If the global recession has done one thing it is to puncture the fad for drinking bottled water. Consumers in developed countries have rediscovered the tap.
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Woolworth has emerged as the latest pension fund with a business attached but giving away the operating assets is no way out of the problem.
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Is a slow recovery better than an imminent crash? Governments are trying their best to ensure stability even if it means a long haul: business might be better off seeing the economy allowed to sink to its natural level now so that the recovery can start sooner.

The housing market offers an easy analogy of the choice. If property values are 20 per cent too high, then six years of flat prices while inflation creeps up at 3 per cent would bring values back to their equilibrium level. Alternatively, prices would be allowed to crash by 20 per cent now and then start rising again as soon as the market has bottomed. That analogy can be applied to stock markets, consumer confidence, business profits or the whole economy.

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Welcome to my new blog where I will share my thoughts on the subjects of the moment that are not being commented on elsewhere - or where I think the other commentators have missed the point. It could be on exports or economics, pay or profits, rules or regulation, tax or trading conditions. You may not agree with me on everything, but when you don’t, tell me what you think. It is for you that the blog is produced.

The aim is to be provocative without being destructive. If we can make you see another side of the case, we have succeeded - and if you make us think again, better still.