Beer and booze

Useful work from The Economist and from the bank UBS which, having nearly blown my modest pension away investing in dodgy securities and paying fines in America, has produced a table showing how long you have to work to earn half a litre of beer.

Of the European countries Britain is the worst, requiring nearly 15 minutes. Britain also has the highest average price for beer, nearly double the price in Germany.

Beer is expensive, wine is expensive, spirits are expensive and the media are overflowing with busybodies telling you about the dangers of our overly cheap alcohol.