From the Budget 2016 and Brexit to Cheltenham and the world’s first pizza robot: Here’s what got us talking this week
Humanities students were given a fright in this week's Budget. Getting pizza suddenly got a lot easier. And we learned that when it comes to houses, Britons don't dream big.
1) Budget blues
Whether you were a sugar lover or a second home owner, there were plenty of reasons to be gloomy about this week's Budget. But it was George Osborne himself who probably faced the toughest time as he attempted to pass off his economic failings while pushing through unpopular disability benefit cuts. By the end of the week his popularity both within the party and beyond was suffering.
2) Ruffled feathers in the referendum
With less than 100 days to go, the Brexit debate raged on as we learned just how much each household would lose if the UK were to leave the EU. The tech sector came out against it but City bigwigs were not all in agreement and the Leave campaign told Obama to butt out.
3) Challengers kept on challenging
The new wave of banks bounced back after a period of weakness but when it came to retailers, the UK's traditional supermarkets appeared to be feeling rather more relaxed about the likes of Aldi and Lidl.
4) Chasing Cheltenham
It sounds like it's been a good week for some happy punters. Less so for bookies, who have suffered their "worst Cheltenham ever".
5) London in darkness
Don't worry it's not another Brexocalyptic warning: but the city skyline will be much darker than usual this weekend.
Leisurely reads
Why one QC feels companies should not rely on lawyers
The legal profession may have gained an unfortunate reputation for bleeding clients dry in the name of billable hours, but Queen’s Counsel Leslie Thomas would much rather companies didn’t pour every penny into their legal representation when faced with a crisis. Read more.
Charts of the week
Great reads from elsewhere
Police have renewed efforts to identify a man who was killed last December with a massive dose of strychnine. This article takes a look at the rare, Agatha Christie-era poison.
It's easy to want to switch off, but can we really afford not to pay attention to stories like this one: your phone was made by slaves.
The last word
Government slammed over LSE-Deutsche Borse merger