Hardy Guevara

So beloved by the masses in Cuba, his image now appears alongside Che!

For us there is no valid definition of socialism other than the abolition of the exploitation of one human being by another.

Everton FC - back to Wembley

I make no apologies for this, it has to be done!

Here's the penalty shootout against United on Sunday




Chelsea - you're next!!!!

Green shoots over thin ice

An interesting article from John Hussman of Hussman Funds:

Thus far, we’ve got a strong rally off the recent trough, with uninspiring sponsorship but good breadth, reasonable but not strikingly attractive valuations, and an overhang of increasingly distressed mortgage and non-residential debt that looks like Armageddon Part II in the offing, because we are doing nothing to restructure it. In my view, the recent advance looks not like a garden of “green shoots,” but very much like a short-squeeze off of an oversold trough. It would be convenient if such bounces could be predicted in advance, but as we observed last year, the market can become very persistently oversold during bear markets, and even an “oversold” decline can go much deeper until the oversold condition is abruptly cleared.

Fundamentally, my view is that the U.S. economy is on very thin ice, and that by focusing on the bailout of corporate bondholders rather than the restructuring of debt, we are courting the risk of a far deeper downturn. Last year, I didn’t think it was conceivable that policy-makers would attempt to address this problem by making lenders whole with public funds. This is an ethical abomination, putting the public in the position of absorbing the losses that should properly be borne by those who provided capital to these institutions. It is not sustainable. What it does it place the public in the position of losing first, but it will not, and cannot prevent the ultimate failure of the debt – for the simple reason that without restructuring, the debt can’t be serviced.

It is true that insurers, pension funds, and other entities own part of the debt of these financial institutions, but they certainly do not own all of it, and to the extent that it is in the public interest to use public funds to reimburse the losses of various entities, that can and should be part of the political process. But to broadly immunize every bondholder of these institutions with public funds is repulsive. Even the bondholders of Bear Stearns can expect to get 100% of their principal back, with interest.

Aside from the abuse of the public trust inherent in these bailouts, it is also offensive to anybody who devotes a significant portion of their income to charity, because there are so many better uses for trillions of dollars. Think about it. Two of the wealthiest people on earth, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, after lifetimes of work, will be able to commit a combined total of about $100 billion to charity. But that figure is dwarfed by the amount being allocated to protect corporate bondholders from taking a “haircut” on distressed debt, or swapping a portion of it for equity – both perfectly appropriate ways of compartmentalizing the losses of these financial institutions, without public funds, and without receivership or “nationalization.”

Reds in the Red

Manchester United has increased full-year sales by 22 per cent to £256.2 million, a record for a British football club. That means profits, before interest and taxation, at Red Football Limited, United's immediate parent, rose by 29 per cent to £24.1 million.

The figures cover the 12 months to the end of June last year, taking in the whole of the 2007-08 season, during which United won the Uefa Champions League and, for the tenth time, the Premier League title.

However, once interest payments of £45.5 million were applied, Red Football Limited made a pre-tax loss of £21.4 million — down from a loss of £24.3 million in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Red Football Joint Venture — the vehicle through which Malcolm Glazer, the US tycoon, and his family bought United and which is the club's ultimate parent — reported a pre-tax loss of £44.8 million, mainly because of interest payments. That rose during the period from £604 million to £649.4 million because of the way that interest on “payment in kind” loans continued to roll up. Piks are loans on which no interest is payable until the end of the loan term.

United's turnover was up sharply in all three of its main areas, with matchday receipts rising by 10 per cent to £101.5 million, while commercial income — which takes in merchandising, sponsorship and licensing agreements - rose by 14 per cent to £64.0million. The biggest increase was in TV revenue which, on the strength of United's Champions League triumph, surged 48 per cent to £90.7 million.

The sale of players, including Giuseppe Rossi, Gerard Piqué, Chris Eagles and Gabriel Heinze, boosted profits by £21.8million.

The club made new commercial partners during the year, including Saudi Telecom and Diageo, while existing partnerships with Budweiser, Travelcare and GlaxoSmithKline were renewed.

Tropicana Line's Sales Plunge 20% Post-Rebranding

Interesting article on how a disastrous re-branding of Tropicana's famous "orange with a straw" caused sales to plunge 20% in less than 7 weeks:


from adage.com

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Tropicana's rebranding debacle did more than create a customer-relations fiasco. It hit the brand in the wallet.


The new Tropicana Pure Premium packaging had been on the market less than two months before the company scrapped the redesign.

After its package redesign, sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20% between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars. On Feb. 23, the company announced it would bow to consumer demand and scrap the new packaging, designed by Peter Arnell. It had been on the market less than two months.

A swift reversal

Now that the numbers are out, it's clear why PepsiCo's Tropicana moved as fast as it did. According to Information Resources Inc., unit sales dropped 20%, while dollar sales decreased 19%, or roughly $33 million, to $137 million between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22. Moreover, several of Tropicana's competitors appear to have benefited from the misstep, notably Minute Maid, Florida's Natural and Tree Ripe. Varieties within each of those brands posted double-digit unit sales increases during the period. Private-label products also saw an increase during the period, in keeping with broader trends in the food and beverage space.

Alan Whicker Island

Many of you will recall Alan Whicker and his famous reports on the rich and famous throughout the 1950's, 60's and 70's.

Here's Monty Python's classic "Whicker" sketch:

9 Billion - The World Population in 2050

At or around the time my kids get to my age, the World Population is likely to have moved from its' present 6.8 bn to over 9.1 bn. Putting it another way, the increase in population will be similar to the global population in 1950!



The data is available here