The secret life of money : everyday economics explained

Who are rip off label jeans actually ripping off? Why does it cost less to install a lift than to move a piano? And why don't maintenance men ever call when they are meant to?

The Secret Life of Money answers questions like these - questions that strike us about the businesses we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

The answers to these puzzles reveal the very different ways in which businesses around us actually make their money - it is often not in the ways that we might expect.

Have you ever wondered why there are so few brands of whisky and why new ones only ever appear in times of recession?

Why is it that shops are so keen on offering cashback?

If the APR of loan sharks is so excessively high then why don't they own the whole world? A lighthearted and authoritative guide, The Secret Life of Money has practical merit, too.

Why have the UK banks had mis-selling scandal after mis-selling scandal?

When you know what's unusual about UK current accounts you can spot the pattern, and know how to avoid it in managing your own money. Everything you ever wanted to know about short selling on the stock market but were too afraid to ask - when it's explained through the medium of Jimmy Choo shoes it makes a lot more sense.