As my son’s libelous illustration shows, students can be somewhat ambivalent about Nestle thanks to their marketing of baby formula to developing companies back in 1977. No getting away from the fact that they are the world’s biggest food group, and it is precisely that global spread that means they have reported a significant rise in sales. The maker of KitKats, Perrier waters and Nespresso coffee, is enjoying the strength of its mother home’s Swiss Franc while the rest of our currencies fall like spat conkers. Strength in the food and drink is something to take note of right now…but will your conscience let you…? Of course it will!

The economy may be flat, but good old Britvic, the soft drinks firm, saw sales bubble up (I thank you) nearly 30% boosted by strong sales of Drench, Gatorade and Fruit Shoot juices. The firm says its marketing has paid off – particularly in-store displays and promotions – so put that in your portfolio. The firm markets Drench and Gatorade under license from the brands’ owner, PepsiCo, who incidentally have seen ditch water flavoured results. The vast majority of growth for Britvic came in shop sales, rather than their drinks in pubs, which saw sales fall sharply. Worrying times for the Great British Pub – not that I condone going to the pub to drink orange juice unless you’ve lost your driving license – but any money in the till is a relief to today’s landlords and ladies.

What do we do when times are tough? We eat chocolate and have sex. Often at the same time. Good news for Cadbury’s who’s sales figures are up (though cocoa is costing them more than ever) and good news doe SSL – the makers of Durex – who’s figures are, like their customers, constantly rising. Sales have soared in the last six months – presumably as people decide they can’t afford “a little miracle” in the current economy. The Play range of condoms are apparently selling the best, as are Performa – a sub-brand that allegedly slows the man down. I use Port for that.

The FTSE 100. The Premier League. The 100 biggest companies trading on the UK stock exchange. If you’re on the list, its cigars, job security, and happy shareholders. As you head out of the 100, you’re down to the Coca-Cola League and eventually the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Bad times then for ITV, Carphone Warehouse, Enterprise Inns, and Ferrexpo - a Ukrainian iron ore miner – who, based on last night’s closing share prices will be heading out of the index today. ITV out means British Sky Broadcasting are the only broadcaster in the top 100, and Warephone Carhouse are off after only 1 year in the index. But for career prospects, you need to know who is likely to take their places: Search engine-like Autonomy – back after 7 years in the Sunday league; Inmarsat, a satellite communications group; and bus and rail operator Stagecoach – bolstered by people ditching the car for public transport. Welcome to the club, chum.

As the arse fell out of the FTSE 350 companies yesterday, one brand added more than 50% in value. Meet Gyrus, a medical technology developer, which has agreed to a near-£1bn takeover by the Japanese camera giant Olympus. The camera firm now makes most of its money producing medical instruments such as endoscopes, so 10-year listed Gyrus will help bolster their position further. A full history of the interesting UK firm is in the article below. Read original article