Month: August 2017

Trusting your newspaper is a dangerous game….

Wednesday 30th August 2017

Trusting your newspaper is a dangerous game….

Ask the common-garden man in the street why he takes a daily newspaper and he’ll probably give you a variety of responses….

He feels a desperate need to catch-up on the latest exploits of Kim Kardashian, Kerry Katona or some other young thing sporting a new hair-do or a bikini….

He wouldn’t know what to do without a cryptic crossword to take his mind off his job and get him through the day….

He knows of no better way of avoiding eye contact on the train than to have his head buried in a newspaper….

He might run a chip shop and need to stock up on wrapping. The cat litter tray might be short of lining….

He might labor under the delusion that carrying a copy of the Times under his arm makes him appear like a man to be reckoned with….

  • A window on the world?

There are all sorts of reasons why people take a daily newspaper….

But by far the most prevalent is that the reader seeks information. He wants to know what is going on in the world. He wants to stay abreast of national and international events.… Click here to read more

Nightmare at the checkout tills….

Tuesday 22nd August 2017

In this issue of Money Truths….

Nightmare at the checkout till….

Dave can’t be with us this morning. He’s dealing with something that takes him away from his desk.

In his absence, we revisit Dave’s take on a dystopian future without physical cash – what it might look like, what it might mean and how it will be sold to you….

This piece is taken from our archive and was originally published in August last year. Over to Dave….

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Picture the following scene….

You’ve just popped to the supermarket for a few bits. You fill your basket and head for the tills….

The checkout girl asks you if you need help packing your bags. You tell her you’ve got that situation under control….

You pack your bags carefully – making sure to put the heavy items at the bottom so that the bread, the salad items and the soft fruit don’t get squashed.

As the years roll-by, you have grown wiser about the finer points of bag-packing. These days you know exactly what to do to avoid an earful off the wife when you get home….

‘That will be £34.65, please….’

You reach into your pocket, take a card from your wallet and swipe it across the machine.… Click here to read more

Fear, money and a mirage….

Tuesday 15th August 2017

Fear, money and a mirage….

Have you ever wondered what the world would look like if it were run by crazy people? Well, look out of the window….

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have both clambered up the greasy pole – all the way to the very top. Both men insist on sporting loony-tune haircuts and both call the shots at home. But that’s not all they have in common….

Both men are also dangerously unhinged and represent a potentially lethal threat to the whole world and its entire population….

It is to be hoped that there is some serious back-channeling in-play between Washington and Pyonyang. Trump and Kim Jon-un are to diplomacy what two kids tossing a hand-grenade back and forth (with the pin out) are to playground health and safety….

Not content with posturing and sabre rattling on just one front, Trump is also threatening to get involved in Venezuela. ‘I’m not going to rule out a military option,’he told reporters last week before striding out like a Roman emperor onto the golf course….

Venezuela is in a well-documented state of economic crisis. But why that demands a military intervention from the US is unclear.… Click here to read more