Another victor of the current “recession:” IBM are increasingly getting called in by companies feeling the pinch to help them cut costs with a better IT infrastructure and that has sent their profits up 22%. As a US listed company, it pays to be doing two-thirds of their work overseas (where the dollar is weak – so a 6% jump in sales actually looks like 13% on the books thanks to the exchange rate). IBM’s results impressed Wall Street much more than Google’s and Microsoft’s figures, which came out at the same time and were below expectations. So this old IT warhorse still knows what it’s doing – in fact its been able to increase its profits predictions for the rest of the year, and there aren’t many out there doing that right now.

“We are committed to working with our suppliers for our mutual long-term benefit.” So says Boots. Funny then that they have been accused of exploiting those same suppliers to improve their cash flow. In English what that means is they wrote to suppliers saying that invoices would be paid up to 75 days from the end of the invoice month, instead of the normal 30 days. In addition, the company decided to start charging a 2.5% “settlement fee”, which is a charge for paying the bill. If you timed your invoice wrong, you could wait 105 days for payment. They are accused of abusing their power and status – small companies couldn’t compete with Boots’ lawyers, or risk losing contracts so are forced to bow to the new rules. John Wright, the boss of the Federation of Small Businesses summed it up: “Making small businesses wait 105 days for payment and charging them for the privilege of doing so is nothing short of outrageous.” Not so much Kinky Boots, but certainly very cheeky.

Apparently the credit crunch is forcing the middle classes to downgrade from restaurants to takeaways. So says the country’s biggest pizza delivery company Domino’s who have reported increased sales across their 500 stores including a sharp-rise in high spending (“Can I have a Vienetta too?”) customers – new faces ordering are up 20%. Booking over the internet was also on the increase, presumably so these new upwardly mobile pizza eaters had to have minimum interaction with the youths who are making them. And if you ever doubted advertising, the company confirmed that its sales growth peaked in line with its sponsorship of Piers Moron car crash Britain’s Got Talent (with Gin the Dog no doubt one day destined to be a optional topping). So now you want to own your own Domino’s franchise (and pay under the minimum wage as we caught them doing last year), here’s three facts to drop into the interview: Domino’s sells almost 40 million pizzas a year in the UK, the most popular being the Pepperoni Passion Through combinations, there are 88 million recipe options on a typical Domino’s Pizza menu The favourite toppings in other countries include: fresh cream (??) in France, and Squid in Japan (wasn’t that a song?!)

There’s various rather dull reports in the press that Google’s revenue model (how it makes money) is waning (failing) as uniquely (for the first time) its has shown a dip in profits. That hasn’t stop the superbrand being announced as just that: last year it came 3rd in the Superbrands Council (!) poll of the world’s biggest brands. This year; its first, and as an added sweetener its beaten its IT rival, Microsoft. Interestingly (really?) none of our big four supermarkets made it to the top 100, as they seem further away from people’s affections right now. Google, Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz took the top three slots, the BBC four, BA five, and clay-chucker Royal Doulton number six. That’s right, Royal Doulton. An HCTB investigation  is underway to find out which member of the Superbrands council has shares in, or a wife who works for, Royal Doulton!