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Can the undemocratically appointed Mario Monti save Italy?
Published on 2011-11-15 09:43:17
The last week’s news has been all about Italy and more recently the appointment of Mario Monti in an undemocratic process that ensures that a pro-EU man is head of the country. There’s no doubt that Italy needs some strong guidance but with Super-Mario’s appointment democracy has gone out of the window. This sets yet [...] > read more
The Greeks will vote no to austerity and then default anyway
Published on 2011-11-02 16:26:46
As if the Greek government could possibly cause any more trouble. On Monday they announced a national referendum on accepting the austerity measures demanded by the EU and and IMF so that the next tranche of bailout money can be paid. This led to the markets taking a nosedive yesterday (Tuesday). The problem, and every [...] > read more
The Vickers Report is useless and won’t bring banking reform
Published on 2011-09-12 15:24:29
Now that the Vickers Report is out the banks seem to be facing some serious changes in the levels of funding they need in their balance sheet and a ring-fencing of retail operations. However, in my view, this whole thing is a PR scam and will change very little long-term. First off: the ring-fencing doesn’t [...] > read more
The USA is still bankrupt and the markets know it
Published on 2011-09-03 03:15:23
The markets have tumbled again this last week and this should come as no great surprise, the USA is still effectively bankrupt. They’re still borrowing huge amounts just to keep cash flowing but fundamentally the US Govt needs to stop spending and start paying. Fundamentally it’s fairly simple: government finance is, in many way, just [...] > read more
Revenue down? Bartering is on the up!
Published on 2011-08-23 06:05:18
A drastic change in the economy calls for businesses to adapt in order to keep afloat, let alone make a profit. Redundancies, reducing overheads; you know the types of things! The great thing is, businesses can keep “open as usual” thanks to bartering. It’s nothing new, in fact, before a monetary value was put to [...] > read more
Why the markets are heading down and how a budget deficit works
Published on 2011-08-07 10:59:34
This past week the markets have been in turmoil and have fallen sharply with the FTSE down by 10% over the last week. And in my view that’s a good thing. You see, for too long now the market has been going up (see chart below), it went from around 4500 in May 2009 to [...] > read more
If you buy the last edition of the News of The World, you are a MORON.
Published on 2011-07-09 17:51:19
The 168 year history of British Sunday newspaper “The News of the World” comes to and end with its last edition tomorrow. It will be a big souvenir tribute to a long history, with no adverts, and all procedes will go to charity. The front page headline is “Thank You and Goodbye”. And if you buy it, [...] > read more
What has the teacher’s strike actually achieved (apart from a load of angry parents)?
Published on 2011-07-05 14:50:58
Last week’s teachers strike really was a bit of a damp squib and really hasn’t had quite the impact that the unions were hoping for. The challenge for the civil service unions is that many civil servants (even union members) can’t see the point in one-day strikes. Most civil servants are frustrated by the government’s [...] > read more
George Osborne falls short – the bank firewall is a sham
Published on 2011-06-29 08:16:34
Well George Osborne said they were going to be ‘robust’ in dealing with the banks to try and prevent them from reckless speculative investing and unacceptable risk. So, what has he done? Basically, very little of any substance. They set up Project Merlin to get banks lending (particularly to small businesses) but it hasn’t really [...] > read more
Tesco could be bad for the health of your local economy
Published on 2011-06-08 15:16:34
Let’s be honest, almost all of us have shopped at Tesco at some point in the recent past. Often because they have low prices (and they do) or because it’s your nearest (or most convenient) superstore. However, some local authorities seem to be in love with Tesco so much (and Leicester City appears to be [...] > read more