Latest Posts

Interpreting What Is Said

People say things but what do they really mean? First, the setting (bold type), then what is said and finally (in italics) what they are re...

A Nice Pair

A Nice Pair

Monarch Butterflies

News Headlines

Dietary advice: "Can Beetroot make you run faster?" If you need a laxative, no harm in giving it a try.                       ...

He Could Sell ...

He could sell sand to Arabs.  He could sell scuba gear to a shark.

Bulls,

In the Rangitikei District of NZ (near Palmerston North) is a small town of Bulls. It was named after a settler James Bull but the name la...

UK Car Production : 2013-22 (Jan-Jun)

The UK motor industry has a fine historical record and still is a very important part of the economy but nothing like it once was. W...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Sales : 2022 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations for June were +13% and the first six months of 2022 were +10% on the corresponding period of 2021. The 'Diff' fi...

Europe Sales : 2022 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations for June was -17% and for the first six months of 2022 was -14% on the corresponding period of 2021. The 'Diff...

UK CV Production : 2013-22 (Jan-Jun)

For the first six months of the year, the production of commercial vehicles in the UK is the best going back to 2013. What's not...

Europe Top 50 : 2022 (Jan-Jun)

The VW Golf has been knocked off its perch as the leading model. Of course, there are still six months for that to be rectified. Whi...

Slovakia Sales : 2022 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations for June were -2% and the first six months of 2022 were -+4% on the corresponding period of 2021. The 'Diff' f...

A Chinese Invasion?

In New Zealand, a few attempts have been made by Chinese manufacturers to enter the market. Initial efforts were not successful. here ...

The New Range Rover Sport

A design director at Mazda was recently asked if he liked what others were doing in vehicle design. He said he wasn't and talked a...

The Big Truck Market Down Under

Anyone that regularly follows this blog will know that in this neck of the woods the pickup is very popular. It suits an outdoor lifes...

Russian Car Market New Direction

The Russian car market is protected by import duty so brands with any volume of note had assembly plants. Sanctions came and foreign p...

Russia Model Sales : August 2022

Passenger cars: On the model front, the departure of Western brands is very much having an impact. Russian and Chinese (shaded yello...

Toyota/Lexus Production : 2020-22 (2022 Jan-Jun)

Having to walk to work because the car's not charged. I hate it when that happens. Toyota manufactures cars in many places as we ...

Managing across the Corporate Life Cycle: CEOs and Stock Prices!

One of the big news stories of last week was Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO of Twitter, and the market's response to that news was ...

US Stocks kept winning in 2021, but…

Leading into 2021, the big questions facing investors were about how quickly economies would recover from COVID, with the assumption that ...

It is Moneyball Time!

Happy New Year, and I hope that 2022 brings you good tidings! To start the year,  I returned to a ritual that I have practiced for thirty...

Back in the Classroom: Time to Teach!

At the start of every semester for as long as I can remember, I have invited people to sit in informally on my classes at NYU or take the...

Inflation and its Ripple Effects!

Inflation numbers have been coming in high now, for more than a year, but for much of the early part of 2021, bankers, investors and poli...

Data Update 4 for 2022: Risk = Danger + Opportunity!

In the first few weeks of 2022, we have had repeated reminders from the market that risk never goes away for good, even in the most buoya...