3043 days ago
The papers this week carried graphic images of a 12 year old boy being beheaded in Syria. Ghastly, I hear you cry. ISIS must be stopped. Thank God we are doing our bit by backing rebel fighters in the Free Syrian Army. Problemo: it was those rebel fighters that did the beheading.
This is no surprise to readers of this website. Back in 2012
4513 days ago
I gather that ADVFN has a large presence in France and a growing readership in a country I adore. So before I offend all you froggies out there may I wish you a very happy Bastille Day. Now for the offending. There is always stiff competition for the title of the worst and maddest leader in the EU. Like Eurovision, the Greeks traditionally make a strong showing as do those chaps from the former Yugoslav Republics. However, before your recent Presidential poll, I sensed that Francois Hollande would be a very strong contender indeed for this title and since his election he has not disappointed me. As each week has gone by he has shown himself to be even madder and stupider than anyone could have dreamed of. His reaction to news that Peugeot is to fire 8,000 employees was a master-class in self delusion.
Here are the facts. Peugeot is loss making. If it carries on as it has been then it will go bust. Its problem is that its cars are not very good and as such they are over-priced for what they offer. But Peugeot cannot afford to cut its prices because its cost base is too high. And its cost base is too high because it builds cars in France where it must pay high wages to staff who put in s short working week, demand long holidays, have a propensity to go on strike and overall do not have a great work ethic.
