If you missed the 02 Wireless Festival or Lovebox, there’s always the Ben and Jerry’s thing on Clapham Common this weekend, or Forever Heavenly in September. The festival explosion is obvious, but there’s been less attention given to the big businesses that have sprung up inside the gates. We’ll leave aside the debate over whether the festival circuit has become too commercial and simply say that it’s... very commercial. Take Live Nation, the American......

In Brixton, some community-minded souls are taking their movement to a natural extreme — they’re setting up a new currency. The Brixton Brick is modelled on similar schemes in Devon and elsewhere. The idea is that keeping money in a community increases its benefit to locals as it circulates round the houses, rather than going off to a multinational company or somebody’s offshore bank account. The plan has already attracted the attention of the......

Ugh, splitting the bill. At worst it’s like showing your parents around the touristy bits of town — expensive, unfun, leaving everyone involved with the feeling that they’ve been shafted. Inevitably someone skips the starter; someone else orders two sides; somebody's off the sauce; puddings either divide opinion or are themselves divided by two or more diners. Simple game theory points to one way to sort this out. Before the meal, everyone should agree......

If you’re paying attention to the mayoral race you probably already know a little about where the candidates stand on crime and bendy buses. But what candidate will be best for your bank account? To help you answer that question, we’ve put together a quick economic summary of the big-party candidates: Ken Livingstone We already have a pretty good idea of what the incumbent will do in this area — more of the same.......

There’s nothing like an outing to Hackney to start the mind whirring about gentrification. And we can think of no surer way to start an argument than to wander into an unreformed East End boozer enthusing about all the new construction and upscale shops popping up in the neighbourhood. The term gentrification was actually born in Islington. It was coined in the 60s by sociologist Ruth Glass, who noticed the phenomenon of middle-class people......

One of the reasons our economy could be in a real mess this year is that the price of basic stuff like fuel and food is going up fast. That means that it’s difficult for the central banks in Britain and Europe to justify lowering interest rates to encourage us to spend more — because spending would spur more inflation, which could get out of control. In developed countries, inflation is kind of like......

When this small bit of Londonist launched its IPO this summer, we had no inkling that the economy would soon be in very choppy waters. Since then we’ve seen a bank run, huge corporate losses, and grim warnings across the board. And yet somehow, bankers are still getting huge bonuses, people are still spending money they don’t have, and the rich-poor gap is getting wider and wider. All of this has left us quite......