October 2011

A group of leading economists have predicted a severe slowdown in the British economy… based upon the fact there has been a severe slowing down in the British economy!

"Our record of predicting major economic events just after they happen is second to none" said a dreary man in a suit standing next to another dreary man in a suit. "In early 2008 we correctly predicted that towards the later stages of 2007 the credit crunch would decimate the world economy. And most famously of all, in May of 1951 we correctly foresaw that the Great Depression would start with the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929 and would last for the best part of a decade."

We were amused by this piece in Private Eye by Alma Geddon and thought we would share it with you. However, on a more serious note, most of our opinions are affected by items we see or read in the media and the very nature of 24 hour rolling news coverage can be quite depressing.

We all need to remind ourselves, occasionally, that what is presented by the media is merely someone else's opinion and if any of the pundits really had all of the answers, they would probably be running the world.

So, just in case you find yourself confused by the wide range of (often conflicting) media opinion on world economic matters and would like some plain English speaking – please don't hesitate to get in touch and we'll try to make sense of things for you.

Pensions are always a target for media abuse, yet what is invariably ignored is the simple fact that tax relief of up to 50% is allowed on contributions into a pension scheme. Although investment returns are a little uncertain in the current climate, we think it is difficult to match a return of (up to) 50% tax relief.

Introducing Argyle clients

Continuing this theme, we would like to introduce Janette Andrew, who established the Rise fashion label in 1995. Janette supplies many of our leading high street fashion stores and her website can be found at: www.risefashion.co.uk