They started off life as an early example of a pound shop, except that in those days it was a 3d & 6d shop. Poundland and other similar stores are doing better than they were before as a result of the recession and are expanding, but Woolworths seems to have completely lost the way, and has been performing poorly in both good times and bad times.

They’ve already vanished in their native America, and completely transformed into a different business in Australia.

I glanced at the job application form on the counter, they wanted four references.
Most people looking for temporary work at Woolworths will not have four references, they may have one. I thought the only people they will end up employing are liars.

Good riddance to a defunct business culture and failing executives who cant even make a success of one of the biggest brands on the highstreet.

Lets hope the longtime bankrupt US auto industry isnt a bellweather for corporate USA.

Should make my LLC lots of money.

Yours
Vulture Capital Limited

It’s far worse than bizzare. It is socialism. It is beginning to approach State mediated credit allocation. The harm to the economy will be immense and the corruption of State will be huge. I have *never* known a State which controls credit allocation *not* to become deeply corrupt.

The Dept for the “You too can blame it on somebody else”.

Well times have changed and the one thing the government is desperate to do is to inject momentum into the housing and retail markets. And this is how to do it. This example is my own but illustrates the principles well. The same logic would apply to any asset class and any collectible.

I deal in art and art is the only thing I know about. Currently I am not allowed to put art into my pension fund and am forced to watch the fund managers lose a substantial part of my fund investing as they do in the stock markets. Millions of others are in the same position.

It is possible within a SIPP to hold cash and I am more than happy that I saw a crash coming and chose for the last two years to put my pension contributions into a deposit account which has grown by 6% pa. (If I had handed it over to my fund managers I would have lost 25% at least by now)

So I am sitting on cash, like thousands of others. Just what the government doesn’t want.

Imagine that I could buy art for my pension fund. (It is another argument as to why, with my money, at my risk I can’t anyway).

Step 1. I take £10,000 out of my SIPP and buy a picture (triggering a VAT benefit to the taxman and possibly increased corporation tax from my supplier)

Step 2. I consign it to my gallery

Step 3. I sell it through my gallery for £20,000 and split the profit (triggering a VAT charge, and a possible corporation tax increase)

Step 4. I put £15,000 back into my SIPP.

Step 5. I take out an extra £5,000 when I draw down my pension, (triggering a personal tax charge)

Obviously Steps 2 to 5 don’t necessarily take place, but it is rather logical and there are several extra tax benefits from this investment with no downside to the government, only to me. And the scenario I have described does suit well those who work in sectors that deal in ‘investibles’ thus providing potential liquidity that may not be as accessible for others.

I understand that one reason why a relaxation of the restrictions did not occur is that the Inland Revenue was concerned about a lack of expertise for valuations. Well a body of accredited Appraisers would deal with that, following the model in many other countries such as USA.

I am sure there are flaws in my argument and I would be interested to hear what they are.

What we need is an increase in the nil rate tax band, a cut in the employers’ NI tax on jobs, and a reduction in corp tax. The way out is to work our way out -not spend our way out

The way that the Labour administration is making big tax and spend decisions, and then justifies them as “essential crisis measures that are not a gamble” horrifies and frightens me. Of all the times to have a Labour government in power.

Not so much a bank bail out, more a banker bail out.

JR: “when and how much money to give to the US car industry.”

People forget there are auto production facilities in the US that don’t bear the brands Ford, GM or Chrysler.

These are not queuing up for bailout, yet (although they must be wondering why they shouldn’t get some cash). GM, Ford have been on an IV drip for the last ten years. It reminds me of the old British Leyland, or British Steel.

JR: “Citibank, Woolworths, the car makers all in one weekend show just how big this crisis is and how so far government remedies have not worked, or even started to work. ”

With respect Mr Redwood, this crisis is this big because the Government (in the US, UK and Europe) has been trying to stave off economic reality and destroying market dicipline, by subsidising and protecting companies that should have gone under a decade ago.

It was a standing joke until it went bad recently, that GM was a finance company with an auto manufacturer bolted on. Well now the one can no longer subsidise the other the whole edefice has toppled.

If only! The PBR [supposed] leaks were well up to speed on Saturday.

Had a couple of banks been allowed to fail & another couple bought over just short of bankruptcy, possibly by the gentleman from Abu Dhabi, we might now be on the road to recovery.

In the same way the best thing for the US car industry (though granted not its shareholders) would be to put it in Chapter 11, which would nullify the outrageously featherbedded contracts of the workers & allow its useful assets to be restarted by a considerably lesser number of emp0loyees on national average wages.

It was the refusal of the Japanese government to allow banks to fold that put the entire country into zero growth mode for 17 years. We are visibly now doing the same.

Reply: I am not allowed by law to offer you advice on this site about such matters.

My general observation (not a comment about Citibank) is there are schemes for compensation for deposits in various banks , and you can ask if your deposits in banks are protected in case of extreme and unforeseeable events. There are limits on the amount that is protected in any given UK bank.

I represent a group that recently started a new venture and we have loads of spare cash and operate in a zero corporation tax environment. We are in the short term SWAPS market, we borrow assets from international companies and exchange them for a shed load of cash before doing a “reverse repo” on the assets. Profit margins average about 99% on all our projects!!!

The UK government is currently using our internationally recognised business model. You must admit, that is recognition of the highest international quality!!!

We prefer to operate in US Dollars but all currencies are available and are easily converted through our counter-parties.

If you are interested please reply to the following:-

SOMALIA OFFSHORE OPERATIONS (MARINE) PLC. (Pirate Limited Company)