Week 22: Rain and Shine

The hot weather broke this week and somehow working inside seemed easier, looking at the rain rather the sweltering days earlier in the week… the observations this week.

  • Lots of us have been growing vegetables during lockdown, myself included… I am now, unfortunately, suffering from peak courgette (zucchini)… they are now in every meal with more growing before they can be eaten, some the size of submarines lurking beneath the foliage… I keep repeating to myself…’this will pass’ and ‘I will miss them when they are gone’!
  • I also took a visit to the hospital and was amazed how the experience has been transformed since the lockdown… no stuffy waiting rooms, little queuing, and car parking spaces… Also thinking about everything the staff must have been through there, they do an amazing job.
  • Workwise a busy week. With the economic+ news there is still ‘the calm before the storm’ feeling… Somehow the summer has allowed us to forget about everything a little and am trying to not think about the mood when it is really over. Another few weeks, to make the most of it.

It’s a rainy Sunday evening here, time for dinner…courgettes!

Have a good week everyone… @chris_w_tweet

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Weekly Roundup 14 August 2020

Economic news took centre stage this week it seemed…

The UK has reportedly plunged into the deepest recession on record shrinking 20%. This is more than our peers in Europe and already impacting jobs, with redundancies up 5 fold from normal.

There is an expectation that this will increase further once the furlough scheme ends… the end of the summer when reality hits, is likely to be somewhat grim. Interestingly, over in the US, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan is expecting the full effects to get delayed until the end of the year, so we may have a little more time.

UK consumers are clearly reigning in their expenditure already. They are now borrowing less and using spare cash saved through the lockdown to pay down debt. This is resulting in a contraction of lending market for now at least.

On the fin-tech front more news of financial pressure, with Revolut losses seeing a further increase (x3). As discussed before, this does seem like a sector under challenge especially given the current environment… all the normal economic rules (and stability) are being changed as they are growing… maybe they are just ahead and their time will arrive (remember the dot.com bubble, crash and then real growth of hugely successful companies like Amazon)… this is one to watch closely.

Lastly, there were also a couple of interesting stories on working from home

Have a good weekend everyone…. @chris_w_tweet

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Week 21: The return of the office

Back in the swing of things this week after a brief break. Caught up with quite a few people together with, of course, a large email inbox. So have been in a reflective mood… the thought for the week… the return of the office

Many of us have really enjoyed working from home. Not commuting has given us extra time in the day and many people are finding themselves more productive.

I for one have enjoyed benefits. I have found it more productive and much easier to catch up with many more people, indeed all over the world. I have even been able to get some exercise in. (Not to mention running the car for 20 weeks of one tank of fuel).

However, after 20 weeks, a lack of direct social interaction is finally starting to wear thin… maybe it is just the realization of being stuck in the same room every day, having tasted a little freedom on holiday… it could be time to sneak another Starbucks!

Have a good week everyone… @chris_w_tweet

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