Sorry to Disagree

If Vodafone wanted to prove a point with its decision to spend £1bn buying back its own shares, it failed. The value of share buybacks is highly debatable at the best of times and while Vodafone shares are trading at low levels that doesn't necessarily make them cheap. It felt a little churlish for the company to announce the move the day after £11bn had been knocked off its market value after surprising the market with the extent of its poor trading in Spain.

Vodafone is placing a £1bn bet against the market and,...

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Well, Yes....

I wouldn't quite phrase it this way myself:

The soaring price of gasoline has compounded the strains on America's cash-strapped consumers, forcing Americans to drive less, or take up more efficient cars.

I'd say rather that as the price of one good rises in relative terms then people substitute for it with those which are relatively cheaper. It's not so much "strains on cash-strapped consumers" it's simply the rational reaction to those changes in prices. The economy could be going great guns, incomes rising all over the place, and a rise in petrol prices will still produce the same effect.

They're Insane

This:

The Government could fail to hit its targets for housebuilding and regeneration because of "chronic problems" in the planning system.

A report by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee highlights a lack of skilled planners as the root cause of the potential paralysis in the planning system.

The report states: "Perhaps the most surprising, and frustrating, point to arise repeatedly from this inquiry is the fact that labour and skills shortages in planning are so unsurprising. This must change. Without this capacity, our towns, our cities and our economy will be threatened either...

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Daily Brief

There's indecent, and then there's flat out obscene; Janet Jackson's naked breast on network television is one thing, but defiling Churchill the cartoon bulldog? That's just offensive.

According to the U.K.'s Daily Star (not the arbiter of newsworthy reporting, we admit), a "furor" has erupted over a recent TV ad for Churchill Insurance, in which the company's beloved cartoon dog appears to utter the word "f***" at the end of his signature catchphrase, "Ohhh yes!"

See how the tables have turned! The typically soft-on-indecency Brits get bent out of shape about expletives, while their rather more puritanical...

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