Bringing Up Baby - The Junior ISA

1938: Bringing Up Baby - Howard Hawks

The Junior ISA launched last week - without too much of a fanfare (there are rather more pressing problems for investors at present). Anyhow, a JISA (yes it is an awful acronym) enables anyone under 18 that does not have a Child Trust Fund, to invest up to £3600 per tax year. In essence this is an investment that, like an ISA, grows free of capital gains tax and the bulk of income tax (10% dividend tax is automatically deducted thanks to Mr Brown).

There are a few investment companies now starting to offer a JISA. The main advantage over the CTF is the fund choice - which is much wider and therefore better. The JISA will convert to adult status at 18 which has a higher annual tax year allowance.

So the JISA is predominantly aimed at those investing for up to 18 years. Another often forgotten allowance is that a pension can be set up for a child. The allowance is also £3,600 - but gross - so in reality this is £2,880 with basic rate tax relief provided at source. Obviously a pension is a longer-term investment (particularly for a child) with the earliest access at age 55 under current rules. However it can be a way in which to scrape back some of the taxes lost to the family, albeit one that requires a very long-term perspective. All this adds to the options for helping to provide for children (or Grandchildren).

DT

The Real Cost of Bad Advice

2009: This Is It - Kenny Ortega

The trial of Michael Jackson's doctor has come to the conclusion that Dr Conrad Murray was guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The New York Times suggests that Dr Murray acted improperly for a qualified doctor and the prosecution in the case have suggested that his motives were somewhat suspicious.

Michael Jackson is one of those celebrities that generates a huge amount of media coverage, it seems that everyone has an opinion about him. Whilst the media will on occasion report how isolated some celebrities become, few really do much thorough analysis. His website has over 40m Facebook "likes".

To my mind, it would appear that Michael Jackson was bereft of good advice. Quite apart from a bizarre personal life which like many other "icons" will continue to generate questions and supposition, by people that were not "there" and of course he is unable to answer any accusations. You might recall that Vincent Van Gogh experts Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith  recently stated that they believe that Van Gogh did not commit suicide, but was accidently shot by two young boys and he didn't want them to get into trouble. Anyway, it seems that Michael Jackson did not receive very helpful advice and there were plenty of people willing to help part him from his money.

It is somewhat shocking that a man that sold millions of records was $400,000 in debt at the point of his death, according to the New York Times. He was working on a new Tour which would help revitalise his career and reduce his debts. Apparently exhausted, he employed Dr Murray at $150,000 a month  that's $1.8m a year (remember Jackson was in huge debt at the time) as his personal physician. Dr Murray then dismissed his other clients (patients) and solely took care of Jackson. A problem surely - even to an untrained eye.

As a result of his death, record sales and tribute concerts have helped to swell the funds in his estate, The New York Times, puts this figure at $310,000 - still leaving a deficit of $90m by my maths. Somehow the estate has managed to pay out $30m to the beneficiaries (40% his mother, 40% his children and 20% to charity). I'm not clear how it is possible to pay $30m from minus $90m. Perhaps it has been helped by the huge reduction in overspending (estimated at $30m a year of overspending) and rising revenue from record sales.

I wonder what Michael Jackson might have achieved had he benefited from good advice and some great financial planning? Surely any good adviser would have challenged the sustainability of his spending patterns. Perhaps like many other celebrities, he was constantly told things he wanted to hear, rather than what he needed to hear and perhaps he ended up feeling unable to know who he could really trust. This is a real problem for those with significant wealth - when others depend upon it, their "advice" is perhaps less than entirely honest. A good financial planner will be very clear about their charges and their advice, importantly they need to be able to bring good news and bad. To genuinely care is to help protect you from yourself. This is a key part of what I do for clients and also embedded within my investment philosophy.

As for Michael Jackson, well he had something to say about isolation, the media and money.

They don't care

They'd do me for the money
They don't care
They use me for the money

DT

Its A Knockout?

1969: The Italian Job - Peter Collinson

The Euro currency has been active for just under 10 years and is currently in serious jeopardy. Next year sees the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty. The current media frenzy about uncertainty in the markets is enough to make most of us somewhat "concerned". It is therefore a little perplexing that I'm left reminded of the 1970's TV series "Its A Knockout" which made the nation roar with laughter - or at least, the irrepressible Stuart Hall who together with Eddie Waring made the series a success on the BBC. The International version of the programme "Jeux Sans Frontiers" drew in an estimated 110 million viewers at its peak.

I cannot help but think that this might be an altogether better way to work out European difficulties... with of course the Italians currently playing Mr Berlusconi as their Joker. The way Politicians have handled the crisis does rather remind me of the ostrich. Sadly, the crisis is very real and not a laughing matter, Europe needs direction and good team players. A lack of leadership in Europe has tended to create a vacuum into which extremist views gather momentum.

DT

Real Women Have Curves - How To Become Curvaceous Investors

2002: Real Women Have Curves

Financial services is full of charts and graphs. Many will be convinced of the patterns that they see in them. However the further you stand back, the more the rather jagged edges look like curves. One might say that real investors (men and women) - or rather good ones, have curves. You can plot the performance of pretty much anything if you have the data. However many (most) of the charts that are shown or used for marketing purposes are pretty misleading. The majority fail to take account of inflation - plotting actual growth, not necessarily real growth (above the rate of inflation). Some fail to take account of income being re-invested and some are simply manipulated to show their story in the best possible light, taking great care about the data selected and the time frames involved.

Here is one chart that is helpful and concerns investor perception. The investor sentiment curve. This is perhaps the most real curve that you need to understand. The important thing when taking advice or implementing an investment strategy is that you understand where you and the investment manager believe you are along the curve. This impacts the decisions that an investment manager will make.

It is interesting to note that from studies across the world, FinaMetrica (the risk profiling tool that we use for our clients) have found that the vast majority of clients do not change their general attitude towards risk, some do, but most do not. Most investors are... well "medium risk" which is a very unhelpful term, but something that most of us probably know in our core being. Conversely, most financial advisers and investment managers score far more highly on the risk scoring system - they are higher risk takers. This might be for a number of reasons, perhaps more aware about how markets operate but also perhaps because the majority are wedded to the success of markets. This may and would have an impact on your investments if you simply opted for the advisers appetite for risk rather than your own. That is why I believe it is really important, vital even, for you to ensure that your appetite for risk and your capacity for loss are your own and not mine, or anyone else's. Getting your portfolio right should mean that whilst there will be disappointments at times, there should not be unexpected results.

Oh, as a by the way - America Ferrera, the star of "Real Women Have Curves" and "Ugly Betty" is currently performing in the musical Chicago, just off Leicester Square.

DT

When It Is Politically Correct To Be A Bully - Plate Smashing (Printing Plates)

2003: The Corporation

Imagine you are the boss of a large company under immense financial pressure, struggling to meet sales targets and finding it hard to keep all of the staff employed. You are not looking forward to the prospect of beginning to make staff redundant and are concerned that the company might take years to recover if output is reduced dramatically as a result of reducing the workforce, although your Management Consultant assures you (although his previous numbers have already been proven wrong just a few months earlier) that the numbers are now right.

Others within your industry sector are struggling as well, although it is not clear who is the weakest link. The industry leaders call a summit to determine how to reshape the sector. You all agree that the sector needs propping up and agree to new industry wide sales targets. Privately you are concerned that you will not achieve them. You take the findings back to your Board of Directors, some of whom believe that the agreement is a lifeline, others share your pessimism and wonder if the targets are still too ambitious. Failing to meet these new targets will result in possibly a complete fire-sale of the company. You are unsure about what to do and decide to hold an emergency general meeting to present the case as well as you see it. Some of your Board think you are weak and want to push for a new CEO, others can see sense in the strategy. The trade press learn of your second thoughts and castigate your actions which drives the share price of your company down further. Your Board members and staff are all shareholders too, this is not a happy state of affairs... what do you do?

Well, probably... you decide to gamble - though this is not familiar territory for you. You decide that after all you will not have an extraordinary meeting, but simply get to the task set before you - sell more, reduce costs and make redundancies in the process - paying off staff with lump sums that you might have to borrow from the Bank, who already holds more of your assets as security than they would otherwise prefer.

OK, I have taken liberties I know, but before the media get too carried away with pouring scorn on the Greeks and their Prime Minister Mr Papandreou, perhaps some self-reflection wouldn't go amiss. Most of Europe is struggling with the same issues and few, if any are really in a position to point and carp. Something about pots and black kettles I think.

It won't be a surprise to anyone that I am not privy to the internal discussions of the Greek Government or any of the European Governments, however news that the Greeks may now be dropping the opportunity to have a referendum has sent the markets on a dizzy spin on this very wet and now dark November afternoon. There is a degree to which we might all breathe a collective sigh of relief, but would a pause for thought and agreement really have been that disasterous? before we all throw another billion on the fire to keep warm.

DT

The Art of Negotiation

1998: The Negotiator - Gary Gray

I think that being in Government must be one of the most testing experiences for anyone. Unless you live in a State that does not provide democracy, politicians have to constantly renegotiate. Today saw the Government offer its latest stance on Public Sector pensions. This has proven a difficult negotiation as the majority of people in Britain do not receive a pension anything like as good. Some take the view that those within the Public sector earn less and that their pension is a form of compensation, others take an altogether different perspective. Public sector employees generally command favourable opinions from the public - after all they are serving us all, so we tend to have a "soft spot" for certain types of public sector employees, but not all. I imagine that this makes being a Union leader a rather complicated position. I advise a number of clients working within the Public Sector, so best advice is clearly to hang on for the best possible deal.

The discussions have been moved forward and the Treasury has released a statement and is now in further discussion with the unions. Depending on your perspective, one might say that this is a victory for the unions. Alternatively, one might argue that the Government has simply used negotiating skills - something that it appears many "buyers" within the public sector have lacked over the years.

Long story short, the proposals are that those that are within 10 years of retirement will not be effected by proposed changes. The accrual rate would also appear to have been improved from 1/65th to 1/60th. It is currently 1/80th or 1/60th depending on which scheme you consider. For the full Treasury statement click here, however please be warned that this is still "in negotiation" and could be withdrawn or altered. Whatever the detail, the Public Sector pensions are still almost certain to remain amongst the best in the country. Thanks to the Unions or Government, depending on your perspective. The other certainty is that Public Sector workers will pay more and for longer, the real question is "by how much?"

DT

£50 Note - A Collectors Item?

The new £50 Matthew Boulton and James Watt banknote should come into circulation today. It celebrates two British entrepreneurs and their partnership, that makes the Dragons Den look like amateurs. This is the first time that two portraits have appeared together on a British bank note -so perhaps the £50 will be a collectors item... as if we needed encouragement! This new £50 has added security features (though we have not yet reached the point where it requests owner ID information or a retinal scan). Gradually the new note will replace the existing John Houblon note, which will eventually become defunct.

Longer Lasting Fruit: 72 Day Marriage and Eurozone Crisis

1994: Dumb & Dumber - Farrelly

It seems that few things last... now the financial agreement made just a few days ago is being jeopardised as the Greeks consider the full implications. This has had immediate impacts on the global markets, coupled with the collapse of financial firm MF Global. So we seem to be on the merry-go-round again as the frenzy of short-term thinking leads us a dance to nowhere, just like another week on Strictly Come Dancing, where glitter and gloss may help, but won't in the end, make up for a lack of ability.

It is tempting to get sucked into short-term thinking and seems like a significant discipline to keep to the course, with a plan that is based upon values. This is what any good financial planner should be helping clients achieve - a sense of direction and purpose for a unique financial plan. Certainly it needs to be reviewed, but not constantly changed - which merely indicates that there was never really a plan of value in the first place. My job is to help clients to make fewer mistakes - financial ones. It is time to be reminded of the basic principles of any good financial plan. Here they are - they apply to indiviuduals, businesses, charities and Governments (and those in the media).... ready...

1.Spend less than you earn

2.Have a realistic, measurable plan about what you want to achieve and when

3.Avoid the use of credit wherever possible

4.Build liquidity (reserves that you can use)

5.Take a long-term perspective and work towards achieving your goals

6.Review, review, review

I didn't say it was rocket science, or particularly genius. The key is to understand your values and build a plan that has them at its core. To chop and change merely demonstrates that this has not been properly done in the first place. So - job number one for an adviser/planner is to help you to articulate your values... the application of the plan requires discipline to avoid making unnecessary mistakes, where you gain the benefit of not simply learning from your own, but also those of others. The financial markets do not need to be a place of self-discovery, the cost is far too great. So don't be swayed by the current media noise, for that is largely all it is - unless of course you want to follow in the footsteps of those that are determined to make countless needless and costly mistakes. We make enough each day without making unnecessary ones too.

Many financial advisers fail to hold firm to the right principles. It is almost certain that today's "top performing funds" will be the top selling funds over the next 6 months - which merely demonstrates the lack of thinking being applied. This is no more "financial planning" than a TV wedding is an enduring relationship, where only yesterday yet another "celebrity" (Kim Kardashian) applied for divorce - just 72 days into the "marriage". I think I've had longer lasting fruit!

I won't labour the point, but in a culture that has such short-term thinking one has to wonder about the likely success of the Junior ISA, which launches today. Good financial planning will bear better fruit, and remember that the best wine is made from grapes that have seen more than one season.

DT

Trick or Treat? Eurozone is no Cinderella Pumpkin

1999: The Matrix - Wachowski

I have to admit that I cannot stand Halloween. It seems that we become increasingly Americanized each year, giving way to allow children and teens to believe that it is perfectly acceptable to extract a "treat" from a stranger else suffer a "trick" the severity of which depends upon the age and upbringing of the "child". Sorry to be a killjoy, but I don't think threatening people to hand over something or be put upon, is in any way a behaviour that we should encourage.

As if to spurn all the good work from agreements in Europe, media pundits are left wondering on Halloween night just how deep the rabbit hole goes in Europe. Now resembling something akin to a Nightmare on Wall Street (as opposed to Elm Street) or a reality that is offered up in "The Matrix" the world is left to wonder just how many other Investment Banks like MF Global, bit off far more than they could chew and will themselves find a new reality of bankruptcy - or Chapter 11 as it is known in the US. The inter-connectedness (is that a phrase?) of investment bankers means that there is something of a domino effect - let's hope that it is not a house of cards. The markets are scary enough without more bad news like this. We could all do with rather less horror and rather more common sense prevailing in the financial world, which seems to become more like fiction and less like reality with each passing week at present. The Warner Brothers film "The Matrix" is one of my favourite films offering some interesting questions about the human condition and frankly seems sadly appropriate for the moment. Unlike in the fairytales, a pumpkin remains a pumpkin. It doesn't matter what time it is - the strike of midnight does not magically alter the state of pumpkins, but pumpkins can be used for more down-to-earth purposes.

DT

Is Your Bank Account In Trouble? How Does It Measure Up?

1995: The Usual Suspects - Singer

Today the FSA have warned Banks offering current accounts with "added extras". You are probably familiar with the sort of thing - travel insurance, accidental death cover, discounted tickets, gadget insurance as so on. Apparently whilst well aware that many of the features may be very good value and help you on your life journey, the FSA are concerned that some people are not able to claim on the "free cover" and some rarely or never use any of the features, therefore question the merit of providing the add-ons as "standard features".

The FSA is moving to ensure that three key steps are put in the path of eager Bank staff.

1. The Bank should check to ensure that the customer is eligible to claim under the cover that they are being offered, based upon the information provided.

2. Provide customers with an annual eligibility statement, reminding them of the cover and acting as prompt to see if circumstances have change that might invalidate the cover.

3. If a Bank staff member/sales adviser is recomending the product, they must establish that it is suitable.

This has a potential mis-selling scandal for the usual suspects (again) as in reality Bank staff are partly remunerated based upon the products that they sell - you may not think of it as a sale or purchase, but the Bank does. Hence the FSA are "concerned" particularly as they estimate that 20% of us now have these types of accounts. You may have gathered that I become rather like Victor Meldrew when I see adverts from Banks offering x,y and z all of which have nothing to do with banking, frankly because I believe that it is precisely this reason why Banks lost their way - failing to understand or remember what their main purpose is for customers, rather than simply seeking to add yet another money spinning idea and income stream to keep shareholders appropriately misinformed that "all is well". I still don't understand why nationalised banks advertise in a way that competes with one another, perhaps a marketing expert could let me know the rational - beyond retaining the facade of "brand".

Perhaps you have a Silver, Gold, Platinum, Black or Red (and so on) account that provides a long list of features you don't really need. Then again, maybe you are making dramatic savings on other insurance products. Do let me know - though I do wonder if, much like the film "The Usual Suspects" (with Gabriel Byrne and Kevin Spacey) everyone ends up losing except the one that got away...

DT

Population Warning - 007 billion

1999: The World Is Not Enough - Apted

The UN is due to produce a report any day now stating that the population of planet earth has reached 7 billion people. The rise in the global population is something like 200,000 a day which has seen the population dramatically increase over the last 50 years. That said, the forecasts for the future are about as helpful as the weather forecast (or an economic one for that matter!) with estimates ranging from falling populations (due to lower birth rates) to a continued increase at an alarming pace. The BBC has a short piece on their i-player for some interesting graphics. It remains unclear if politicians believe population increase is a good thing (more voters, more tax revenue) or not (more pressure on resources). The rest of us will begin to wonder if the world has enough space.

DT

New Ethical Funds

Historically ethical or Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds have been fairly pricey due to all the extra work that the Fund Managers have to do in terms of research and having stock lists approved. Vanguard have just launched two new SRI funds that buck this trend and combine a passive investment strategy. The funds launched yesterday - though perhaps launching them last week during National Ethical Investment Week might have been a more productive idea in terms of added PR and newsworthiness. Anyway, the two funds SRI European Stock Fund and SRI Global Stock Fund, both have a minimum investment of £100,000 and very low charges of 0.35% and 0.40% respectively.

It will be interesting to see how quickly the funds gather support which will probably reduce the minimum investment requirements. Vanguard is one of the biggest index tracking / passive investment Houses in the world with $1.7trillion in assets, starting life in 1975 and launching a tracker fund in 1976 (500 Index Fund). Vanguard is reasonably new to the UK, launching here in June 2009. This is a company that is serious about challenging the status quo of investing.

DT

When Values Are Challenged - Paying The Price

Every once in a while you get the sense that someone is valued for the wrong things. This occurred to me as I watched a special preview of a new George Clooney movie "The Descendants". Mr Clooney is probably known to most for his debonair looks and appeal to women - which is not really in question, but much more importantly, the guy is a really good actor and makes some cracking movies, yet this often seems to be overlooked by film critics. In time, I believe his work will make him one of the great movie stars. Anyhow, the new movie is about how a family come to terms with a very real crisis. I won't give the plot away, but it touches on key themes about the choices we make, the paths we follow and their consequences. This is examined within the context of a family living in "paradise" (Hawaii) and loosely plays with the ideas of inheritance. A good line that struck a chord with me was "I believe that you should give your children enough money to do something, but not enough to do nothing". A pretty good piece of advice when it comes to inheritance planning and something that George's character Matt King, finds woefully lacking in his extended family as the majority of them squander what they have and fail to understand the meaning of entrust or steward.

The film, directed by Alexander Payne, is not on general release here in the UK until 27th January next year, but when it comes out, it is well worth a look.

DT

National Ethical Investment Week

Yesterday I was at the Houses of Parliament for a function as a part of NEIW2011. Social Impact investing was very much on the agenda as was helping to spread the word that there are choices about investments that the vast majority of people do not access. I've been advising on ethical investment since 1992 and much has changed over the years. If ethical investing or even, alternative investing is something that you would like to explore in more detail with me do get in touch. Here is a short video from NEIW.

DT

Private Medical Insurance - Review Your Cover

Private Medical Insurance (PMI) is not an area of expertise - there are too many other things to master. Fortunately I do have a really good expert in this field that I refer work to. Private Medical Insurance can be very expensive - but so can the cost of private healthcare. We all know that some things are worth paying more for - in the case of PMI, this is particularly true, provided that you understand what you are covered for. This is one type of insurance that a comparison website is of little real value - because the key issue is whether the cover is any good.

Stephen Freedman is a Senior Account Manager with The Health Insurance Group, who specialize in both corporate and individual health insurance. Stephen, is a real expert in this field and is well worth speaking to about any PMI cover that you already have or if you are thinking of applying for cover.

This is an area of cover that is widely misunderstood. An FSA report from 2010 with data from 2008 reveals that the average PMI premium was £1,604 (which was an increase of 6.3% on the previous year, faster than inflation). In 2008 only 26% of all PMI was bought via an expert broker, the vast majority was bought online or direct. This probably explains the low average premium - which would be effected by the significant "direct sales". My concern is that it is probable that most cover is not that good, being cost driven (cheapest) rather than quality driven - which is what this sort of cover is really all about.  Obviously, if lower premiums for high quality cover can be achieved then this ought to be the goal, but this is where a thorough discussion of what is and what is not included is pretty vital.

If you would like Stephen's details please send me an email and I can get him to contact you for a review of your cover.

DT

Monthly Market Report

The monthly market report is now available. This shows what happened in September and looks back over the years as though investing in the same month. What will be of no surprise is that September 2011 was a pretty dreadful month for investors with pretty much every market index and asset class falling in value. The biggest fall in value was in Russia seeing a reduction in value of 21.9%. All of Latin America saw falls in the teens. The FTSE100 dropped 4.7%, with smaller/mid-cap companies (FTSE250) reducing 6.4% in value. Most markets and asset classes are negative in the year to date and it will take quite a year end surge to turn the year into a positive one.

Against this backdrop it will be of little comfort that the 2012/13 ISA allowance has been increased from £10,680 to £11,280 following publication of the inflation rates, which are now being used to determine many of our (UK) allowances. An increase of £600 or 5.6%

DT

Its National Ethical Investment Week

The now annual PR campaign about ethical investing has begun in earnest. You may be aware that at Solomon's we provide access to ethical investments, which many of our clients prefer. We operate two ethically screened portfolios - our Purity range and our Good Life range. The Purity portfolios only hold ethically screened funds, these are largely UK based funds with a fair amount of global specialist funds. Investment exposure to the US, Japan, Emerging Markets, the Far East and so on are very difficult to obtain within an ethical or SRI (socially responsible) fund. As a result, we offer the Good Life range, which enables better global asset allocation to be implemented, although will include "non ethical" holdings within tracker funds. If you would like to know more about this do get in touch.

I shall be attending an event on Wednesday at the House of Commons where Hugh Bayley MP is holding a UKSIF reception for those involved in helping to promote the ethical investment case. Nick Hurd MP (Minister for Civil Society) is the guest speaker, so if you have any questions that you'd like me to ask let me have them.

I suspect that the NEIW 2011 will get rather drowned out of media coverage this year due to the current protest and squat in London and various other cities around the world.

DT

A Case of Mistaken Identity?

I'm aware that the my chosen company name is not unique. Several years ago I learned that there was another firm with a very similar name - called Solomon Independent Financial Advisers Ltd, based in Hong Kong. The principal (Connie Leung) and I shared a quick email greeting one another and noted that the similarity in company names may cause confusion at some point, so to be aware of this fact. I don't have a double, much to the relief of all!

Over the weekend I read that the firm in Hong Kong had been fined $1.5m by the regulator in Hong Kong and that the principal has had her license suspended for 7 months. Just for the record, our firms are not connected in any way - the fine and temporary suspension relate to the firm in Hong Kong. This has nothing to do with me here in the UK, but I can see how this might give rise to a case of mistaken identity, particularly as there are members of staff at the Hong Kong firm that have links to both the UK and the USA.

Whilst we are on the subject - there's also a firm in Jackson, USA who are also unconnected to either myself or the firm in Hong Kong. I hope that this allays any fears - should you have come across the other company and confused it for Solomon's IFA here in the UK.

DT

Friends, Money and Predators

Today's news that Dr Liam Fox has resigned as Secretary of Defence is possibly not a huge surprise, as they say - a week is a very long time in politics. I'm sure the truth will eventually be revealed and for the time being there is media speculation surrounding the business conduct of Dr Fox and his best man Mr Werritty. I'm not privy to the inside track on this and as far as I understand, most is merely circumstantial supposition at present. The incident raises some interesting questions. How do we work with friends? do we take advantage of them? is this to their detriment? and would a professional relationship have provided a clearer position for all parties?

In the week that a British couple won an astonishing £101m on the lottery and promised to make their friends millionaires, one has to ask if there is a price to friendship. I imagine that the lottery winners may find that their relationships actually worsen rather than improve with the arrival of significant amounts of money. Rapid wealth is difficult to handle wisely, but in truth, most people struggle to some extent in their relationship with money. This is where an impartial financial planner can provide significant advantage, helping to to draw out what is truly of value to you as a person and ensuring that financial planning is built upon your values not your value.

I was also reminded this week of another relationship. The BBC programme "Planet Dinosaur" reminded us of the relationship between large prey and large, rather vicious predators with one living off the other. It also reminded me of the Simon Pegg film "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" which is based on Toby Young's life story (well part of it) and seems to sum up the week.

Obama thwarted again - US require economic viagra equivalent

Republican senators have produced yet another blow to the US President by preventing his $447bn job creation bill  (The American Jobs Act) a significant set back. The bill brought before the American political system in September won the smallest majority a vote of 50-49 where a vote in favour required 60.

Sadly this is bad news for us all. The American system is obsessed with short-term political career manipulation, frankly its a wonder that there isn't a new American revolution as their politicians are struggling to make important decisions about their collective future. Creating jobs and decreasing national debt is not a theoretical game that politicians should be point scoring, but a vital requirement to re-establish the basic requirements of a growing economy and flourishing society. Whilst some US politicians carp at the stagnation amongst the European Union partners, there is a significant degree of pot calling the kettle black.

It is now high time that either politicians did what they are meant to do - lead nations, making decisions that work for the wellbeing of their respective populations, rather than simply attempting to secure their own futures. Obama may have been the great hope for America, but he certainly has not been given much opportunity to implement his policies to actually save the day.