Slowing down a lot.....Stationery is one of the first consumables that people imagine they will save fortunes on...if only they realised how slim the margins really are....very price driven market. Having trouble getting clients to pay as well.....with January looming Vat to pay and last years corporation tax to find, its going to be bumpy...not because we cant afford it, its because we cant get people to pay what they owe...its begining to cause a cash flow problem.....
[cite]Posted By: carlingaddick[/cite]extremley busy.. the legal world must be the only industry still on the up!
YEP AMEN TO THAT.
[cite]Posted By: northstandsteve[/cite]gotta say i am now debating on qpr away end of the day at the cheapest it's £50 think i may give it a miss know,im going to have to tighten my belt
Glory boy LOL
In fact did I read somewhere you do embroidery. Might have some work to put your way if so not that you deserve it LOL.
Can you embroider company logos on to clothing for example.
used to have 18 lorries out everyday now down to 12 however everyone at top seems convinced that the focus is why Full service vending next year so heres hoping
coke just purchased Abbey Well water and hopefully that will make a big difference
I think it will be an absolute, unadulterated nightmare next year. I know a lot of people in trades who have work up until Christmas, but nothing beyond that. I'm a reasonably senior IT bod, but our parent company is American and, although in a pretty strong position financially, being yanks they are always looking to make cuts. I'm very good at what I do, but it still doesn't fill me with any happiness to know that there is a strong possibility that I'll be asked to take a pay cut in February when my appraisal is due. I like working where I am very much, but there's no way I'm taking a cut. If it comes to it, I'll walk and contract for a few months.
What really, really worries me is that we are having ridiculous problems getting bills paid by clients - credit control are falling over themselves just trying to get clients that have always paid on time to pay at all at the moment - and thats without the usual cheeky tosspots that delinquent on payments on a regular basis.
I think we'll see about 3.5 million unemployed by the end of next year.
Had a quiet August & September but October improved and Novemeber looks good.But the margins are now very tight.I think we are all going to be working a lot harder for less money in the impending doom and gloom.The larger turnover business disappeared as others have mentioned on here although some of that seems to be returning slowly but you have to be so carefull now because a lot more people are now chasing a smaller piece of the pie and dont seem too concerned at making a loss at the moment and seem intent on chasing turnover? Which in itself is a receipe for disaster! However we have secured a few orders that should at least see us through the next 3-4 months,that is providing we can keep some of the profit and GET PAID!
ps anyone know any good opportunities that are legal in the immigration field at the moment as that seems a growth market?
I work in reinsurance, but its not my expertise. Apparently premiums are at same levels at last year so I am curious as to why insurance brokers would be struggling, people need pretty much same insurance regardless of economic conditions don't they?
I think/hope you are right AFKA, people are hanging on, holding their breath a bit.
I think politicians make it worse however all this too much too late stuff, like huge interest rate cuts - it was high oil and commodity prices pushing up prices not consumer demand, so rates should have been cut much earlier to stave off a deeper recession, and more gradually in my view as inflation would have fallen of its own accord as fuel prices drop. To top that off our currency is under assault now, if you steer a steady ship there is less panic and more confidence, I should have thought that was pretty basic stuff.
To top that now there is scaremongering about deflation, when the main reason for prices dropping is again oil prices falling, not a drop off in demand. If you dig slightly below the surface you see a lot of the prices that are dropping this month, have gone up 15-20% in the last year, just like, yes you guessed it, the oil price...
The media don't make it any better, they hark back to the Japanese property bubble in the 90s and say oh that must mean we'll get deflation like they did, however their economy is/was structured entirely differently to ours, far more manufacturing, far higher growth for longer in that period and a fair great problem of land restrictions, it also preceded the loose lending of the later era, although I forget why the Japanese banks actually collapsed. There is no investigation and no justification of most of the supposed expert views they spout, again its all sensationalised as if they actually want bad news.
The other point made last night was that various fiscal measures all failed to get pull japan out of the doldrums for a long period, but hey I think the Japanese are doing pretty well and were then.
Busiest I've been for a couple of years ... and it was busy before! I do a lot of product management work for banks outsourcing their trade finance business - most of them are looking to cut costs, so outsourcing is becoming very popular.
Had 3 days work this month; Carpets are "luxury" items, so people make do with them for "another year". Had alot of work all over the south-east (so'ton,pompey,Whitstable,etc) a few months back with acouple of housing associations but the (central government) money has dried up.
Must amit need new carpets but like you say going to see how long i can leave it along with plenty of other items.
Mates firm are on the up they predicated £X and were worried they could not meet it but have met that target and for years end couldl beat it by over £2m.
The thing im dreading is the fact i have 7 people working here for me and i have never contemplated making people redundant.However if things don't pick up that is something i will have to consider,trouble is these people have worked here donkey's years.Maybe im just being paranoid and things will pick up I bloody hope so.
The cost of capital for insurance companies has just got more expensive and the idiotic ones got into all sorts of credit swap deals that they didn't understand, so expect a very tough time for global insurance companies during the next 12 months. We have already seen four (AIG, XL, Hartford and Liberty) all dally with bankruptcy. Plus global commercial losses have been $40 billion in 2008, so far. They have to be paid.
As for brokers, they will be under severe pressure to trim operating costs, which means head count, and they will be squeezed by the large commerical clients (retailers, auto companies, real estate companies, service industries, airlines etc, etc) on fees because they too are struggling financially.
Sure people always need insurance, but house prices falling and a downturn in people buying new cars will affect personal insurances and in the commercial space companies may not 1) be able to buy the protection they need or 2) won't be able to afford it.
The insurance cycles go pretty much hand in hand with the global economy.
Just spoken to my cousin & his Surveyor Firm are laying people off in the next few weeks with those that are being retained being paid only three out of four weeks until further notice.
Jeees ketman that is shit, can you imagine phoning your mortgage provider and saying i am only paying my bill for 3 out the 4 weeks until further notice
fecking glad i stuck with my job and didnt take the career change
Comments
:)
Simple - we are American owned
YEP AMEN TO THAT.
Glory boy LOL
In fact did I read somewhere you do embroidery. Might have some work to put your way if so not that you deserve it LOL.
Can you embroider company logos on to clothing for example.
McDonald's is always busy eh big boy LOL
Funny that, I always had you down as a burger flipper Mart! Can't imagine you'd get more than 1 star though
I'm in Immigration....BUSY BUSY BUSY
Addick1965, I have a pal whose at the sharp and *heavy* end of immigration. He's the busiest man I know!
used to have 18 lorries out everyday now down to 12 however everyone at top seems convinced that the focus is why Full service vending next year so heres hoping
coke just purchased Abbey Well water and hopefully that will make a big difference
curious at to why insurance brokers would be struggling?
Simple - we are American owned
MMC by any chance Swisdom?
What really, really worries me is that we are having ridiculous problems getting bills paid by clients - credit control are falling over themselves just trying to get clients that have always paid on time to pay at all at the moment - and thats without the usual cheeky tosspots that delinquent on payments on a regular basis.
I think we'll see about 3.5 million unemployed by the end of next year.
a lot harder for less money in the impending doom and gloom.The larger turnover business disappeared as others have mentioned on here although some of that
seems to be returning slowly but you have to be so carefull now because a lot more people are now chasing a smaller piece of the pie and dont seem too concerned
at making a loss at the moment and seem intent on chasing turnover? Which in itself is a receipe for disaster!
However we have secured a few orders that should at least see us through the next 3-4 months,that is providing we can keep some of the profit and GET PAID!
ps anyone know any good opportunities that are legal in the immigration field at the moment as that seems a growth market?
Yup
I think/hope you are right AFKA, people are hanging on, holding their breath a bit.
I think politicians make it worse however all this too much too late stuff, like huge interest rate cuts - it was high oil and commodity prices pushing up prices not consumer demand, so rates should have been cut much earlier to stave off a deeper recession, and more gradually in my view as inflation would have fallen of its own accord as fuel prices drop. To top that off our currency is under assault now, if you steer a steady ship there is less panic and more confidence, I should have thought that was pretty basic stuff.
To top that now there is scaremongering about deflation, when the main reason for prices dropping is again oil prices falling, not a drop off in demand. If you dig slightly below the surface you see a lot of the prices that are dropping this month, have gone up 15-20% in the last year, just like, yes you guessed it, the oil price...
The media don't make it any better, they hark back to the Japanese property bubble in the 90s and say oh that must mean we'll get deflation like they did, however their economy is/was structured entirely differently to ours, far more manufacturing, far higher growth for longer in that period and a fair great problem of land restrictions, it also preceded the loose lending of the later era, although I forget why the Japanese banks actually collapsed. There is no investigation and no justification of most of the supposed expert views they spout, again its all sensationalised as if they actually want bad news.
The other point made last night was that various fiscal measures all failed to get pull japan out of the doldrums for a long period, but hey I think the Japanese are doing pretty well and were then.
OK rant over.
Carpets are "luxury" items, so people make do with them for "another year".
Had alot of work all over the south-east (so'ton,pompey,Whitstable,etc) a few months back with acouple of housing associations but the (central government) money has dried up.
Mates firm are on the up they predicated £X and were worried they could not meet it but have met that target and for years end couldl beat it by over £2m.
My missus is getting made redundant, and she is on maternity leave, bastards.
As for brokers, they will be under severe pressure to trim operating costs, which means head count, and they will be squeezed by the large commerical clients (retailers, auto companies, real estate companies, service industries, airlines etc, etc) on fees because they too are struggling financially.
Sure people always need insurance, but house prices falling and a downturn in people buying new cars will affect personal insurances and in the commercial space companies may not 1) be able to buy the protection they need or 2) won't be able to afford it.
The insurance cycles go pretty much hand in hand with the global economy.
fecking glad i stuck with my job and didnt take the career change
Thats a lot of people to be put out of work
honest guv
where's your place just incase it's my place or someone I knows place.... ScArY