crnchd

You may have noticed a slight dip in output recently…

The main reason for this has been I’ve been very busy working on a new website - expect the announcement shortly after Xmas.

However, please don’t worry that there’s a lack of crnchd news. Here are some of the highlights from the last week of BBC news:

• crnchd
• • Unemployment increases sharply - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7787280.stm
  • Honda slashes its profit forecasts - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7787739.stm
  • Grim forecast for endowments - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/7788016.stm
  • Biggest car sales fall since 1999 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7785358.stm
  • Chrysalis sees its losses triple - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7789094.stm
  • Woolworths to close in January - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7787904.stm
  • Chrysler plants close for a month - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7788954.stm
  • …
• bouncing back
• • Overseas sales boost Nike profits - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7788945.stm
  • UK inflation rate falls to 4.1% - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7784939.stm
  • US rates slashed to nearly zero - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7786282.stm
  • … (but less stories here!)

So overall, there have been three main stories:

1. The US have all but zeroed interest rates
2. The car industry is in dire trouble and needs rescue packages both in the UK and in the US (and in Japan and in Europe and…)
3. The pound has dropped to it’s lowest value ever against the euro

And it’s on that last story that I go dark again… because this next week (xmas week) I’m going skiing - and that means that I will be experiencing the euro-pound divide very close up - sadly I’m expecting to see a tourist exchange rate of less than one euro to the pound!