BBC Blog Network

User Profile

SpareACopperGuv

Listed below are comments made by SpareACopperGuv between Friday, 30th January 2009 and Monday, 5th October 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Microsoft: 'No bounce' 2:17pm on 05 Oct 2009 #13 and #15 You're spot on. Will history see this as the "denial" blip before the guys with big pockets have to face up to the new reality? If there is no further decline in the economy, it will mean a bigger crash in the near future. Got to take our medicine!

Microsoft are in a poor position anyway. Their current Vista operating system actually had declining sales last month and has failed totally to attack the business market; Office 2007 was not much better and is under increasing pressure from Open Office. Big vessel but lost its way.

As another measure of the economy, take our business - over the last 22 years it has always done well in bad times and we have sometimes starved in good times. We are busier than ever now. QED.
The market price of cutting airline emissions 3:43pm on 22 Sep 2009 Robert, just like your blog yesterday about the CBI and students, this is just more manana - read "We'll fix it by 2050" as "We're lumbering the next generation with the problem".

No one can map a path that leads civilisation from where it is now, to where it needs to be in 40 years if we want to control climate change, without a revolution in there somewhere. So it ain't going to happen. Might as well face up to it. All individuals can do is anticipate the problems and plan for them.

In 40 years time, food, water and fuel will be global problems and global motivators; there will be mass migrations for survival. Hmmm, not a very stable picture is it?
Should students pay our bills? 9:20pm on 21 Sep 2009 #49 You are right - my generation has learned the price of everything (and everyone) and forgotten the meaning of "value".

My generation, and that's the CBI's generation, discovered North Sea oil and gas (as a student I worked on the surveying) and then we blew it all in less than 40 years. It was just party-time over and over again. All "money and mammon", as one of my friends said to me.

I fear revolt is your only answer - it's the only way your generation and those that follow will get anything back.
What RBS's results say about QE 10:20am on 07 Aug 2009 I'm amazed that everyone expects this global recession to be over in a few months. Whatever has gone on up to now, has been about stabilising the boat - not even patching the holes - and certainly not about getting it up above the waterline. The economy is all phoney just now, and you can't understand it by applying traditional rules. Think how long and hard we worked to create this mess, acknowledge the fact that we can't go back to our old ways, and consider just how much longer it will take to reach a stable position.

If all that sounds negative, I'm sorry but that's how I see it. Personally, I quite enjoy it, since it gets us out of the old ruts and provides loads of opportunities for those who can still think for themselves.
If markets don't work, what will? 4:37pm on 28 Jul 2009 Markets are man-made. Man is subjective and we recognise that markets are subjective by talking about "market sentiment". Blimey (to use one of Peston's favourites), everyone's been banging on about real v perceived value for long enough.

Markets do what they do, and that varies from day to day. Just like horse racing, some make/lose money by owning/training/riding horses; others make/lose money by betting on the race. Now, if you think horse racing is corrupt...
Britain's media obsession 10:11am on 16 Jun 2009 Broadband is the next industrial revolution - canals, rail, motorways/air, broadband. What you see now is only the beginning.

But, in the same way that an antiquated infrastructure stopped us from reaching the pinnacle of the rail revolution, old copper wires on the end of wooden poles are stopping this revolution before it really gets going.

While we lazily think of broadband as synonymous with BT (and it's decrepit infrastructure), we won't get far in the UK.

And while other bloggers regard broadband as synonymous with the Internet they will miss the revolution too - it's the convergence of TV, radio, media, information, etc. But giving the user control of what, how and when they consume or generate it.

In business, it can metaphorically knock holes in the brick walls and physical distances that separate sites and companies. It will lead to new ways of inter-company working.

In the space of 2 years the BBC iplayer has revolutionised TV consumption for a chunk of the population.

For what it is worth, I'll put money on the convergence of broadband with the mobile network. Expensive copper wire strung on expensive dead trees maintained by an army of expensive engineers is not the future.
A diabetic on the Supreme Court? 10:11pm on 27 May 2009 Having a life-threatening illness or being close to someone who does, can be liberating. It makes you confront mortality earlier than normal and, after the shock, hopefully realise that today is THE day - live it to the full but be generous, because tomorrow you may not have the chance. Money ceases to be the big motivator.

The sooner we all realise that we all share a life-threatening illness called LIFE (remember - no one has got out alive so far :o) the better.
Raising the retirement age 7:16pm on 06 May 2009 It does have the benefit of making the current generation, whose greed and largesse has fuelled the bubble, pay more for it than our children.

How can we ask Sir Fred to forego some of his pension if we are not prepared to take some stiff medicine ourselves? (Well, quite easily actually :o)

On the other hand, think how stoic and strong our children will become, working all hours to bail out the country and keep us lot in pensions.

Hmmm...
The short and long game 8:01pm on 09 Apr 2009 #2 and #5

I think it is important to realise that Economics is similar to a casino. There are 2 modus operandi in a casino - foresight and hindsight. eg Foresight - "I've heard that the UK economy will come out ok, so I'm putting my money on that"; Hindsight - "If only I'd put my money on the red!".

But you cannot take the lessons of hindsight and apply them to foresight; the artificially constructed chaos of the casino means hindsight has no value in predicting the future.

Economics is chaotic at its core too. But there is no casino creating an artificial chaos. The market players compete against one another to win, thus creating both chaos and control. If this recession was just like the last one, then market players would know how to bet and there would be no chaos, just a choreographed dip. Except, of course, if everyone bet that way, the recession would take a different shape. So markets create their own chaos in bad times and no recession turns out like any other. If we believe that markets are rational then hints and tips are just another set of levers for the powerful to pull.

The morning when we all wake up and say collectively, "I've had enough of gloom. I want to be happy again." (which is, of course, the unofficial bottom of the recession), is impossible to forecast.

In fact, I am still very worried by the number of people in the UK denying the downturn. [BTW I am all for keeping the money moving, but one must be aware of the economic climate.] Worse - France, Germany and the ECB are still in denial. UK-wise, that gives us short-term opportunities. But I just wish more people would get into the gloom bit sooner, instead of dragging out the whole process.

No wonder businesses (banks included) don't know which horses to put their money on, even though most sense it is a time to be betting.

The future will not be modelled on the past, but which future will it be? However well economists explain why we are where we are and how we got here, I don't think they have a cat in hell's chance of predicting where we will all end up. (Sorry Stephanie :o)

All us plebs can do is keep bailing out our bit of the boat...
Bankers and responsibility 9:26pm on 30 Jan 2009 Just popped in to see how everyone is. I can't decide whether this blog now exhibits more of the traits of a Gentlemen's Club or an Old People's Home. What a load of moaners!

Anyway, feeling at home :o), so I thought I would add my own thoughts.

Within the next 6 months, this Davos will be seen as pivotal - and catastrophic. How can such an elite (or elitist?) bunch get together when the World required some statesmanship, and produce more squabbling than a group of 4 year-olds?

Have they really not got the plot yet? or are they still so egoistical they are blind to it? Well, history will not be kind this this lot. How they could be so self-obsessed when the rest of the World needed altruism, speaks volumes for ALL our political systems and parties. The yanks even forgot to turn up!

Anyway, nice to see eveyone. Remember to keep warm, there's a bitterly east wind outside.

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

SpareACopperGuv