Monday 20 December 2010

Potential collectors item

Earlier this year the Royal Mint put into circulation another edition of the 20 pence coin, but unfortunately they had not realised that there was an error. On one of the sides of the coins there should have been a date displayed, but unfortunately this was left off (see article), the result being that thses coins were now sought after and considerably more value than the tendered value of 20 pence. This got me thinking about the new 500 peso bill in the Phillipines that has been published (see article). Should I put an order in now? Are there any other blunders that have increasded the value of other products?

Police Spoof Site

It is Christmas time and for many there will be a lot of alcohol consumed. Most are able to drink within their limits, enjoy their day / evening and go home with fond memories of their social event. Unfortunately for others,- -  the minority, some people do not know when to stop and the end result being that it is ruined for others. Fights, damage and innocent bystanders being hurt in these incidents are witnessed on a regular and tedious frequency. The Government has bought in anti binge drinking legislation, adverts are shown on tv and now this (see article) which I think is fantastic. A light hearted reminder!!!

Tuesday 14 December 2010

X Factor advertising

The X Factor has been and gone. The winner will be on every radio station and there will be a number of concerts taking part around the country with all the finalists.

Has anyone ever wondered how much money has actually been made out of the X Factor and all its sidelines  and I am not just talking about Mr Cowell.

Printers, Caterers, Transport.........

In the Business Telegraph (see article) it was reported that ITV had sold some of the 30 second advertising slots during the final for more than £250,000 each. ITV was also allowed to show up to 24 30 second adverts an hour during the 2 hour final performance for £200,000 thereby attracting prices of £8000 per second. I just hope the adverts were both memorable and worth it!

Thursday 14 October 2010

The End of the Taxi?

Just looking through the news tonight and came across the latest developments in the "driverless" car. In certain cars now there is a function that reverse parks or parallel parks for the driver by the touch of a button.

In the news there was a story about the trials of cars driving around a city using sensors and computer intelligence. This article highlighting a potential use for this technology instantly gets me thinking that in the future once this becomes standard in newer cars, I may never have to order a taxi again. New Years celebrations can be anywhere in the country, there will be less people staying over in hotels etc...

Another thought, does this mean that you dont need a licence -just buy a car and never "drive" again!

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Intellectual Property

Trade Marks, Copyright and  Patents are a minefield for any business wanting to set up. Patents are difficult to apply for, expensive and have to be unique and undisclosed to the public unless under a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Work produced by anyone and can be proven that it is their own work is fairly easily protected under copyright.Trade Marks need to be applied for. If the name has a TM next to it, then the name or image that is associated with that company is in the process of being applied for. If it has and R next to it, then the company has got the Trade Mark. But did you know that the Trade Mark will only protect the companies image if it is only applied in certain markets. An interesting article relating to the Iphone and their apps. See Article. For more information go to www.ipo.gov.uk

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Press Release

Today was the first press release of hopefully many about Fortune and Venture. The aim is to get worldwide recognition and for people to give the game a go. On the site there are many features that are currently available or in the pipeline. Our aim is for students studying finance in one format or another, whether it be Business Studies or Accountancy being studyied at GCSE, A Level / equivalent of or above to play this game and use the website on a regular basis. Business startups may also find this website useful as it aids people in interpreting cash flow, which is king in any business.

The data collected from each of the games played can be interpreted and placed in income statements, balance sheets, trial balances and used in ratios. This allows for further analysis of the data which can be done through the assignment set in the teachers section.

The website has the potential to grow organically through our ideas and yours.
Along with newspapers see article, we have decided to use Facebook (group Fortune and Venture) and Twitter (FandV2010)

Thursday 23 September 2010

The next European hot spot!


Audi is to invest 900 million Euros in Hungary see article. This can only be fantastic for Hungary, but possibly a kicker for Germany.
Although the finish of the car is most likely to be indifferent than if it was to be manufactured in Germany, the difference to Audi is purely the bottom line.
But should cost be the main factor when relocating or setting up satellite plants? It would be interesting to see how many other businesses follow suit and set up manufacturing plants in Hungary over the next 10 years.
With the EU being borderless in terms of labour force and trade, will there be a further exodus of British manufacturing to foreign climates?

Monday 13 September 2010

Car Insurance and Crash for Cash

Following on from my previous blog about the "Crash for Cash", the knock on effects are plain to see and will be felt by everyone.

Bad apples affect everyone!!!  See article

Not only does this effect me and my friends. The new learner driver will have to pay even more for their insurance which is generally extortionate in the first place. In some cases car insurance can cost more than the actual car!

Have there been any other scams that have had a knock on effect?

Super Mario hits 25 Years


25 Years and Super Mario is going strong.
In the age of technology, I think it is fantastic that Super Mario is still going strong. With sales of over 240 million copies of the game being sold in one format or another is phenomenal see article. A game and character that could easily be outdated has shown that it has stood the test of time. For all those Business Studies students out there studying product lifecycles and extension strategies.
This brand and character are worth looking at in more depth. What their secret? Are there many other products in the market place that have had an extended shelf life?

Monday 30 August 2010

Simple Ideas

After watching Dragons Den and discussing the three sides of this duvet idea with my family about how simple it is, it became apparent that members in my family have also had some really good ideas in the past. But they never followed any of them through.

If only they had known or had the impetus to make their ideas into a business: My Granddad apparently made his own caravan and entered it into a competition, but was denied entry as the competition judges were not convinced that he had not made it, but were instead interested in his folding table for the gas cookers. Which were put into the caravanning news etc. and is now a standard design and general purchase of every camper!

But he did not patent it or have any knowledge of Intellectual Property. My Dad has many ideas which he has seen come to life and be invested in by the dragons. The point I am trying to make is that everyone will come up with at least one idea whether through adversity, frustration, chance or by merely by being observational. People need to know about Intellectual Property and make their ideas work for them. However, not everyone is an entrepreneur and therefore ideas don’t always come to the market – like my Dad!

Thursday 26 August 2010

New Passport

I have just seen this article today.

It makes me think of a number of things in terms of how technology is changing, personal identity and just how much information about us is actually out there.

The fact that banks have set up fraud squads at a huge cost to them which we the consumer will indirectly pay for. The latest scandals in the news are crash for cash and the worst thing is that the innocent party generally has their insurance claime off, hereby increasing their premiums when they come to renew their insurance the following year because they have lost their no claims. 

Fraud is big business and it is a pity that we have to take such drastic issues against these people.

Gone are the days of stamps in your passport which were a badge of pride for the seasoned traveller.I had the fortune of travelling worldwide and I enjoyed collecting the stamps at the border post and looking back at them. We simply now have our passports scanned. However internal flights are good when you have an e ticket and produce some form of picture ID to fly,it speeds up the process,there is less chance of losing tickets etc but it takes away your mementos.

Putting the landmarks in passports and reminding us of our heritage is a nice touch. A lot of what we valued in the past is now forgotten. It would be great to do an experiment where the general public have to label the landmarks on a map and see whether we are aware of our landmarks or not.

Should passports be free or are you happy to pay for them?