In the News

CHINESE BOX OFFICE RISING
Chinese box office takings increased by 64% last year, helped by Hollywood blockbusters such as 3D movie Avatar.

Revenue surged to 10.2 billion Chinese yuan (£966m), though local officials said Chinese film-makers needed to up their game to compete with US movies.

Avatar was the biggest film in China in 2010, having taken $204m (£141.5m). In contrast the top-grossing Chinese film, Aftershock, made just $100m (£64.5m).

SAINSBURY'S CREATE JOBS
The UK's third-biggest supermarket group, Sainsbury's, says it is to create 20,000 in the next three years.

The firm, one of many UK companies meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, had already said it would create 6,500 jobs in 2011.

Sainsbury chief executive Justin King said the new posts would be a mix of full and part time jobs. The company has close to 900 stores across the UK and currently employs 150,000 people.

Source BBC News

Stella wins The Apprentice

So Stella English the corporate PA finally won The Apprentice 2010.



In the end it wasn't very close as Chris did his best but he was knocked for six by Stella's one true flash of genius.



The task was to design, create and promote a new spirit. Chris went for a very startling looking bottle and called his 3 mixture Prism. So far so good except the colour was pinkish - more suitable for women.



Stella made a slight variation on bourbon and called it Urbon - which was inspired and to be honest I think that won her the task there and then.



Chris did a better job presenting than earlier in the competition as both he and Stella had been accused of being wooden.



Stella was the consumate professional in her entire performance, though she did have a go at Chris in the boardroom which Chris said he would not go down that route. He had done so at an earlier juncture against Alex and others.



Overall for once the right person won but it would have been a better contest if Liz had reached the final.



Next up is the Junior Apprentice and then the new one will start again sometime soon.



I just hope we get to see the original and best Apprentice with The Donald in the meantime.



Congratulations Stella!

Brands and Own Brands

A brand is the identity of a specific product or service. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol or slogan. It is a trademark and registered under copyright.

Nike is a brand and the famous Nike swoosh is their logo. The slogan 'just do it' is also synonomous with Nike.

Brands attempt to create a positive image in the minds of customers. Levi's jeans claim they are of higher quality than their rivals even though this is disputed. Levi sells their higher priced jeans on the image of being cool and being aspirational - their advertising has long traded on Levi being rebellious yet cool.

Brands can charge premium prices and aim for customer loyalty. If Brands provide quality products and services over time then customers will come back again and again. It aslo makes it easier for Brands to launch similar products creating a family of products.

Brands take time to create and develop, and are fragile. If bad press affects a product it can damage the whole product range and the company (in the same way one franchisee's behaviour can ruin the reputation of the entire franchise).

Own Brands are sold by retailers such as the large supermarkets Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's. Own Brands often imitate the colours and shapes of the more expensive Brand.

Dorito's Salsa dip is roughly £1.38. Whereas Tesco's own dip is 96p.

Sometimes the Brand sell their goods to the retailer who repackage the product as their own brand in order to maximise profits.

Normally customers view own brands as cheaper and of lower quality.

In the USA own brands are called Private Label Brands. The generic term is Store Brands, however in the UK we call them Own Brands.

Examples of Own Brands

Asda (Smart Price, George)

Tesco (Florence & Fred)

Morrison's (The Best, Eat Smart, Wholefoods)

Higher Business Management - Kanban Card

An often asked question is... what is Kanban?

A Kanban is a card which helps a firm monitor and gain information on the flow of materials, stock and components through their production line.

Kanban cards contain information on where the component came from (the previous stage) and where it is headed (the next stage. It may include the quantity in the order or components, and it may contain information about the final customer.

Kanban cards now use barcodes enabling customers to phone up about the status of their order and find out exactly where it is.

Kanban cards are also used to signal components are running low or being depleted and need to be re-ordered.

It is used in Just-in-time aka Lean Production.

You can find out more about JIT, Lean Production and Kanban in my slideshow about Toyota: http://www.slideshare.net/Marcus9000/toyota-supermarket-for-cars

Higher Business Management - What you should be studying

Ok so we can't be in school but thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can still revise and look at topics.

As you know our second NAB will be coming up very soon - so the final two topics for you to look at in Operations are:

• Methods of Production
• Quality

I will post some questions for you very soon for you to attempt - but also go over to my forum for more interactive questions at www.mrmcgowan.proboards.com

Remember the weather will not be taken into account when you sit your exams in May!

Weather

Made it home safely yesterday after a rather hazardous journey from the school to my home. 6 hours of gridlock, but by all accounts I was one of the lucky ones.

Some friends were stranded on the M8 for 12 hours and some unlucky colleagues spent the night in Hamilton Grammar - though I see only Hamilton College made it on national TV!

On a business note, perhaps pupils can actually problem solve and think of ways our infrastructure could cope better with such issues.

Everytime a city or a nation wins a World Cup bid or Olympic bid one of the factors mentioned is improved infrastructure. What benefits could that bring to Scotland?

A larger and more improved motorway network?

A better and more integrated public transport system for the trains, buses and subways?

It is all very interesting as my relations in Minnesota are iced up for basically 6 months of the year and yet they still get to work and go to school no problem. Mind you my cousin's husband is actually a school caretaker who is in at 5am and drives the snowplough to unblock the car park. American cars are so much hardier than ours!

Joe - I salute you!

Do we stifle creativity?

Here is an interesting video clip and article by Sir Ken Robinson who talks about how traditional forms of Education may in fact be killing creativity among our young people.

http://www.theadclass.com/education/sir-ken-robinson-do-schools-kill-creativity-ted-conference-2006

Food for thought!

World Cup Winners!

Well now we know.

2018 Fifa World Cup will be hosted by Russia, who surprised everyone by beating what was considered a superior bid by England.

2022 Fifa World Cup will go to Qatar - who beat Korea, Australia and the USA.

RUSSIA 2018

The vastness of the world's largest country could pose a few problems for travellers and fans.

Moscow 4 stadiums:

Luzhniki Stadium (Final)

Dynamo

Spartak

Stadium Moscow

Sochi (2014 Olympic Winter Games)

St Petersburg

Kazan

Kalinigrad

Nizhny Novogorod

Saransk

Krasnodar

Rostov-on-Don

Samara

Yaroslavi

Volgograd

Yekaterinburg

So a few interesting names to try and get used to before 2018.

QATAR

The success of Formula 1 may have something to do with the first hosting of the World Cup in the Middle East.

The venues we know of so far are:

Lusail

Doha (2 stadiums)

Al Khor

Ash-Shamal

Al Wakrah

Part of Qatar's bid was a brilliant plan to build and then take apart brick by brick new stadia and deliver them to other countries.

The oil-rich state will have everyone watching! It promises to be even more interesting than in Russia as temperatures can hit 50!

The Apprentice Hots Up

Last night high drama during the infamous purchasing task!

The boys team only got 7 out of the 10 difficult to find items while the girls, led by Liz, got all 10. However the girls were late back to the Boardroom but when the totals were added up they had been beaten by the boys - despite the lads' high fines.

The secret of the boys success? Negotiating.

Liz took Laura and Stella in for a catfight and in the end Laura was sent packing by Lord Sugar. However Liz really tried to bury her biggest rival Stella. She even kept it going when back at the house. Liz so far has been pretty brilliant, but perhaps her halo is slipping. I also think the accusations of Stella being 'wooden' and 'too corporate' are a bit harsh on her. I think Stella is professional and a great role model for women in business. I hope she wins.

Stuart Baggs was pretty quite this week - but next week promises a bit of hilarity and conflict.

I think this is one of the UK Apprentice's best ever seasons. But - you know what I am going to say - it is a pale imitation of the now legendary original US version starring everyone's favourite billionaire... Donald Trump.

Trump had two TV shows on in the UK this week. One was about his Aberdeen golf course and the people who are against him, and the other was a profile of the controversial tycoon. Trump is Trump: brash, loud, egotistical, but still charming and as we have seen over the years in The Apprentice, he is actually very fair. He fires people for underperforming not because of their lack of entertainment value. This is a lesson Lord Sugar should take on board. After all, he can only dream of having a net worth like The Donald!

The UK Apprentice 2010

Last night's episode was a corker!

The task was to create a personal DVD experience for customers held in a London shopping mall, Westfields I think it was called.

Sandeesh was project manager up against Stuart Baggs - The Brand!

After much running about and changing of ideas, price, product and presentation, Stuart's team limped home by £40!

Stuart's DVD experience was a toy car being raced around Brands Hatch. Baggs even found time for a jolly by driving the real car around for the footage that was needed.

Sandeesh was in the Board Room with Liz and Chris but she could not beat them in the argument and sadly she was fired.

I am convinced unless there is a major faux pas by one of them it will be a Stella v Liz grand finale. Or Sugar may even throw a curveball and have a 3 person final.

Liz and Stella seem to be the only ones with common sense - which often means a business brain!

Higher Business Management - Methods of Market Research

Remember divide market research into:

Field Research

Desk Research

Now...

Examples of Field Research include:

1. Personal Interviews
2. Telephone Surveys
3. Postal Surveys
4. Observations
5. Online Surveys
6. Consumer Panels
7. Hall Tests
8. Focus Groups

Now for each one you will need to be able to describe the process in a sentence or so, and then give some advantages and disadvantages.

It is important to be able to write about these methods under the following criteria:

• COST
• RESPONSE RATE
• REACH

i.e. Telephone Survey is a questionnaire conducted by phone. Telephone surveys are cheaper than using a personal interviewer, but the response rate is lower than a personal interview. However a major advantage is that you can reach a wide geographic audience.

Higher Business Management - Wholesalers

A Wholesaler buys from manaufacturers (producers) and sells on to retailers. CostCo, Booker and Makro are well known examples of Wholesalers.

They buy goods in bulk from the producers and then sell them off in smaller batches to retailers who then sell to the end user.

Q. What are the advantages of Wholesalers?

SBEA Conference 2010

Yesterday I attended the SBEA conference held in Inveralmond Community High School in Livingston.

The number of delegates was incredible! It is comforting to know that so many people care about our subject and are willing to give up their free Saturday (some even pay for the conference out of their own pocket and not through departmental budgets) to come to the national conference.

Strangely enough a pupil asked me on Friday "Why would you give up your Saturday if you're not getting paid".

Perhaps if more pupils, parents, politicians and (news)papers - our very own 4 Ps! - realised just how many teachers in general give up their own free time either preparing or marking or attending CPD events etc then we would perhaps be viewed in a different light at times.

I thought the conference went really well and there was a good choice of options for delegates to choose from. It was a worthwhile Saturday - even if some do not view it as so.

Higher Business Management - AOK Learning

On Monday I attended a very valuable CPD course on Higher Business Management delivered by AOK Learning and a well known figure in Business Education nationally Anne Bradley.

The course covered many aspects that are helpful to new teachers or new to Higher, plus there were great insights into some areas that even teachers who had taught the Higher over several years could take away and think about.

Everything was covered: from the actual syllabus itself and a discussion on the order of teaching the course, to preparation for NABs, creating and editing Prelims, and how to get pupils to answer the Case Study question a bit better than perhaps they do.

Oh and we spent some time on the dreaded Command Words! Dreaded because sometimes no matter how many times we highlight it to pupils, they get nervous in the exam and just write everything they know!

It was a worthwhile course and was very thorough.

China's answer to traffic gridlock

What is this new fangled train?

It isn't a train. It is a bus. In fact a bus that cars can driver under in traffic! Ingenious!

It is called the 3D Express Coach and is reckoned to reduce traffic jams by up to 30%.

Special lines or rails will have to be built but at a fraction of the cost of a new subway system. This latest Chinese invention was unveiled way back in May at a Chinese Business Expo, but it really is so incredible that it is worth a closer look.

The 15 foot high bus is designed to use solar power (I can feel a lot of you switching off already as your dream fades!) and can hit top speeds of 37 mph.

Could this really be the future of mass transit travel? It has been designed to carry 1400 passengers in one go (mind you how feasible would that be as in how many stops would it make to keep everyone happy?).

A pilot scheme is being constructed in an area of Beijing currently. China are taking transport very seriously and if projects like this come off - added to their impressive and world leading investment in High Speed Rail - they could end up being exporters of skills and expertise which could help grow their technology economy further.

The 21st Century looks to belong to China!

Perhaps in sprawling metropolises like LA, Beijing and Shanghai this could work. But I doubt it will ever catch on in Glasgow or Edinburgh!

1GB Broadband for South Korea

I was watching BBC's excellent programme Click the other day on BBC News and it reported that South Korea is the world's most wired-up nation with incredible existing speeds of 100 MB per second for broadband.

In the report it talked of how wi-fi is expected in South Korea and how the current government are spending £19 billion on upgrading the network.

The dream for South Korea is for 1GB per second speeds! They are aiming not for 2020 or some far off date but 2012!

What does this say about how some countries are speculating and investing in their countries future and infrastructure, while at present our coalition are looking for ways to slash public spending.

Investing in technology is the way James Dyson - the millionnaire inventor of the bagless vaccum cleaner - believes we have to take on the Asian Tiger Economies in the 21st Century. We can't compete on price of labour or manufacturing, but we can compete in the service sector and in technology. But we have to spend in research and development... and spend training our young people.

If we are not growing and developing our skills as a nation, then we are set for a very difficult next 20 years, regardless who is in power in Westminster or Holyrood for that matter!

Read the full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9093991.stm

Bye bye Delhi 2010... hello Glasgow 2014

After a pretty eventful Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010, the flag has been passed to Glasgow.

Delhi suffered from many construction and planning problems as reports on the Athletes Village were highly detrimental and would have wounded Indian pride.

The Games recovered well though, and I am sure the Delhi Games will be remembered as being a good experience for everyone involved.

What lessons will Glasgow learn from Delhi?

Preparation of events and facilities must be 100%. Not only Glasgow, but Scotland and the Commonwealth Games' future and reputation is at stake.

An atmosphere has to be created in the venues. Delhi did have some empty seats early on, but that was then tackled.

Attracting the big names is another concern. Not to have Usain Bolt at the flagship 100 metres final was a massive blow. How can Glasgow ensure they attract the big stars?

So although four years may seem a long time, the planning and building is underway... and so is the countdown to Scotland's biggest ever sporting event!

In the News...

ARK ROYAL AXED

The Royal Navy's flagship, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, is to be scrapped early as part of the government's defence review.

The UK's Harrier jump jets will be axed, the money saved going towards the cost of two new aircraft carriers.

It means that, until at least 2019, Britain will not have the ability to launch fighter jets at sea.
David Cameron is due to unveil more details of the first strategic defence and security review in 12 years.

HOUSING BUDGET SLASHED

The social housing budget in England is to be cut by more than 50% in the Spending Review.
Council housing "for life" will also be phased out, with the needs of new council tenants assessed over time.

Despite the cuts, ministers are likely to set a target of building 150,000 affordable homes, changing the way councils charge rent to finance them.

Tenants will be charged nearer the going market rate, to release cash for the building programme.

GERMAN CHUNNEL LINK

German train operator Deutsche Bahn says it will run direct services from London to Frankfurt and Amsterdam from 2013.

A train similar to the ones to be used will be displayed at London St Pancras station on Tuesday.
Three services will run daily, and will also serve Brussels, Cologne and Rotterdam.

DB must get approval for its trains from safety authorities before services can run but is confident of doing so.

FRANCE IN NEW STRIKES

France is braced for new disruption as a sixth national day of protest begins over plans to reform the country's pension system.

Strikes and mass marches will coincide with an ongoing blockade of oil refineries that hit supplies.

The government wants to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 and the full state pension age from 65 to 67.

President Nicolas Sarkozy insists he will press ahead with pension reforms despite the growing strike movement.


Source: BBC Business News

Rescue of Chilean Miners

The dramatic story of the miners of San Jose Mine in the remote Atacama desert has been most remarkable.

First, 'Los 33' were trapped for 17 days without anyone still thinking they were alive. Then after being found, NASA and psychologists were called in as the men looked like remaining underground for months. The mental and physical demands looked to be insufferable.

However, President Sebastian Pinero - a billionnaire - spent millions to rescue the trapped men after an incredible 69 days underground. The story had echoes of the Billy Wilder classic movie 'Ace in the Hole' as the media descended onto Camp Hope - a temporary trailer park of family, media and rescuers.

I reckon as well as trying to ensure the safety of the men, Pinero realised this was an opportunity for Santiago to shine. And to be fair, they did.

Now the 33 men have been rescued to safety, what will follow? Book deals? Public appearances? Statues and plaques? A museum? As you may have guessed, Hollywood scriptwriters are already writing a movie.

What looks certain is the men won't go back underground again anytime soon.

As for President Pinero, he has made the most of the goodwill capital he and Chile have received as he hopes to dispel the memories of the Chilean coup d'etat which ousted Salvadore Allende and the military junta took over.

Chile has a personal touch for me. I remember at school being picked to go to the mock United Nations and my friend and I got drawn out as Chile!

No doubt Chile's tourism and economy may well take a boost from this incredible story, and for once a story of hope, heroism and cheer!

In the News...

PRIUS SALES DOWN

Japanese sales of the Toyota Prius have fallen for the first time in almost a year-and-a-half after a government subsidy for buying more eco-friendly cars expired, industry figures suggest.
The hybrid remains the country's most popular car, with 27,249 sold in September, according the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

But this was 14% lower than the same month a year ago - the first year-on-year fall in 17 months.

Honda's Fit was the second best-seller.

EASYJET MAKE A PROFIT

Shares in airline Easyjet have soared 10% after it said its full-year profits would be ahead of earlier expectations.

After stronger than predicted passenger numbers last month, it now expects its pre-tax profit for the 12 months to 30 September to surpass £150m.

This compares with its earlier guidance of between £100m and £150m.

VODAFONE JOBS LOST

Four hundred jobs are to go at a customer relations centre for mobile phone giant Vodafone in Oxfordshire.

The centre at Banbury Business Park in Adderbury will close in 2011.

Two hundred of the posts will move to other Vodafone sites at Newark in Nottinghamshire, Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire and Didsbury, Manchester.

A spokeswoman said the Banbury centre had a lot of little teams carrying out different tasks, but that Vodafone wanted "bigger, more specialist teams".

RYDER CUP 2014 SCOTS TOURISM BOOST

The 2014 Ryder Cup could raise more than £100m for Scotland's economy, organisers have said.

VisitScotland said the tournament was a chance to capitalise on what was sport's third biggest event in terms of TV and media coverage.

About 45,000 spectators are expected to attend each day of the six-day challenge at Gleneagles in Perthshire.

It will mark the first time in more than 40 years that the tournament has been played on Scottish soil.

Mike Cantlay, VisitScotland chairman, said: "The Ryder Cup will undoubtedly be a huge opportunity for Scotland to capitalise on an event that will showcase Scotland to a global audience and contribute many millions to both the local and national economy."

DELHI EMPTY SEATS CRISIS

Organisers of the Commonwealth Games in India are handing out free tickets to fill empty arenas.

TV pictures beamed around the world have shown competitors in virtually empty venues in Delhi.

Organisers told a news conference in the capital they hoped to increase attendance through a ticket giveaway to children and the underprivileged.

The vacant venues problem is the latest to hit the Delhi Games, preparations for which were plagued by setbacks.

Correspondents say the lack of spectators may be because it is not easy to buy tickets, although heavy security at the stadiums has also been a deterrent.

CARD FRAUD AT 10 YEAR LOW

Card fraud losses in the first six months of the year were at their lowest level for 10 years, at just £187m, the banking industry says.

Online banking fraud was 36% lower than in the first half of last year, at £25m, said the UK Cards Association.

Phone banking fraud was up 9% to £6m, but cheque fraud losses fell 13% to £14m.

The half-year figures follow the 28% drop in card fraud reported for the whole of 2009.

Source: BBC Business

Higher and Int 2 Business Homework

If you have mislaid your homework sheet, please download it and print it off from:

www.higherbm.blogspot.com

The iPad

The iPad has been the first successful Tablet PC after Microsoft's failed attempt some years back.

Apple's powerful brand image and style has been a key selling point, with customers willing to spend well over £400 for the iPad.

Tablet PC's are in the no man's land between a smart phone and a laptop or indeed a laptop and a PC. That was Microsoft's problem. Many people just didn't need one.

Apple have sold in excess of 3.5 million iPads since the launch in April.

However it still is not compatible with Macromedia Flash - meaning many internet applications cannot be utilised properly.

The competition is starting to take note of what Apple did well and producing imitations such as the Samsung Galaxy Tablet PC which has many of the features of the iPad, but it can make calls and has two cameras. The Galaxy is crucially nearly £100 cheaper!

So what will be the future of the iPad and the Tablet PC?

Higher / Int 2 Business NAB

A date for your diaries...

Tuesday the 19th October is the date I have set aside for the Business Enterprise NAB.

Remember this will contain topics from:

• Business in Contemporary Society
• Business Information and ICT
• Decision Making

You will have to read your notes and generate possible answers to likely questions.

Also, please ensure you understand the Command Words!

The Ryder Cup 2010 - Celtic Manor

On Friday morning at 0745 the Ryder Cup tees off.

What was once a challenge match between the professional golfers of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States is now a multi-million advertising and sponsorship bonanza!

The Europe v USA battle will be watched by millions on TV and by thousands paying top dollar at the Welsh course, near Newport.

Indeed many Wales Tourism adverts have sprouted up as Newport and Wales hope to have added benefits long after the Ryder Cup leave.

So be ready for high octane golf, amazing excitement, and possibly a very narrow winning margin.

But also look out for the sponsors. And the advert spots on Sky TV.

As for the match? I am going against the trend and I predict a USA victor 14 1/2 to 13 1/2.

I hope I am wrong, but I just have this feeling Monty and Europe are underestimating Corey Pavin's men and one Mr Eldrick Woods in particular.

Virgin Galactic: Space Ship Two

Ever since Richard Branson first announced his Virgin brand were going into the Final Frontier people laughed.

However some six years later and Space Ship Two is in testing.

Above is an artists impression of the sub-orbital spacecraft.

Richard Branson has a dream to commercialise space travel for the ordinary man and woman, after being inspired by fellow millionaire, Dennis Tito who went into Space as the world's first space tourist as a cosmonaut in 2001.

Star Trek's William Shatner was invited to be aboard the inaugural flight, but the TV legend politely declined saying: "At my age I need the guarantee of coming back down."

Travel Industry

The Problems

Terrorism

Recession

SARS virus

Strikes

Icelandic ash cloud

The World's Most Revolutionary Car?

F1 designer Professor Gordon Murray has designed a new car called the T.25 which may well revolutionise the future of urban transport.

The car is made from glass fibre, recycled plastic bottles and steel tubes. It uses just a fifth of materials to construct regular cars.

The T.25 is a 3 seater, can hit a top speed of 100mph and will retail at around £6,000.

The space saving car has doors that open from the engine and windscreen out as opposed to doors opening at the side - a tremendous space saver. Also the driver sits in the middle at the front, with two passengers at the rear.

The Professor intends to use his new technological lightweight advances to apply it to larger vehicles such as buses!

The method of production is called iStream which uses complex software to allow the makers to modify the size or shape or colour of the frames or body panels. This offers tremendous flexibility for manufacturers including the ability to change oroduction of the engine from petrol or diesel or even electric cells.

Because because fewer parts are being used (and cheaper, lightweight ones at that), massive production savings will come into play and hopefully be passed on to the consumer - just like Henry Ford did with his legendary Model T-Ford.

Professor Murray also says that due to less capital being invested at the start-up of the i-Stream production process, more entrepreneurs and investors are likely to get on board as there is less risk.

The result is a car which for once - unlike the much heralded Electric Car or the Hybrids - may actually change the world we live in for the better.

Think of the impact such lightweight, tiny cars can have on congested megacities or China and India who are becoming more industrialised and urbanised every day.

Could this car be the ultimate in saving the world?

For the full article go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11301831

In the news...

AIRLINES MAKE A PROFIT
The world's airlines are expected to post a profit of $8.9bn (£5.7bn) this year, an industry body has said, in a sharp upgrade of its previous forecast.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said the industry recovery had been "stronger and faster than anyone predicted".

In June, it had predicted a much smaller profit of $2.5bn. In March, it had expected a loss of $2.8bn. Iata said increasing demand and stable costs were driving the recovery.

US RECESSION LONGEST SINCE WW2
The US recession lasted 18 months and was the most prolonged since World War II, a report has concluded. The National Bureau of Economic Research said the recovery began in June 2009, with recession having begun in 2007.

Its views carry weight in the US, even though there is usually a lag before it reaches a position.
The organisation's figures take in data beyond simply GDP. Income, employment industrial production and wholesale retail sales also form part of the analysis.

The previous longest postwar recessions in 1973-75 and 1981-82 both lasted 16 months, it said.


Source: BBC Business News

Technical Issues

Sorry about the long delay between posts but there has been a technical issue with Slideshare embeds causing a problem when I tried to log in at my school.

Thankfully that has been resolved now and I can get back to blogging!

Back to work!

A very busy holiday period is now over and a very busy time back at school is now on again!

I hope to produce and share more resources online, with an obvious focus on Curriculum for Excellence.

I have to admit that there have been some incredible news stories of late, with the Chilean Miner's Crisis one that everyone prays will have a happy ending.

But the devastating floods in Pakistan, the massive earthquake in Christchurch, the Pakistani Cricketers Scandal, Tony Blair's book launch, end of US military operations in Iraq... an incredible period for news, business and the economic saga.

Also I felt pretty sad at the woman who threw that cat in the bin. Shameful.