In the final week before Christmas shoppers tend to discard their usual quest for good value in a frenzy of last-minute panic buying. The result: unwanted presents that gather dust come January.
In fact, we'd be better off not buying Christmas gifts at all, says economist Joel Waldfogel, author of Scroogenomics. But where's the fun in that? And does he dismiss the value of traditional gift-swapping too readily? We put him to the test.
Also this week: we look back on 2011 - a year that had economists dusting off their Keynesian text books and works of depression-era history. Larry Elliott talks us through the main events and wonders when the intellectual titans of the current crisis will make themselves known.
Plus: Simon Goodley rounds up a year in business that many will want to forget.
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The Business podcast returns in January 2012.
