baldysblog.co.uk

Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

At a music conference held in Manchester called “In the City”, one of the speakers who was a former record industry executive and ran Warner Music for some 15 years, suggested that the price of music albums should be slashed to around £1.

“What we need is a revolution. What we’ve got is an erosion. When I was running Warners, a chart CD could be £12.99. A chart CD now can be £6.99, maybe even £5.99.” He might have a point but is it likely that the fat head dinosaurs that make up the music business are listening ? Unlikely, like all old Generals, their mindset was created by the past, not the future let alone the present.

Read the rest of this entry »

There was a piece in today’s Independent by Dominic Lawson in which he stated that “Our Banks are doing a good job”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/dominic-lawson/dominic-lawson-our-banks-are-doing-a-good-job-2041713.html

In fact and whilst not a fashionable view, I suspect that he is right and to a large extent, they are rather caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea whatever they do over the next few years and in this, are in a similar position to Members of Parliament.

Read the rest of this entry »

I pose the question as in; “Are we now totally incompetent as a Nation ? The reason I raise the question lies in three recent experiences, two to do with Banks and a Motorway Service stop on the M4. Having been “off the scene” for almost 6 years looking after my parents, I wonder if this is the world of commerce that I am returning to ?

It is probably a sign of age but there are some things that really irritate me a lot and cause a disproportionate amount of frustration although, they are slightly different in nature than my main topic.

Read the rest of this entry »

Whilst “knocking” the Conservatives, Labour and LibDems and damning all politicians as total fools is understandable in some ways, is not the answer although it does highlight the real problem which is a lack of commercial enterprise in Britain.

Since when did becoming Prime Minister or being “In the Government” represent the apex of British Society ? Oh certainly in the minds of all politicians throughout the ages and especially as long before today, they pocketed back handers of one sort or another, they were the most important in the land but historically very few were. All political parties represent and always did, a specific sectional interest in society whether of property, trade or labour (working people).

Read the rest of this entry »

With the War going on in Afghanistan, a British Government seemingly unable to make a case for our involvement in it. An American President unable to decide whether to piss or get off the pot with regard to the same, the distrust generated by the Lisbon Treaty and the general poor economic picture, there is shall we say, a certain lack of self confidence abroad in this Country.

One often comes across heated debates in the “Comments” sections of the Media about whether British “greatness” was wasted by Blair acting as Bush’s poodle over Iraq. The doom-sayers who believe that if we are not fully integrated into the EU, we “stand no chance…” of what I’m not sure but these people certainly lack the courage to even contemplate standing alone. However, it set my mind to thinking about just what makes a Country “Great” so, some thoughts.

Read the rest of this entry »

With Barclays and HSB publishing their half year profits neither of which took Government money to re-capitalize themselves but never the less have benefited from the effects of “Quantitative Easing”, there is a predictable outcry in the Media which to say the least, seems to me rather misplaced.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, it is obvious that Banks need to rebuild their balance sheets it is also obvious from the results of Barclays and HSB that their retail banking is still in trouble which would be predictable and it is only their funny money dealers who are making profits.

Read the rest of this entry »

With regard to our Service Personnel, I was just looking on the BBC web site and ‘reader’s comments’ which overwhelmingly, support bigger and better payouts to injured Service Personnel and so forth. This is set against the background of the MOD appealing two cases of injury payments made to Service Personnel which were subsequently increased by the Courts.

Let me make it clear, I am not on the side of the Government, nor I am on the side of the “breaking the Service Covenant” mob, both are seriously wrong in coming up with an appropriate ‘solution’, neither are on the side of the Angels let alone our lads, lassies and their families.

Read the rest of this entry »

Of late the Chancellor Mr Darling and Bumble Brown have been banging on about the Banks needing to lend money to get the economy moving again. Whilst I hold no torch for Bankers as such but feel that we need to be sensible here and not ask them to try and participate in political decisions or fund Government Policies it is not what they do.

Yes, we the taxpayer have put a lot of money into “rescuing the banks” but we didn’t do it for them, we did it for our own economic reasons. If there is one lesson that needs to be learned it is that they were allowed to get far too big, so big that we couldn’t allow them to fail, that has still not been addressed and it really needs to be.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past more than a decade and via various methods of payment, I have purchased goods over the Internet both personally and on behalf of ‘corporate clients’. Over the years I have seen the landscape ‘move’ as it were until we have chip and pin + CV numbers.

In all honesty I suspect that because it becomes a normal activity, buying over the Internet, it becomes all too easy to get a bit blasé and today, I was confronted with such a situation and although I do not yet know how this will all turn out, I thought that I might share this as far as it goes thus far because we are all responsible for reducing credit card fraud.

Read the rest of this entry »

Without being over optimistic and regardless of where the “cuts” come which might be better termed “redistribution”, the current situation may well prove the shot in the arm that this Country needs and oddly this fits rather well with the current Global Recession.

Whilst obviously Government spending must be reined in I believe we are looking at more than that, we are looking at a total realignment of the concept and basis of Central Government itself and a shifting of power away from the centre and it being devolved back to the individual citizen.

Read the rest of this entry »