1
Jan
2015
How NOT to run a chocolate factory
In Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, penniless Charlie Bucket wins a ticket to visit Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory. The other bratty children, like Veruca Salt and Augustus Gloop who are prize winners, meet unpleasant ends in the factory machinery, due to their own greed. Charlie is the only child left at the... Read More
22
Nov
2014
How to see into the future
Most people think that it would be a useful skill to see into the future. Probably they are right. It would certainly be valuable for investors to be able to know which shares were going to perform well. But perhaps, even if you could see into the future, you wouldn’t. Literature is full of characters... Read More
16
Nov
2014
Tunnels under Berlin and Vienna
Below is an after dinner speech I gave to the Alpine Ski Club at the Annual Dinner. Peter Lunn an honorary member of the ASC, was an amazing chap, Olympic Skier in 1936 Olympics, Soldier / Spy. He passed away in Nov 2011 at the age of 97. So I gave a talk about his tunneling... Read More
1
Nov
2014
Can Banks Avoid the Road to Rouen?
New entrants, peer to peer lenders, financial technology companies etc are currently making bold claims about how they will change the banking industry. But superior technology is rarely enough to create a lasting “defensive moat” around a business. In fact, the analogy of “defensive moats” may be apt, because moats around medieval towns rarely provided... Read More