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Electioneering

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Is it just us, or after only one week of fierce full blown election fever, does May 6th seem further away than ever?

An election in the age of 24-hour news, blogs, social media, the monster of twitter and hundreds of other channels quickly leads to information overload with so many views, opinions, outrages and endless airtime for Ed Balls. The pressure is cranked up on politicians whose every utterance outside a town hall, factory, or plush new hospital is captured by tens of cameras, microphones, and gawping onlookers all waiting for that one clanger. No wonder Gordon Brown is being shuffled from safe house to safe house!

Even then he can’t escape.

It has already been an election campaign of gaffes, with the press seemingly more excited by the sport of spoiling some poor PR’s day by scuppering their well crafted media visit, rather than asking searching questions of our pretty average ministers-elect.

It doesn’t help that charisma seems to be short on the ground, with politicians stocially sticking to stock phrases as all three main parties launch their manifestos.

Here are a couple of sites to help you through the nightly 10’o’clock news.

David Cameron and Gordon Brown lingo bingo. There isn’t one available for Nick Clegg yet, funnily enough.


The excellent political scrapbook blog: http://politicalscrapbook.net/

An interesting site on how Twitter is impacting upon the election.

Every politicians nightmare.

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Turning your business to Green, can help you move from the red to the black

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

There isn’t only one Green and Gold campaign in Manchester at the moment.

At this week’s Insider Sustainability event, “The £72bn question”, business leaders such as Chris Matthews of United Utilities and Jason Meers of Energi told a packed audience at the Bridgewater Hall of the great business savings that can be made from a commitment to ‘going green’.

With the general public currently losing patience with the efforts of the Green Agenda , and a growing cynicism on the long term value of recycling and lowering carbon footprints (“like turning up at a earthquake zone, with a brush and dust pan” as Sean Lock once put it), it may soon be up to UK plc alone to drive green policies and move sustainable practises forward.

And how do you convince big, medium and small business to act now and get their collective hands dirty to prevent far off, ambiguous problems from occurring? Point to the bottom line of course!

United Utilities are already looking to sift through the muck to find the pot of gold – literally! Chris Matthews spoke about how the company currently converts our human waste into renewable energy used to keep the water system in the North West powered, providing the company with significant cost and energy savings of up to £8m a year.

Enworks programme director Todd Holden then told the audience that “those companies that continue to tackle climate change as a risk or threat will ultimately go out of business, because energy and material prices are only going one way. The case studies invariably focus on corporate giants because big numbers grab attention, but small businesses are equally important. A florist we work with is harvesting rainwater and now only stocks seasonal flowers. Because of this, it is now winning public sector work where it once didn’t get a look in.”

The key, it seems, is not to try and painfully remove the use of resources from businesses, but to make the resources we have work harder and more effectively through innovation.

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Strike while the iron is hot….

Monday, November 16th, 2009

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, with over 6,000 events being held across the country designed to encourage people to set up businesses on their own. The timing may seem strange, given the record numbers of businesses folding and the often labyrinthine processes business owners now need to go through to get even the most rudimentary funding from banks.

But as the UK looks to bounce back from the brink, and more and more commentators tell us that it is the small business owners that will generate that boost, the positive stories of innovative new companies carving their own niche are increasing.

This week’s Sunday Times reports on the growing trend of people starting their own ventures from home, with only a telephone, a good internet connection and a bit of grit and business ingenuity as starting blocks. According to Enterprise Nation over 2.8 million such businesses are operating in the UK, generating £284 billion. Perhaps the ideal of the cottage industry is not yet dead.

Global Entrepreneur Week is endorsed by influential bodies such as the Institute of Directors, British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses and is an excellent opportunity to showcase the next generation of businesses looking to make their mark on the UK economy. It is good to see national organisations backing such enterprise and indicates a confidence slowly creeping back to UK business.

Another large entrepreneurial initiative, stemming from right here in Manchester, is Raw 2010. Set for 20th January 2010, Raw has been designed to blow the current stale format of the all day business conference out of the water. Raw will bring together 350 of the North West’s top entrepreneurs along with 15 of the world’s best business speakers, in a day of activity that asks attendees to forget what they know about business, and use the day to help relaunch the North West’s entrepreneurial economy.

After a year of UK businesses having to grit teeth and fight through the setbacks, the first months of 2010 are already looking like a key time for many businesses to make their mark and begin to claw back lost ground.

Bring it on.

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(What’s the Tory’s) Morning Glory

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

The Conservatives are in town. You can’t miss them! Conference week has caused such a buzz in the city and St. Peter’s Square is a merry mix of stoic Barbour jackets, and drab off the hook suits all watched over by fluorescent yellow coppers.

This is Conservative Conference week during the age of 24 hour news, twitter, blogging and other social media. It is a non-stop festival of seminars, panel discussions, interviews, and question and answer sessions that begin before the sun rises over Manchester, and finish after it has fallen. Event upon event, (the conference calendar shows that there were over 100 different events on Monday before 1pm alone!) making sure that no subject is forgotten, and that no issue is beyond comment.

Information, information, information, all rising above the G-mex and out into the ether. But if you listen carefully, little of it is useful at all. Here are some of the key phrases from the events this MC2er has been to:

“we are not going to be precise about that”

“we would like to do this, but…”

“we need to get serious about managing efficiencies in the current systems”

“I am not going to be drawn on the exact figures”

The nation’s media is watching intently and commenting instantly, and the Conservatives know it. Despite the ever changing ways and growing number of channels available for all to view the news and receive information, winning approval from the morning newspapers is essential for the Tories this week. This thought alone is probably keeping Andy Coulson awake and fixed to his iPhone each night.

Even at a time of crisis and decline, the UK print press still has the influence to set the news agenda that the 24 hour news channels and broadcasters take a lead from during the day, and no-one from the Conservative numbers wants to be the sideshow that derails the election train. Which reminds us -has anyone actually seen Alan Duncan yet?

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Can sporting success save the UK?

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Team Ing-ger-land has reached next year’s world cup at a canter, but for UK PLC the fun now begins.

The real masterminds behind economic recovery

The real masterminds behind economic recovery

The jury is still out on the effectiveness of quantitative easing, the politicians are clambering over themselves to declare absolutely nothing about the economy until after an election, and UK car manufacturers continue to look on helplessly as our industry is sold for parts. The only thing for it is to turn to sport to instill hope and confidence.

Just as England winning the Ashes in August prompted a surge in trading and bold claims about the end of the recession, businesses throughout the UK, particularly in the hard hit retail, pubs and travel sectors will be hoping for a timely boost to sales as the long run up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa begins.

A report in the Guardian shows that landlords, DIY businesses and more importantly, sports stores are rubbing their hands at the thought of a World Cup being shown in the same time-zone as the UK, in the middle of the key summer trading period. It is predicted by the British Retail Consortium that the World Cup could generate an extra £1 billion in spending revenue. Plans are already afoot in this corner of Manchester to branch out into the small flag production market for 2010 – always follow the money!

This all leads to some interesting thoughts on the London Olympics for 2012. Although many detractors see the project as a crazy burden on the pretty empty public purse, with our nation’s penchant for greeting sporting triumphs with spending largesse, the looming event may be an important ‘pick me up’ right in the middle of a UK economic recovery expected to drag out to 2014.

Whatever happens, the irony can’t be lost that despite the best efforts of our economic experts, banking moguls and business professors, it may be 22 men, with very few academic qualifications among them, that finally get the UK economy kick-started.

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Big or small, investment in oil is slippery business

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

A recent story in the Daily Telegraph, also published on Breakingviews.com, explains the impact oil prices have on the fortunes of major and minor oil companies, and the implications for investors.

Oil prices have recovered significantly following an 80 per cent fall in late 2008, but investors in oil giants, such as Exxon Mobil, have not reaped the benefits of this dramatic revival.

The majority of the major oil companies are trading at lower prices than they were in December 2008, while much smaller oil businesses have seen dramatic hikes in share value as a result of increasing oil prices.

Historically, spikes in oil prices have been found to impact negatively on larger oil companies, which perform better in stable markets. However, larger companies are able to ride out fluctuating market pressures, and, with many having additional chemical businesses, declines can be comfortably offset.

It is investors in smaller companies that truly benefit from oil price rises – but buyer beware. The smaller companies see greater return on equity should prices rise, seeing hikes in share price. However, with significant debts, many smaller companies suffer when prices decline and they can no longer service debts, causing share prices to plummet.

As Robert Cyran puts it in today’s Daily Telegraph: “Investors looking to take a flier on the price of energy may find small is beautiful.”

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Close but no cigar

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Hillary Clinton has hit the headlines this week for snapping at a student who asked for her husband’s opinion of a multi-billion pound loan to the nation by the Chinese.

Clinton snapped: “My husband is not secretary of state, I am.”

“If you want my opinion, I will tell you my opinion. I am not going to be channelling my husband.”

While it actually turned out that an interpreter had wrongly translated the question, and Clinton had subsequently apologised, the incident gained coverage across the media with many journalists lauding Clinton for not letting her equally-famous husband overshadow her achievements.

It’s not difficult to see why this seems to have touched a nerve. A new consultation document published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission claims that in the UK there is a median gender pay gap of 22.6 per cent.

The 2008 annual Cranfield Report on Women in FTSE100 companies showed that of the 149 new appointees to the FTSE100, only 16 were women meaning that, for whatever reason, women are still finding it extremely difficult to get to those high-up positions. Twenty-two of these companies still have male-only boards.

For those having broken through the ‘glass ceiling’, it must take a lot of damn hard work to stay there and, having worked hard for years to get to where she is today, Hillary can probably be forgiven for getting a bit tetchy in the face of downright stupid questioning.

Depressingly, the majority of coverage focused on this small incident rather than the actual reason for her visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outburst took place, to protest against the use of women as ‘weapons of war’ and to urge officials to do more to stamp out rape.

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Meanwhile, across the pond….

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

While British politics snoozes for the summer, over in the US, debate is reaching boiling point on the biggest of political hot potatoes  - the US Healthcare system.

What is usually a fairly timid argument between left-wing (“healthcare for all please”) and right-wing (“healthcare for all is ‘socialist’ – no thanks”) bloggers and late night news channel ‘debates’, has exploded into the mainstream as the traditional Town Hall Meeting season takes a turn for the angry.  President Obama’s radical plans to reform what is considered a complex and un-inclusive healthcare system, has stirred Conservatives into a frenzy, with many town hall meetings descending into shouting matches.

Even our fair old NHS is under attack from the famously bonkers US right wing, with some ludicrous claims levelled at our humble health system including “I’ve heard several senators say that Ted Kennedy with a brain tumour, being 77 years old as opposed to being 37 years old, if he were in England, would not be treated for his disease, because end of life – when you get to be 77, your life is considered less valuable under those systems.”

Of course, those with the most to lose are often the loudest complainers, and the full might of the lobbying power of the pharmaceutical and medical insurance industries  is being summoned to try and scupper the Democrat’s reform plans, while some of the usual suspects such as Sarah Palin, are taking the opportunity to score political points, however cack-handedly.

Wal Mart is one key employer that has come out in favour of President Obama’s plans condemning the current system as ‘unsustainable’ and throwing its considerable weight behind the Democrat’s plan. It can’t surely be long before US businesses of every size is convinced that reducing, or possibly removing the burden of providing health care plans leads to a stronger competitive edge?

This is the first domestic challenge of President Obama’s presidency, and it seems so strange that it should come over an issue that most of us take for granted in the UK. For all of its failings, the NHS has over the past 60 years helped people of any age, creed, class, or wealth in this country through sickness, helping the UK achieve 18th in the international life expectancy charts, while the ‘Land of Free’ with its prescriptive health system languishes in 37th. That fact alone should win the debate for Obama.

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Tribute to Sir Bobby Robson

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Former England manager, Sir Bobby Robson, has passed away aged 76.

Best loved for guiding England to the World Cup semi final in 1990, Robson was a respected football manager and a great sports personality – described by The Guardian as ‘the heart that English football wore on its sleeve.’
Sir Bobby Robson
MC2corporate would like to pay tribute to a great man with a great wit with a great selection of his finest quotes.

Sir Bobby Robson 1933 - 2009

“Tottenham have impressed me - they haven’t thrown in the towel even though they’ve been under the gun.”

“When Gazza was dribbling, he used to go through a minefield with his arm, a bit like you go through a supermarket.

It’s not widely appreciated that he’s the Cassius Clay of modern times. Who else in the world of sport can compose an amusing poetic ditty off the cuff?

“We’ve voodooed the hoodoo!”

“We need to get that point as soon as possible. The tooter the sweeter.”

“Manchester United dropped points, Liverpool dropped points, Chelsea dropped points, Everton dropped points, so in a way we haven’t lost anything at all really, although we dropped all three…”

“They’ve probably played better than they’ve ever done for a few weeks.”

“Ray Wilkins’ day will come one night.”

“I’m not going to look beyond the semi-final - but I would love to lead Newcastle out at the final.”

“He never fails to hit the target. But that was a miss.’

“Maybe not goodbye, but farewell.”

“We didn’t underestimate them. They were just a lot better than we thought.”

“Eighteen months ago Sweden were arguably one of the best three teams in Europe, and that would include Germany, Holland, Russia and anybody else if you like.”

“Home advantage gives you an advantage.“

“In a year’s time, he’s a year older.”

“The margin is very marginal.”

“Mehmet Scholl is very two footed.“

“Their football was exceptionally good - and they played some good football.”

“We can’t replace Gary Speed. Where do you get an experienced player like him with a left foot and a head?”

“Gary Speed has never played better, never looked fitter, never been older.”

“If you count your chickens before they’ve hatched, they won’t lay an egg.”

“Alan Shearer has done very well for us, considering his age. We have introduced some movement into his game because he has got two good legs now. Last season he played with one leg.”

“He has four lungs and two hearts – no doubt about it.”

“Newcastle have always had a poor pitch in winter. We don’t have the better weather. My lawn up here isn’t as good as my lawn in Ipswich.”

“I’ve just lost my house. I don’t know where I’m going to sleep tonight.”

“Football’s like a big market place, and people go to the market every day to buy their vegetables.”

“People want success. It’s like coffee, they want instant.”

But at the end of the day, it’s the man’s sheer tactical nous that got him where he is today:

“No team won anything without a dodgy keeper.”

“The first ninety minutes of a football match are the most important.”

“Well, we got nine and you can’t score more than that.”

“Anything from 1-0 to 2-0 would be a nice result.”

”The first ninety minutes of a football match are the most important.”

“I wouldn’t like to say ‘poor’ but he hasn’t subscribed to the play.”

“We haven’t had a strategic free kick all night. No one’s knocked over attackers ad lib.”

”You can’t put sixty thousand people on the training ground.”

“I do want to play the short ball and I do want to play the long ball. I think long and short balls is what football is all about.”

“He’s very fast and if he gets a yard ahead of himself nobody will catch him.”

“Titus Brambell had a very good game, which will silence all the boo-boys, and put them in the drink, and we can get on with our lives.”

“We are all in the same bucket.”

“I’ve had to come out of the dressing room because I don’t want to get too excited.”

“We’ve dropped two points against Ipswich and I mean that sincerely.”

“Some of the goals were good, some of the goals were sceptical.”

“I’d say he’s the best in Europe, if you put me on the fence.”

“We’re flying on Concorde. That’ll shorten the distance. That’s self-explanatory.

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Don’t panic, the housing market has recovered and I’m rich again

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

The UK housing market, according to some statistics, is improving. The Nationwide Building Society said that prices increased for a third month in July, with the average cost of a home climbing by 1.3 per cent to £158,871.

This appears to be good news for many homeowners, whose constant preoccupation with the equity tied to their properties, has seen them in a state of constant concern for their own worth.

This recovery in the market will once again allow property owners to plan their exit strategy. But is this entrepreneurial attitude to homes healthy?

A home is both an asset and a necessity. If a person sells their home, they most likely have to buy a new home in that market, so any values would be balanced. While I appreciate some may lose money on the home they bought, any new property could be bought at the current market rate – some consolation.

For those property junkies looking to sell during the recession, there are always experts who can help. The Times offers some great tips for selling your home, including; clean and paint. Good advice, even if you’re not planning to sell your home I think.

The thought that I’ll buy a home, spend three years in a constant state of DIY, before selling it at a profit sounds like very hard work to me. I’ve had a revolutionary idea - buy a home and live in it.

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