July 2010 Archives

Royal bank of Scotland will take little comfort from its $100 million settlement award from the US Securities and Exchange Commission from Goldman Sachs admission it was economical with the truth in its selling of toxic bond deals wrapped up in Abacus 2007-AC1.

RBS is now "considering all options" which obviously includes the possibility of pursuing Goldman's for a considerably larger chunk of the $870 million it lost in the Abacus investment deal.

Those losses stemmed from the fraudulent omission Goldman's hedge fund client, Paulson & Co was not only selecting mortgages for the portfolio, but was also making side bets those mortgages would drop in value.

A very cosy arrangement for Goldman's, which also charged Paulson & Co $15 million for the privilege of selecting mortgage backed securities to go into Abacus both Goldmans and Paulson must have known were at the very least suspect.

If you haven't heard BAA want to charge £1 for passengers to be dropped off by the terminal building at Edinburgh airport. They say the charge is to pay for improvements to the drop off area. But the amount raised by this charge will surely pay for much more than that. It is just another way to get extra revenue. Surely they must be getting enough from the extortionate charges they already make for parking by the terminal.
I think BAA have done a great job with Edinburgh airport which is world class. But I think to impose a charge when many people are worried about their jobs and income is extraordinarily bad timing and a PR disaster.

My wife and I recently spent a very pleasant weekend on the Isle of Mull. The scenery was stunning and the whole experience was very relaxing. We stayed at the Highland Cottage in Tobermory run by hotel industry veterans David and Jo Currie and were treated to superb food in their intimate little restaurant.
Like many people in the tourist industry in Scotland they have worked hard to create high standards and deserve to do well. Sadly the weekend we stayed the restaurant was not full though it deserved to be. It is more important than ever for us to support businesses like these and I can assure you I enjoyed the car and ferry journey to Mull much more than the many hours I have hung around airports in recent times! Don't forget what's on your doorstep.

This week I thought I should talk about the various steps that were required to protect not just Safetray as a physical product but also our brand, before we were able to start shouting from the rooftops.

I, like all inventors, had to keep my idea a secret right up to the point of patent application. Non-disclosure agreements (or confidential disclosure agreements) can be acquired from the IPO website and signed by anybody you need to discuss your idea with before you are otherwise protected.

I had several friends try to push me into telling them what I had invented. Facetious guesses ranged from 'cancer-free cigarettes' to 'the wheel' to objects of pleasure not appropriate for inclusion in a business blog.