David Cameron sounds nice - until his eyes narrow and his cheeks go red

'Don't you dare lecture anyone on the NHS again,' he threatens Labour – before heaping praise on his team

Column DAVID CAMERON started his 2013 party conference speech with the emphasis on hard work. 

ANNALISA BARBIERI

Indeed "hardworking people" was in the very first sentence. You could tell that the entire speech had been tweaked to be more inclusive of the ordinary person ("don't forget the man in the street Dave, they're angry and fed up") – as long as that person wasn't a skiver, stupid or a foreign prisoner, in which case he had plans for you. Cameron delivered the speech in front of a motif made from the Union Jack. Fitting, as his speech was deeply patriotic; he mentioned the word British or Britain nearly two dozen times. But if you shut your eyes you could imagine the whole first half of the address taking place in the headmaster's office. It was full of tale-telling. "Labour did this, Sir, Labour did that. Labour made the mess Sir, I was just helping to clear up Sir. I was just helping the boy up Sir, not kicking him to the floor." It was defensive, brittle and at times, petty. Cameron has quite a nice voice, I'll give him that. If you keep your eyes shut some more, you could imagine him voicing over an M&S ad. It's plummy and juicy. He always sounds like he's keeping some spittle in reserve, just in case. He sounds 'naice'. So it's hard to take him seriously, even once you've opened your eyes and seen his eyes narrow and his cheeks go red and how he jabs the air with his finger, looking into the camera and getting all "I'll take you down to Chinatown" when talking about Labour. "Don't you dare lecture anyone on the NHS again," he threatened, when talking about everything the Conservatives have done for the health service and how little Labour did. As for the "the casino economy meets the welfare society meets the broken education system" that the last government left us with, he promised the Opposition: "We will never let you forget it." Like an Oscar acceptance speech, Cameron also thanked his team. Which was a nice touch. He thanked Theresa May for getting the terrorist Abu Qatada out of the country; praised George Osborne's "brilliant" speech on Monday; said William Hague was the finest foreign secretary he could ask for; Iain Duncan Smith is, apparently the "most determined champion for social justice" the party has ever had. And then there was Michael Gove. Michael Gove got a lot of praise. I thought at one point it was building up to a marriage proposal but instead we learned that Gove is "a cross between Mr Chips and the Duracell bunny" and a man with a "belief in excellence". As Cameron ejaculated over each of them in turn – and I use that word in its more historical context – each allowed themselves a tight, smug little smile. Hague's forehead beamed. There was a lot in this speech. Whereas Miliband seemed to brush over things like education, Cameron said it was the very reason he had come into politics. He talked about schools, colleges, debt, hospitals, Thatcher, children, decency, planting trees, oak beams, buying your own home, jobs, immigration, social workers (clap for them please), soldiers in Afghanistan (clap and stand for them please), adoption, setting up your own business (300,000 have since Cameron came to power, how many are still left he didn't say) and two ordinary people called Emily and James who had just bought their own home, and a lawnmower, thanks to him and his team. Wonderful stuff! My God, it all sounds so good, why is everyone so miserable? It took 30 minutes for Cameron to mention the coalition, which he did in relation to tax cuts and then, in disparaging fashion "anyone see their conference? I missed most of it" - guffaw, guffaw. Interestingly, no mention of them at all in the official version of the speech; you can almost imagine someone reading through it and saying at the last minute: "Dave, Dave, you haven't mentioned them." Source: The Week UK

Read More........ → October 16, 2013

Warren Buffett lays down logic against dividends

In his latest annual letter to shareholders, Buffett explains why paying dividends doesn't make sense. The annual letter that Warren Buffett writes to his shareholders is something of an event in the business world. What is normally mundane business communication from other CEOs, has become an art form in Buffett's case. This year's letter has excited media people more than most because it has a long discussion about the media business. Over the last few years, Buffett has bought a string of newspapers even though the newspaper is widely understood to be in severe decline in the US. However, the most interesting part of the letter is Buffett's response to the constant clamour for dividends that he hears, given his holding company Berkshire Hathway's $50 billion cash chest. He lays down four uses to which a company can put its cash, in decreasing priority. First, it should reinvest the money in growing its core business. If that cannot be done productively, then it should use the cash to acquire or expand into other businesses. If that too is not feasible, then it should repurchase its own shares if they are available cheaply enough. He lays down 120% of book value as the standard for cheap enough that Berkshire follows. He terms share buybacks at this level as 'buying a dollar for 80 cents'. Only if this too is not possible should a company consider paying dividends. It's an interesting view, and one which is hard to fault. The logic of prioritising share buybacks over dividends is sound, even though it won't sound so to Indian ears. But what about investors who want a cash income from shares? Buffett's recipe is interesting - sell some stock to realise the amount you want. He says that this always leads to a better outcome for the business and the shareholder, including in tax-efficiency. The letter is a great read, but don't take my word for it - download it and read it for yourself. Source: Hindustan Times

Read More........ → March 07, 2013

Everything You Need To Know: The Economic Collapse for Dummies *Micro Documentary*

This latest micro-documentary from Future Money Trends, narrated by founder and chief strategist Daniel Ameduri, highlights the inevitably of a collapse in the global financial and economic systems. Taking into consideration key data points likedemographics, consumer consumption, unemployment trends, government debt, monetary policy, and widespread manipulation, a frightening end-game scenario begins to emerge. With rampant fraud throughout the financial system and price fixing of unprecedented proportions in global stocks, commodities, interest rates, business loans, mortgages and personal loans, it is only a matter of time – perhaps one to four years according to Ameduri – before all of the machinations engaged in by governments, central banks and their financial industry cohorts to stabilize the system does exactly the opposite. The panic of 1929 will be a walk in the park compared to the utter pandemonium we will witness as the entire way of life we have come to know over the last three decades crumbles before our eyes. As Zero Hedge notes, The Economic Collapse for Dummies is “everything you wanted to know about the inevitability of a major economic collapse but were afraid to ask.”Source: The Coming Depression

Read More........ → January 06, 2013