Kamal Ahmed

This morning two polls have been published on the knotty issue of business's attitude to the European Union and the referendum that is now expected by many to be held next year.

Taken together, they show that opinions vary widely on what Britain's best relation with the European Union should be.

The first by the British Chambers of Commerce suggests that half of the business leaders it polled want to wait until David Cameron reveals the strength of the government's European Union reform package before deciding how to vote.

If there was a "leave-remain" referendum held tomorrow, the survey suggests that 63% of business people would opt to remain in the EU and 27% would vote to leave.

A much more negative view on the EU is revealed in a second poll also published this morning, funded by Howard Shore, the executive chairman of the investment firm, Shore Capital.

It is only on arrival at Hinkley Point C on the Somerset coast that the enormous scale of the £24.5bn project becomes clear.

Huge, yellow diggers are lined up on the edge of a cavernous building site, ready to start construction if and when this mega-deal between the government, the French energy giant, EDF, and two Chinese state nuclear companies is signed.

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Yesterday, at 7.30am, the first train of the day came to a stop at Birmingham's New Street Station.

Not usually, it must be admitted, a cause for too much celebration. "Train arrives on Sunday" is not much of a headline.

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When America sneezes, the world can catch a cold.

So, the reaction to today's decision on the global stage will probably be relief - and initial reaction on the markets is upwards.

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As it moves, gingerly, through the first stages of exploration 70 miles off the Alaskan coast, Royal Dutch Shell has revealed its commitment to drilling in the Arctic.

And how long it will be before any oil or gas actually comes out of the ground - if at all.

It is a technology so powerful that - on a distant day well into the future - it could mean computers that are able to advise on the best way to treat patients, tackle climate change or feed the poor.

With such potential power, comes huge responsibility.

This morning, business leaders woke up to the fact that the shadow chancellor is a man who has argued in the past for the nationalisation of the UK's banking system, a 60% top rate of tax for those earning over £100,000, higher taxation for the City, caps on high pay, a rapid expansion of public ownership and a "removal" of the "monopoly of the big six energy companies".

He is also opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, an infrastructure project supported by many businesses.

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Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP, knows all about fraught relationships with the government and the public.

His new oil business, Letter One, fell foul of official intervention earlier this year when the then energy secretary, Ed Davey, blocked the purchase of 12 North Sea gas fields.

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It's not quite money down the back of the sofa, but the chief executive of Tesco has been hunting for bits of the business he can sell ever since arriving at the beleaguered supermarket last year.

He needed to get rid of assets to fend off speculation that the supermarket's debt - which was standing at more than £20bn - was becoming a problem. The South Korean sale goes some way to alleviating the business's balance-sheet strain.

Nothing better sums up the contradictions of India than the main road south-east from Delhi to the city of Agra.

Running alongside this major arterial route as it snakes out of the capital is the new Delhi metro - something akin to the London Underground (though a lot smaller).