The Garrulous Jay
The Garrulous Jay – Gary Mabbutt’s Knee
The Garrulous Jay – Getting Help At The Pick’n’Mix
May 6, 2022
There has been much talk of late in the investment world about the move out of so-called ‘growth’ stocks and into ‘value’ companies. The catalyst for this has been the now established trend of...
The Garrulous Jay – Bad Teachers
May 6, 2022
They say you never forget a good teacher, and I would attest to this. I can certainly remember the ones that enthused me through their own love of their subject. But I learnt some of my most...
The Garrulous Jay – Not Thinking
Apr 22, 2022
Last weekend a friend asked me what I think about when I’m out on my bike. After a couple of moments’ reflection, I replied by saying what I like about my time pedalling along the country lanes of...
The Garrulous Jay – Definition Deficit
Apr 15, 2022
The criticism levelled against the Government’s recently launched British Energy Security Strategy suggests it bears all the hallmarks of what I call ‘definition deficit’. Definition deficit can...
The Garrulous Jay – Not A Pay Rise
Apr 8, 2022
“All staff to receive £120.00 per month cost of living allowance until further notice”. So read the eye-catching headline of a post I came across on social media this week. It got me thinking and...
The Garrulous Jay – Superficial Windfall
Apr 1, 2022
Last week’s Spring Statement by Chancellor Rishi Sunak did not go well for him. As he sought to take aim at the so-called “cost of living crisis”, subsequent reaction suggests he ended up shooting...
The Garrulous Jay – People, Ideas, Machines
Mar 25, 2022
“People, Ideas, Machines – in that order”. Such are the words widely attributed to US Air Force fighter pilot Colonel John Boyd, who went on to become an acclaimed military strategist. Boyd’s words...
The Garrulous Jay – P&Own Goal
Mar 18, 2022
There are times when I wish I had been a fly on the Board Room wall. One of those occasions would have been when P&O Ferries concluded they needed to make 800 staff redundant, and they were...
The Garrulous Jay – Strength In Difference
Mar 14, 2022
There are some days you never forget. For me, one of them was the first day of my MBA course when I was introduced to my Syndicate Group: the team I would be working with for the following ten weeks...
The Garrulous Jay – Structurally Unsound
Mar 4, 2022
On the 17th February this year European insurer Allianz published a press release saying it was “to book a provision of €3.7 billion in the financial statements 2021”. The charge related to pending...
The Garrulous Jay – Easy Options
Feb 25, 2022
The events unfolding in Ukraine are as deeply saddening as they are concerning. Just two days into the conflict it is evidently impossible to see how it will develop and ultimately conclude. At such...
The Garrulous Jay – Communication Regulation
Feb 21, 2022
Are there certain sectors of the economy that are so important they should always be kept in public ownership? This question is simultaneously ideological, practical and emotional. In the UK the...
The Garrulous Jay – Birds In The Bush
Feb 11, 2022
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, so the saying goes. In other words, it is better to have the benefit of something today with a high degree of certainty, than it is to have more of the...
The Garrulous Jay – Crap Ideas
Feb 4, 2022
In July 2012 Simon Griffiths spent 50 uninterrupted hours on the toilet. As one of three cofounders of Who Gives A Crap he vowed not to move until he had crowdfunded the AU$50,000 they needed to...
The Garrulous Jay – The Influence Illusion
Feb 1, 2022
What I’m about to say it so obvious it may not need stating, but it provides context to what follows so I shall say it anyway. When you buy shares in a company you are not providing that company...
The Garrulous Jay – Utility Value
Jan 21, 2022
I think it’s time we (re)nationalised all utility companies. You probably think I’ve “gone a bit Jeremy Corbyn” but bear with me. Yesterday I received the news that the second of my two energy...
The Garrulous Jay – Metabucks
Jan 16, 2022
You could be forgiven for not having heard of ‘Beeple’, but in March last year he sold one of his works of art at auction for $69.3 million. What might surprise you is that Beeple’s “Everydays - The...
The Garrulous Jay – Off Targets
Jan 7, 2022
In 2022 I have resolved to stop monitoring the amount I drink. Just over three years ago, concerned that I was drinking a little too much after watching an excellent documentary presented by Adrian...