This is interesting it’s a new variety of apple that has been dubbed by this article as the tom-apple. The apple is unusual because it is red all the way through even after it has been cooked. It has been produced by a grower over a 20 year period by using cross pollination techniques involving a number of parent trees. The apple is said to be extremely tasty and apparently it contains more antioxidants than the average apple. It would certainly make a colourful additional to a fruit salad.

According to this article Wetherspoon are to move into the coffee market with a plan to sell cappuccinos and lattes for as little as 49p a cup. The pub chain which currently has more than 700 outlets outlets will start opening from as early as 7am. It will offer breakfast including porridge and yogurt as well as well as tea and coffee. Wetherspoon will offer coffee from the Lavazza range at a price which is likely to undercut many of their rivals such as Starbucks.

If you feel you have been getting less strawberries than usual for the same money then you may be right. According to this article many of the supermarkets have shrunk the size of strawberry punnets whilst keeping the price the same. Last year Asda sold a 454g box of strawberries for £1.98. This year they are charging the same price for a 400g box. Sainsbury’s did sell a 400g box for £3.99 last year. This is no longer available and has now been replaced by a 300g box for the same price. Tesco have also introduced a smaller box but the article does not mention whether their prices have also changed. The retailers excuse is that the larger punnets were too big and led to strawberries getting crushed.

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.