COLUMNISTS
Resources
Principal content

Jonathan Guthrie is enterprise editor of the FT. His column on British business has been appearing in the newspaper for six years. He blends humour with serious analysis to comment on economic trends, business policy and entrepreneurship. Recent subjects have ranged from the lending drought to the resurgence of the traditional fish and chip shop. Previously UK companies editor, Jonathan lives in Birmingham and enjoys family life and music.
Do you have any comments on a Jonathan Guthrie column? He will be responding to FT readers in his online forum. - -
No soft soap from Lord Sugar
The government’s enterprise champion was particularly exasperated by young people whom Enterprise Week is supposed to encourage, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Charter of the blindingly obvious
Cast out of the earthly Eden of public approval, benighted bankers are shielding themselves from criticism with the fig leaves of customer charters, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Hacked off with strike-offs
Frequent fliers simply demonstrate a wider problem: the state is unable to enforce adequately all the laws created by politicians, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Arise Mr Liquidity and Little Miss Integrity
Business types often wind up as the baddies in fiction because the profit motive is a convenient shorthand for selfishness. But for a fee, I will write some lovable characters, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Punning salons will still be hair tomorrow
Cheap local hairdressers, known in the trade as ‘Sweaty Betties’, have received an influx of customers trading down, says Jonathan Guthrie
Industrialists uninspired by party of business
‘Mandelson for Tory prime minister,’ proposed the chair of a fast food chain. It was unclear whether he was joking, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Britain does not need a version of Chapter 11
Creating laws gives politicians a nice, warm glow. But the result is tinkering that is unhelpful to business, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Take a punt on a bank to offset your tax
The 1980s are back in fashion, and so is mass privatisation. This time, discounts for share-buyers could be a valid payout for higher costs, higher taxes and worse public services, writes Jonathan Guthrie
Sentiment helps raise the bar for Cadbury
Cadbury should avoid swathing itself in the flags of philanthropy and patriotism during the current takeover battle. But my hope is that it will give Kraft the slip, writes Jonathan Guthrie


