The National Federation of Independent Business, a lobby group, says small-business confidence is at its lowest ebb in three decades.

ECONOMIST: Business-minded voters have doubts about both candidates

The walks, either in the heart of London near St Paul's Cathedral or in the leafy southwest by Kew Bridge, take place at midday when the tide is at its lowest ebb.

BBC: London from the tide line

On the field and off, Australian sport is arguably at its lowest ebb since the Montreal Olympics in 1976, when the country failed to win a single gold medal - a setback that led to the creation of the much-admired, and much-aped, Australian Institute of Sport.

BBC: Is Australian sport badly broken?