9 Feb 2010 | Uncategorized
You can grow organically, or you can buy another firm. You look for synergy, and economies of scale. In umpteen years of advising clients on buying out others, I’ve never seen them. You might think you can cut costs in the merged firm, but don’t...
14 Jan 2010 | Uncategorized
Just over 300 years ago the Bank of England was founded in what was the old Mercers Hall in London, and then moved to its present building in Threadneedle Street.Current public debt stands at about £840bn. In the first 300 years of the Bank of England’s...
11 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
It’s one of those blind taste tests – Costa Coffee did it, Pepsi did it. And everyone finds that 7 out of ten prefer the promoting brand…So why does Coke still outsell Pepsi? Were Pepsi skewing the results? Or is it more about how people make...
20 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
So you need a new law to get pupils a good education? Or one to halve the debts the Government has built up?It’s like saying that I will get up at 7 o’clock every morning – just do it man!No fiscal Golden Rule has remained unbroken, and now we have...
21 Oct 2009 | Uncategorized
NatWest has surveyed nine thousand young people about salary expectations. Because of the recession, expectations have dropped. Instead of expecting to earn £70,000 when they are 35, they now only expect to earn £54,000. How’s that for confidence...
17 Sep 2009 | Uncategorized
It’s all about de risking the bank’s balance sheet. It’s so difficult to decide when bankers really make money because the financial instruments they use are so complex. And look how many dodgy securities they are sitting on at the moment.So...
