The Economist has recently revealed some startling end of year results. Operating profits were up 10% to £63m, with revenue up 9% to £347m. Advertising increased by 15% and Print circulation grew by 4% to 1,473,939 (UK sales were up 11% to 210,204).

Even on the digital side, things are going well. The Economist's iPhone and iPad apps have been downloaded about 2 million times since their launch in November, and online traffic to The Economist's site had increased 39 percent from the previous year.

Why is this? Maybe it is because in a world of churnalism and blogs people increasingly value the real deal. A friend of mine once told me that Economist journalists spend a lot of their time just lunching people. Everyone from Presidents, Prime Ministers and Princes to Professors, CEOs and Campaign organisers. Once they've quaffed down their last sticky toffee pudding and sipped their last skinny latte all these journalists sit down together at Economist HQ. They then do something very simple. They lean back on their chairs and work out what is actually going on in the world. It's an old method but it seems to work. PS