This is a cross-post from the blog where I now seem to post most of my ramblings (Twitter doesn't count):

I was sort of amused by the furore yesterday morning over Andy Gray and Richard Key’s comments on women in football. Mostly because their comments just rehashed all the usual stuff men are supposed to think about women and football (really, is ( Read more... )

So, it's official.  Kraft now own Cadbury.  In a merger partially paid for by the British taxpayer (as RBS has provided some of the funding for Kraft - although this Lib-Dem Voice article is quite thought-provoking on the matter).

( They'd better not mess with the Creme Eggs or Curly Wurlys... )

Well, it appears that the US branch of GM has gone into Chapter 11, and will emerge a much-restructured company, some 20,000 workers lighter and 60% owned by the US Government.

Chrysler, already in bankruptcy protection, has reached an agreement to sell part of its assets to Fiat (who obviously decided they didn't want any of GM Europe) and will ( Read more... )

( ...so here's a post about expenses, manufacturing, and other politically-flavoured things. )

( About the Budget, and life in general... )

I've held off commenting on the various things going on in the news on the basis that I might be ranting too much, but as I seem to be good at it, I might as well carry on.

( On Tony Woodley, BMW Mini, and Saab and GM... )

...I'm not.  I shall only briefly mention the train contract which has been awarded to Hitachi (who I thought made stereos etc, but clearly do other stuff in the way that Japanese firms tend to make, well, everything) rather than Derby-based Bombardier.  British jobs for British workers my arse.  So much for keeping engineering and technical skills ( Read more... )

Yep, we got snow ( Read more... )

I'll warn you all now, I'm going to be talking about strikes, Gordon Brown, bailouts and manufacturing again.

( I apologise in advance for my probably biased and nonsensical ramblings. )

I think I need to give up, and just start buying the Financial Times and The Economist, and start listening to the Today programme*.

Firstly, I'm not surprised by this story.  I wouldn't trust Brown and Darling to run a bath, let alone the economy.

Secondly, when is this government going to acknowledge that manufacturing is vital to the economy, ( Read more... )