Business Diary: October 11

The ratings agency last week revised its view of the sector because it believes the Government is less likely to bail out lenders in future crises.

Yorkshire Building Society’s long-term debt rating was cut by a notch to Baa2 from Baa1, but given a stable outlook.

But Mr Caton, Yorkshire’s corporate development director, believes Moody’s missed the point of a Government-commissioned review of the banking sector, which he said establishes building societies as the benchmark for banks.

He said Moody’s sweeping downgrades remind him of an iconic scene from Only Fools and Horses, when Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad attempt to clean chandeliers in a stately home, only to accidentally send one crashing to the floor.

“They unscrewed the wrong chandelier,” said Mr Caton.

“That’s what Moody’s reminds me of every time they do one of these reviews of the UK banking sector. They just cannot help doing it wrong.”

Don’t panic – just carry on spending

KEEP an eye on the fortunes of Domino’s Pizza if you want to keep up to date with the true economic health of the nation.

That might seem an unlikely recommendation from a director at Savills, the estate agency. But it’s a reliable indicator, according to Mat Oakley, head of commercial property research.

“It’s pretty much the only company which has shown quarter on quarter growth throughout the whole recession,” he said.

“There is an inverse relationship between people’s consumption of pizzas and their confidence about the economy.

“Domino’s went through a flatline in terms of growth in Q1 and Q2 this year, starting to be an indication that people were maybe going out again; they weren’t sitting at home.

“Their latest figures show the tick-up again in sales.”

Mr Oakley, who was speaking at Thursday’s commercial property seminar hosted by law firm Gordons, added: “The biggest problem for the UK economy and the property market is this: people continuing to sit on their sofas in front of their plasma TVs that they probably bought on HP during the boom and eat pizza.

“Because if the UK consumer does not go out shopping we are in big trouble. More than 60 per cent of our economic output comes from the consumer doing stuff so if we all continue to panic and continue to worry we will be stuck.”

Playground game explains universe

LOOKING at the entire investment universe is one of the keys to success, according to hedge fund investor Jonathan Ruffer.

Yorkshireman Mr Ruffer, whose company Ruffer LLP has over £12bn invested, told the Yorkshire Post: “The way to think of the investment world is rather like the childhood game of scissors, paper and stone.

“If you hear somebody say, ‘I’m a companies man, I like investing in equity’, what I hear is ‘I’m a scissors man’. There are times when that’s a great thing to be, and there are times when it’s not a great thing to be.

“But generally speaking you have to be looking at the entire investment universe. It’s rather like if you want to write a play as good as As You Like It and you’re only allowed to use 24 letters of the alphabet, it becomes impossible. Looking at everything is a point of honour really.”

Gingerbread lady with a serious message

ANYBODY who believed accountants were a dull breed, with their noses stuck in ledger books, should have chatted to Hope, the gingerbread lady, last week.

Hope, was in fact, Roger Marsh, the senior partner in the Leeds office at PwC. Mr Marsh decided to become a gingerbread woman as part of the firm’s annual volunteering day.

More than 300 staff in PwC’s Leeds office took time off and went out into the community to encourage locals to improve their skills.

For example, PwC is sponsoring a breakfast club at Hunslet Moor Primary School in Leeds, which will encourage youngsters to understand the importance of education.