Heathrow Expansion – the power of the lobbyist cannot be ignored.

As a student I had far better (in my opinion) things to do with my time than go on “demos” (for a variety of then topical causes) and the political activists seemed an odd bunch who just were not good at sport and seemed to have little else to do! So how ironic I end [...]

The American dream – but what can he deliver?

Well yes the election of a black working class american to president epitomises the American dream of “everyone can make it” and I am glad that he did! The Bush era has been a disaster for the US in International terms and another hard right ( and oh yes he is) ageing republican with a gun toting evangelical VP within reach of the nuclear button when he crocks it was frightening. So we have an eloquent, charismatic, forward looking US president – but once in power what changes can he realistically make?

The Credit Crunch! Sick of hearing it already.

We have only just “officially” gone into recession an we have a name for it – the credit crunch – which is already being used by 8 year olds! Apart from the ubiquitous use of the term contributing to weakening an already fragile economy it is also a state of mind (for a lot of people) [...]

Banking crisis – near meltdown, now what next?

If the commentators are to be believed (and many are both well informed and upstanding individuals) then the banking system came close to collapse in recent weeks. Trust and confidence (watchwords in the system) had been eroded to the point that the banks would not lend to each other.
Why? Well they all knew that they [...]

Opportunity knocks – if you have the liquidity

Cash, they say, is king and no more so than now! The housing market is probably the most obvious place to find value now if you have the liquidity to take advantage of the conditions. There are few buyers, mortgage availability is at the worst for decades and sellers are faced with tough decisions; reduce prices or stay? [...]