The advert for Barclays’ tracker rate mortgages urges borrowers to ‘take one small step’. Although hardly on a par with Neil Armstrong’s efforts, Bob Diamond did exactly that in the wake of the bank’s £290m fine for attempting to rig LIBOR. It is, without doubt, a sorry tale. A potent cocktail of power, laced with…
Warren Buffett observed that investors should look for companies that are so bulletproof, an idiot could run them because one day, that is probably what will happen. If he is correct, we conclude that if capitalism is likely to let the odd wally hop into the driving seat, then it’s a cast iron certainty that…
Sometimes it’s difficult to put exact numbers to things you know are vital. Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, tells us “valuing a business is part art, part science”. He means that the art part of the equation is a bit woolly because it relates to matters such as quality of management or brand value, which…
Last December, the ratings agency, Standard & Poors (S & P), placed the debt of all 17 Eurozone nations on ‘negative watch’. This may sound sophisticated but in a nutshell, it is saying that the debt of these countries is not as solid as many (including S & P) thought originally. Even Germany was caught…
It was Robert Louis Stevenson (among others) who noted it was better to travel than arrive. Having flown with Ryanair, I would beg to differ. However, the disappointments of budget airline travel, the Pringles costing more than the ticket and the embarkation scrum resembling a scene from ‘Zulu’, pale into insignificance when considering the journey…
On numerous occasions we have referred to how the precarious state of the global economy is, in no small part, the result of ‘experts’ having a bit less expertise than either they thought or indeed, others attributed to them. A single currency for wildly differing economies? Check. Levels of sovereign debt that, realistically, can never…
It is comforting to know that high street financial institutions just want to hold our hands and guide us through life’s trials and tribulations. NatWest delivers ‘helpful banking’ and Lloyds is with us ‘for the journey’. Santander and its customers are ‘together’ while Halifax offers ‘a little extra help’. The warm fuzziness tends to disappear…
Well, there has been plenty going on. The country overwhelmingly rejected a change to the voting system, U.S. government debt was earmarked for a potential downgrade by the rating agency, Standard & Poors, while Gordon Brown fancied running the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To cap it all, Leeds United failed to make The Championship play-offs.…
It is all too easy to assume that individuals in positions of power know what they are doing. I recently saw an anonymous quote which opined that when you are young, you assume the world is generally organised along sensible lines. However, as you get older, you realise just how random and chaotic it truly…
It has been a miserable few weeks. Education riots, VAT at 20%, while to cap it all, Russia snaffled the World Cup. While we fielded Beckham, Cameron and Prince William for the big push, Vladimir Putin didn’t even feel the need to attend the final schmooze fest. To add insult to injury, they then sent…