Author's posts
Feb 11
The ten-year-old test
In order to provide children with better skills to manage money, it has been suggested that Banks should go into schools to teach basic financial life skills. This suggestion is not without its critics, using much the same arguments as why sugar companies should not provide educational materials about nutrition. I set about explaining banking …
Feb 10
Missing Physical Education
I saw a rapidly vanishing scene the other day; a father walking with his family up to the letterbox and the children standing on tiptoe to post the envelopes they had been clutching. It took me back to my childhood reading the Ladybird Book of the Post Man and watching the film of The Night …
Dec 20
Let It Snow
The joy of community supported software is the features that developpers will add just for the hell of it. WordPress 3.8 introduces a new feature that is very appropriate for the season:
Nov 30
A word of advice for Movember
Congratulations to all those who have completed a month of Moustache growing and commiserations with those colleagues who have had to endure living with a Mariachi band. A word of style advice from Private Eye:
Nov 14
Bigger is Better
The benefits of Mergers and Aquistion are simply economies of scale. But are there limits to growth? – This article in the Economist argues that there are – and that it is common to overestimate the benefits. This article from McKinsey looks at where mergers go wrong. Most buyers routinely overvalue the synergies to be …
May 30
Big boost for alternative lenders
The government is planning £100m in funding for alternative lenders, including new internet finance firms. It is part of £500m being made available to small and medium sized firms through the government’s Business Finance Partnership. So called peer-to-peer lenders are expected to be big beneficiaries. They use the internet to match businesses with investors with …
Oct 07
Life’s change agent
Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Steve Jobs 1955-2011
Jul 15
Business travel: Keeping mobile roaming headaches at bay
With summer holidays coming up and international roaming data at £1 for 1mb – thats one email with an attachment, it’s time for drastic action. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14129868
May 09
Gagging for IT
I can’t comment on what someone who can’t be said to be a banker was up to when the Crunch hit. The buzz when Twitter user @injunctionsuper spilled the beans was mainly around the celebrities named. @Ruskin147 – Rather weird that Twitter has been alive with super-injunction details for weeks – but one new account …
Apr 30
From Global Solution to Big Problem
In six easy steps: Central: “Here’s our Global Solution” Local: “Does it work for me?” Central: “We will get down to the detail later but it can do everything we need. We will work together on this, now let’s get on..” Local: “But I can’t use it because it doesn’t do this” Central: “This is the …