What's going to collapse next...

[Calcutta]

At the risk of derailment, the best peanut butter you can buy is called Mother Africa. It's usually in the African food section of large supermarkets (depends on the ethnic makeup of the area, we used to have to drive to Milton Keynes for it) and it's made in India. But, it's 100% peanuts, no salt, no sugar, no added shit. Gorgeous stuff.

[spunko]

Aston Martin are my bet for 2020. They've been selling cars at a loss, due to oversupply i.e. nobody is buying them, you can read here if interested: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=70&t=1847227&i=20

They're making a £30k loss on each car that they sell, just to get the P&L figures up for the 4th quarter (the actual loss is deferred until 2 years because they're all on 24 month contract deals). Madness.

Stinks of financial meddling and trying to bump up the share price desperation.

[spunko]

5 minutes ago, Tdog said:

But its a thing of beauty (im not into cars). if i didnt have a kid and was stuck on this isle at 1k a month id go for it.

from your link-

I prefer a more understated colour...

I was tempted to go for it, but I'm trying to avoid PCP. £1k a month sounds a lot, and it is, but you'd be looking at double that for a similar priced Bentley or Ferrari (which is worrying from Aston Martin longevity POV)

[Wight Flight]

2 hours ago, Tdog said:

But its a thing of beauty (im not into cars). if i didnt have a kid and was stuck on this isle at 1k a month id go for it.

from your link-

Aston Martin but a shitty terraced house with no front garden.

Says it all.

[spunko]

7 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

Aston Martin but a shitty terraced house with no front garden.

Says it all.

Those were my thoughts too but I thought i didn't want to sound snobby. 

[spygirl]

11 hours ago, Tdog said:

But its a thing of beauty (im not into cars). if i didnt have a kid and was stuck on this isle at 1k a month id go for it.

from your link-

Its a thing of very small production runs, composed with lots of custom built mechanical elements which will probably shake out and snap.

My constant advice on cars is for for Honda or Toyota.

If you want to make a statement with a car then magic marker it on the body.

[Wight Flight]

2 hours ago, spunko said:

Those were my thoughts too but I thought i didn't want to sound snobby. 

Used to have loads of them in Surrey. Porsche 911 outside a tiny terrace wasn't at all unusual.

[spygirl]

Ill go for Spain, everything - companies n country.

https://www.ft.com/content/7bbc5ca4-2015-11ea-92da-f0c92e957a96

Take a police commissioner who combined his official post with offering services to Spanish blue-chips to foil takeover bids.

Add decades of secret recordings he made of his clients, government ministers and many others. And you have what in Spain is known as the Villarejo case: a legal cloud hanging over some of the country’s best-known companies and business leaders.

The saga, which could leave its mark on Spain’s business and political landscape for years to come, involves allegations of illegal corporate espionage, rivalries within the country’s power elite, and a seeming never-ending stream of mysterious leaks.

Already caught up in the affair is BBVA, the bank with showpiece operations in Turkey, Mexico and elsewhere, which a Spanish court formally placed under investigation in July in a case featuring allegations of phone-tapping and bribery.

Anyone who's tried to work out how the Spanish banks make money when heyare running the most awful inhouse software and are managedby the idiot sons and daughters. Santander.

 

 

 

 

[SillyBilly]

Jeez, are we at the point now where average Joes are upgrading to driving around in Astons on PCP deals? I suppose considering the cleaner is probably driving a BMW or Audi these days you need something flashier to differentiate yourself with!

A luxury car without the appropriate drive to put it on says a lot about the owner in my opinion. 

[spygirl]

13 minutes ago, SillyBilly said:

Jeez, are we at the point now where average Joes are upgrading to driving around in Astons on PCP deals? I suppose considering the cleaner is probably driving a BMW or Audi these days you need something flashier to differentiate yourself with!

A luxury car without the appropriate drive to put it on says a lot about the owner in my opinion. 

No.

PCP has peaked.

All the equity has gone - poof.

Back to 10yo Mondeos.

[spygirl]

On 31/12/2019 at 22:30, spunko said:

I prefer a more understated colour...

I was tempted to go for it, but I'm trying to avoid PCP. £1k a month sounds a lot, and it is, but you'd be looking at double that for a similar priced Bentley or Ferrari (which is worrying from Aston Martin longevity POV)

Pcp it. Work your way thru the daft girls then hand it back.

Consider it 200/m for car. And 800/m saving on prossies.

 

[spunko]

On 01/01/2020 at 19:21, SillyBilly said:

Jeez, are we at the point now where average Joes are upgrading to driving around in Astons on PCP deals? I suppose considering the cleaner is probably driving a BMW or Audi these days you need something flashier to differentiate yourself with!

A luxury car without the appropriate drive to put it on says a lot about the owner in my opinion. 

Perhaps, although £1k a month is beyond the pale for most "average Joes" who live paycheck to paycheck. Whatever the case, all future Aston Martins in that model will have to be sold at significant discount, it's set a new benchmark price so why would anyone pay more?

The deal has ended now, apparently (according to Aston Martin anyway....) it was "something to do with EU regulations" coming this month. Ah that old excuse. 

But if you're in the market for an Aston would you pay £30k more than a month ago? Worrying for them as a company

Edited January 2, 2020 by spunko

[Chewing Grass]

On 01/01/2020 at 19:36, spygirl said:

No.

PCP has peaked.

All the equity has gone - poof.

Back to 10yo Mondeos.

Just had a check on autotrader for a used AUDI A3, 3 years old 2016 model with under 20K miles on clock.

Tons of them between £13K - £18K but had to wade through 7 pages on new vehicles being offered from £24K - £35K.

So that's somebody spunking half the new list price to do 20,000 miles in 3 years.

There were 3 2016 reg cars with only 9,000 miles on the clock.

Edit - correction - the real car price is whatever the PCH cost was plus its 3 year old used value.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Chewing Grass

[sleepwello'nights]

On 31/12/2019 at 21:46, spunko said:

Aston Martin are my bet for 2020. They've been selling cars at a loss, due to oversupply i.e. nobody is buying them, you can read here if interested: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=70&t=1847227&i=20

They're making a £30k loss on each car that they sell, just to get the P&L figures up for the 4th quarter (the actual loss is deferred until 2 years because they're all on 24 month contract deals). Madness.

Stinks of financial meddling and trying to bump up the share price desperation.

Why didn't you tell me last week 

[spygirl]

Wage deflation / supression, st least in some areas.

Catching up with old work mates - Weve got a large plan / number of contracts for 2020. We just need to  increase the teams by 30% to meet the contracts.....

[sancho panza]

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/01/mg-extends-ban-withdrawals-2-5bn-fund/

Investment firm M&G has confirmed it will continue the temporary suspension of its £2.5 billion property portfolio fund “until further notice”.

The company said the decision was taken by the fund’s authorised corporate director (ACD) in the interest of protecting its investors.

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/01/shoppers-shun-post-christmas-sales-footfall-drops-4/

Post-Christmas sales failed to revitalise the UK’s high streets as footfall dropped by four per cent compared with 2018.

After a flat two weeks before Christmas, footfall dropped on all but one day between December 26 and January 1, according to Springboard.

Footfall rose across all destinations by 11.1 per cent on December 30, which was likely down to the fact that the day fell on a Monday rather than a Sunday in 2018, allowing for longer trading hours.

[spygirl]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51045320

[dgul]

17 minutes ago, spygirl said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51045320

Bit early for the 'bad Christmas' news, IMO.  It might be brutal by the end of the month.

[spygirl]

Card Factory down 20%

Massively expanded a few years ago. They are hitting the end of the free/cheap period on loads of shops.

Its a nuts business model. Pure accounting scam - opening shops to get new revenue to cover up poor  margins.

 

 

[sancho panza]

3 hours ago, spygirl said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51045320

Came on here to psot this Spy.Had a feeling you'd be in like Flynn

 

We've been discussing them for ages.I remember sometime back me and mrs P going there for baby stuff and looking at how empty their floor space was in the games, kids clothing areas.More staff than customers.Never a good sign.

Can only see this getting worse.

[onlyme]

Big local car dealership has gone in Bristol, just before Xmas, Simonstone, 80 jobs, has been there ever since i've known the place, apparently others of their group have gone too.  The evidence is beginning to stack up to the car market being somewhat in trouble.

[spygirl]

13 minutes ago, sancho panza said:

Came on here to psot this Spy.Had a feeling you'd be in like Flynn

 

We've been discussing them for ages.I remember sometime back me and mrs P going there for baby stuff and looking at how empty their floor space was in the games, kids clothing areas.More staff than customers.Never a good sign.

Can only see this getting worse.

FT article.

https://www.ft.com/content/2992c166-325d-11ea-9703-eea0cae3f0de

Comments are, rightly,  slagging off the upper level managment n board.

Theyve been gucked up by a hooray ex asrmy type:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Mayfield

Bally Hell, John Lewis are great! We can take over the world ...

Theye also just kicked out the stores MD:

https://www.ft.com/content/164a2d74-9ac1-11e6-8f9b-70e3cabccfae

An internal appointment, showing that whatever JL needs it not really going to found in the ranks.

The incoming CEO is beyond a fucking joke:

https://www.ft.com/content/72822108-8855-11e9-97ea-05ac2431f453

John Lewis has appointed Sharon White, a telecoms regulator with no retail experience, as its new chairman, marking the first time the group has picked an external candidate for its most senior executive role. Ms White, who has run Ofcom, the UK telecoms and media regulator, for the past four years, will replace Charlie Mayfield when he steps down in early 2020. She will earn a basic salary of £990,000, more than double her pay at Ofcom. The former Treasury official is an economist by training and has no previous experience in the retail sector. She joined the board of housebuilder Barratt Developments as a non-executive director in January 2018.

Still shell be able to work on JL's BAME wimmin polices.

 

JOhn Lewis need to shrink their retail space by at least 30%, starting yesterday.

With the death of the finsec, they cannot rely on good numbers from London/SE. The money is just not in the traditional JL towns any more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spygirl]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7868087/First-female-managing-director-John-Lewis-Paula-Nickolds-leaves-job-three-years.html

Paula Nickolds, who joined the partnership in 1994, held one of the most powerful and coveted jobs in British retail after taking the helm of John Lewis three years ago.

The 43-year-old, who started her career in the chain's flagship Oxford Street store, joined the partnership's management board in 2013, having risen through the ranks in buying roles across fashion and home.

 

Years/ages dont add up.

Shed have been 17 in 1994.

Unless she worked part-time which is possible.

 

Two years later, she was appointed commercial director, overseeing John Lewis's entire product offer and spearheading new shops and services.

She was heavily involved in the opening of its latest wave of new stores, most recently in Leeds and in Chelmsford.  

Ahhh ...

Edited January 9, 2020 by spygirl

[Iamcynical]

1 minute ago, spygirl said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7868087/First-female-managing-director-John-Lewis-Paula-Nickolds-leaves-job-three-years.html

Paula Nickolds, who joined the partnership in 1994, held one of the most powerful and coveted jobs in British retail after taking the helm of John Lewis three years ago.

The 43-year-old, who started her career in the chain's flagship Oxford Street store, joined the partnership's management board in 2013, having risen through the ranks in buying roles across fashion and home.

 

Years/ages dont add up.

Shed have been 17 in 1994.

Unless she worked part-time which is possible.

 

She can have worked full time at 17. Straight from gcse's to work, she could have been 16.

[spygirl]

1 minute ago, Iamcynical said:

She can have worked full time at 17. Straight from gcse's to work, she could have been 16.

Ye,s but she could not have gone to Uni too.

Again, if the numbers/age are right then its someone who's no experience outside of JL.