rugby. Legislation already exists to ban the reselling of tickets for the London Olympics and it is hoped this could be extended. There have also been calls for the greater regulation of websites that sell tickets to ensure they are only able to charge the face value of a ticket and a fixed charge for reselling it.

According to this article seven in every ten homes in London is currently brought by foreign investors. The weakness of the pound against other currencies means foreign buyers can secure large discounts. This is shown by the fact that the number of wealthy foreigners buying in London jumped 20% last year. In June last year for example 53% of those buying properties in London worth more than £5 million were brought by overseas buyers, this has now risen to 68%.

If this article is to believed Unilever has introduced new terms which are likely to squeeze small suppliers. Previously they took up to 30 days to pay their suppliers but they have recently ruled that will now change to 90 days. The change will be effective within the next week and warning letters have already been sent to many firms they deal with notifying them of the change. Although an initiative called the Prompt Payment Code was introduced in 2008 to encourage firms to settle bills quickly, Unilever have not signed up to it. Many other large firms such as Dell, Carlsberg, United Biscuits and Argos have all recently taken similar steps.

Toyota have announced another recall after faults were found in some Lexus and Crown vehicles. Initially the vehicles are being recalled in Japan but action is likely to follow for overseas markets. The recall affects around 91,903 vehicles in Japan and as many as 270,000 worldwide. The problem which is caused by a flaw in the valve spring can make the vehicle stall whilst it is still moving. So far 220 complaints have been received about the problem but no crashes have been reported to date.

According to this article a fault has been found which can lead to engine problems in some Lexus models. Toyota have said that the problem is down to "improperly functioning valve springs have been found in some Lexus engines and there is a small possibility that abnormal engine noise or unstable idling may occur". Affected models include the Lexus GS 450h, GS460, LS460 and LS 600hIt is thought the issue could affect as many 3,000 cars in the UK.

In some good news for the car industry one thousand new jobs are to be created at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant. The firm which is based in Warwick will be building the new Range Rover called the Evoque which has been described as the greenest Range Rover yet.

Tate and Lyle have agreed the sale of their sugar business for £211 million. Tate and Lyle has refineries in Silvertown and the East end of London which have been operating for 130 years and owns the world’s oldest brand Lyle’s Golden Syrup. The new owner American Sugar Refining has said there will be no job losses at the company's London refineries.

According to this article cash machines that dispense nothing but £5 notes are to installed across the UK. The move comes as the Bank of England tries to increase the circulation of £5 notes in the system. Bank Machine a firm based in Hertfordshire has recently installed 21 of the machines across the country after a trial of two machines put around 100,000 new £5 notes into circulation every month. It seems we may soon be seeing more £5 notes appearing in our change.