Ask western policymakers how they intend to squeeze growth from their sluggish economies and most pin their hopes on higher exports. That makes exchange rates an especially sensitive topic. A weaker currency improves the competitiveness of a country by making exports cheaper. It also encourages domestic consumers to switch from expensive imports to domestic goods. The Economist’s exchange-rate scorecard, the Big Mac index, shows that currencies continue to be cheap in the developing world but overvalued in Europe.

The index is a lighthearted attempt to gauge how far currencies are from their fair value. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), which argues that in the long run exchange rates should move to equalise the price of an identical basket of goods between two countries. Our basket consists of a single item, a Big Mac hamburger, produced in nearly 120 countries. The fair-value benchmark is the exchange rate that leaves burgers costing the same in America as elsewhere.

Asia remains the cheapest place to enjoy a burger. China’s recent decision to increase the “flexibility” of the yuan has not made much difference yet. A Big Mac costs $1.95 in China at current exchange rates, against $3.73 in America. Our index suggests that a fair-value rate would be 3.54 yuan to the dollar, compared with the current rate of 6.78. In other words the yuan is undervalued by 48%.

Other Asian currencies such as the Thai baht and the South Korean won are also undervalued. The Brazilian real is one of the few emerging-market currencies that is trading well above its Big Mac benchmark. With interest rates high—the policy rate now stands at 10.75%—Brazil has attracted lots of attention from yield-hungry investors. Burgernomics suggests that the real is overvalued by 31%.

The Big Mac numbers should be taken with a generous pinch of salt. They are not a precise predictor of currency movements. The bulk of a burger’s cost depends on local inputs such as rent and wages, which tend to be lower in poor countries. Consequently PPP comparisons are more reliable between countries with similar levels of income.

So it is particularly interesting to see that on a burger basis the euro is still overvalued when compared with many other rich-world currencies. Sovereign-debt worries and soggy growth rates have helped shift the currency towards its fair value over the past 12 months. A year ago the euro was overvalued by 29% on the burger benchmark; that figure is now down to 16%. (Britain’s currency has gone from being mildly overvalued this time last year to slightly undervalued now.) And the single currency has been moving back up again in recent weeks, on hopes that stress-test results, which were due out on July 23rd, will shore up confidence in Europe’s banking system.

Other currencies are dearer still. Investors looking for a safe place to put their money have sought refuge in the Swiss franc. Despite attempts by the Swiss central bank to stem the appreciation, the Swiss franc is overvalued by 68%. Those on the hunt for a value meal should also steer clear of Scandinavia. In Norway a Big Mac would set you back by 45 kroner or $7.20, nearly twice the cost in America.

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I have never understood the antipathy and dislike that otherwise rational people have for lifestyle business.

The heart of the issue is this question: what constitutes business success? I guess for some it’s size; others  have other measures. In an age of growing awareness of carbon footprint, in a time when the fastest growing businesses are social enterprises, at a point in the economic cycle when we need to drive entrepreneurs to help solve social issues we need all types of businesses and a virtually all will start in small way and be dictated in shape and plan by the creator.

Business should not be measured by the number of people it employs. Over and over I hear people talk about the size of their organisations. All I hear is the cost of their payroll. Is this just a man thing? Are we really comparing size still as adults? Get over it. In business size doesn’t matter; it’s what it brings to your life.

Reflect on the initial question: what do people have against lifestyle businesses? A lifestyle business is simply one where the owner seeks to make the business successful not only in terms of profitability but also in terms of its ability to make his or her life more successful. It is this intentional inclusion of other measures of success that also define a social enterprise. It is exactly this awareness of the impact on the environment that defines the green enterprise.

I believe that people should build businesses around their passions and around their lives. I believe that some businesses deserve to grow to fully express themselves or contribute to society. But other businesses should remain small and focussed.

I know many people who these days don’t work to create a mammoth business but do work to create lifestyle; me too.

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The government has signalled its intention to intensify the assessment of incapacity benefit and encourage those who are fit for work back into employment.

George Osborne said it was important to protect those with “genuine needs”, while cutting the welfare bill in order to reduce the budget deficit.

Last year £12.5 billion was spent on incapacity benefit and the employment and support allowance (ESA), which replaced incapacity benefit for people with long-term health problems.

Some 2.6 million people claim one of these incapacity benefits, and 10,000 of these claimants are currently being assessed each week for their ability to carry out some kind of work.

The country’s total welfare bill has nearly doubled to £192 billion since 1997, and last week’s emergency budget outlined spending cuts of up to 25 per cent in most Whitehall departments.

Ministers are evaluating potential cost-saving measures before October’s spending review, and the chancellor indicated further welfare savings could be part of a “trade-off” to cushion cuts in other public services and protect benefits for the elderly. Osborne said: “It’s a choice we all face. It’s not a choice that can be ducked. Of course we have to look across the piece at the welfare bill and of course we have got to look at individual benefits.” “That is what I want to be part of the spending review over the summer. It is a trade-off and some of these benefits are very much larger than most government departments,” he continued. “We have got to look at all these things, make sure it protects those in genuine need, protects those with disabilities and protects those who can’t work but also encourages those who can work into work. That is the purpose behind our welfare reform.”

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What types of franchises traditionally are more solid during a recession?

Let’s face it, the mere word “recession” strikes fear into many people, because it implies hardship, job loss, and therefore, loss of income. So, in times of recession, those without jobs, but with the economic means, will seek to replace routine employment with self-employment. This is a common scenario found in each and every economic downturn.

Now franchise consultants, at least those with true knowledge of the industry, will normally always advise in favor of purchasing a franchise opportunity that best fits the buyer, but what if funds are not available; what if that perfect business is in recession’?

Logic dictates that ‘you do what you have to do’, and often that means buying the ‘best buinesss you can afford; that isn’t in a recession and is available’.

Sorry to be so blunt about it, but many entrepreneurs have been born out of hardship and the trouble with most advisers is that most are not in business themselves. What’s the point of going to a bank manager who has a job and asking about a business – he doesn’t know because he has a job! Bit getting financial advice from someone with no money; mind you some people do that too.

The bottom line is this: if a ‘quality’ franchise investment represents a means to create a new found lifestyle, then the option is positive. Those who want that solidity go here.

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