Antony on the road (6)

Sunday 22 Nov 08 - It seems that a reduction in VAT has emerged as the favourite for the main weapon to be used by the Government to stimulate the economy. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7744273.stm) I am a little sceptical as to how effective this is going to be as retailers are already falling over themselves to cut prices and tempt people to spend. I still think that lack of confidence driven by fear of unemployment will be the main reason for people not spending and unless firms boost cash flow by keeping the benefit of this VAT cut to themselves (for which they will be castigated by all and sundry) I can't see the cut doing much to address this. Let's see what tomorrow will bring.

Antony on the road "so you don't have to

Monday 17 Nov 08 - In the week before the all important pre-budget announcement that promises to pump billions into the economy, Orchard Principal Antony Doggwiler has been out and about at various business events gauging the mood and uncovering what is really happening in the business world. Remember he does all this so that you don’t have to.MondayUp in Coventry today manning our stand at TechnologyWorld 08, an exhibition organised by UKTI (https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/) targeted at growth technology firms, both from the UK and overseas. Exhibitions are a good example of Forrest Gump’s assertion that life is like a box of chocolates in that you never what you are going to get in terms of visitors to the stand and any business opportunities that might arise. However we had many visitors to our stand and met some very interesting businesses. We also took the opportunity to talk to a number of UKTI advisors about our cost effective offering for companies setting up businesses in the UK.Talking of chocolates, Ash’s bright idea of putting chocolates on the stand meant an increasing stream of visitors during the afternoon as energy levels flagged, such that we were soon badging ourselves “The Official Chocolate Suppliers to TechnologyWorld08”. All good fun and an event I think we would do again.