woolley

It is sad, and we do shop there.

Totally disingenuous Cameron as per usual to suggest that arrivals were simply turned back to France before Brexit. That never happened. Not that the Rwanda policy will make any difference either. Eventually there will have to be a fortress Europe policy, but they haven't woken up to that yet.

Of course, and the vast majority of the rest rides on the back of those sectors to serve them and their employees with their day to day needs and be funded by them. I've been involved in a number of business startups. None of them were in the finance sector, but we were under no illusions at all that we were independent of it for our survival. The revenue deriving from all of this funds the government too and pays for the public services and benefits it provides. It amuses me when people decry it. There's nothing else, folks. It's like we're flying along in an aeroplane and we decide that the passengers should be treated better so we stop paying for the fuel. Crazy.

There has to be a reason to do business here. It's not the weather, it's not the low energy costs, it's purely financial, and that means low tax. I didn't come here to enjoy the tax haven. I came with barely enough money to start a business because I'd loved the place since I was a kid, but there aren't so many people in that category. There would not be public services to cut without the finance centre to pay for them, and I don't accept that taking a scalpel to the ridiculous government bureaucracy equates to cutting public services in any case. It's cutting waste.

It is. Perhaps not as well as it once did, mainly due to the former VAT formula, but the overwhelming majority of the economic activity on the Island, both public and private sector, is predicated on it. Very easy to dismiss our only source of wealth so blithely, but what services we enjoy exist because of the tax haven. You may find this unsavoury, but it is a fact of life, and before we go ditching it, we need to know what replaces it.

Hello. It's a tax haven. A one trick pony. That's its USP (and it's not even unique).

Should be no need for higher fares. The freight is the golden goose and it all has to get here at some point, so no loss of revenue there. Losing a few sparsely patronised, bad weather sailings mainly during winter, which cost more in fuel than is gained in fares, should be a positive to the bottom line.

A little sensationalist, I would say, considering that our "top rate" is 22%. It's a standard rate really, because we don't have a top rate as it would be understood in onshore jurisdictions. Still a grand a year income tax less than you would pay as a single person in the UK considering our higher free allowance and 10% band, although that advantage will be eaten into by the newly reduced NI across.

WTF is one of those? Are the pair of you advocating transferring the nocturnal activities from the tranquility of Marine Drive down onto the mean city streets to liven things up a bit? Or do you mean convivial?

Not for long if they really are losing money and have no other income stream.

Very true. We've had very busy customer facing businesses in the group over the years that the casual observer would think were absolute goldmines but in fact were losing 5 figures a month.

The penalty yesterday was never a penalty. How was he supposed to get his arm out of the way other than trying to withdraw it, which he did? A similar one was not given against Coventry. The game would have finished in normal time and the controversy over the 4th Coventry "goal" would not have happened. Ridiculously harsh. Not to say United deserved an easy win though. The collapse was disgraceful, though not unusual. Everyone appears to believe that officials, whether on-field or VAR, are biased and/or corrupt against their team. Quite amusing to read some of the venom.

Probably several of them on the way down the staircases. Individual single message signs in large, bold type with revised wording: "Do not start your engine until instructed to do so, or else people will think you're a moron."

Nobody's opinion counts more than mine about anything. What do you mean, man? Elucidate. Perhaps if you give us the information you are hinting at in this post, your pronouncements against Tesco might make slightly more sense than absolutely none whatsoever.

It's what we were told by 2 separate members of staff in the store. I cannot verify it, but it does chime with our experience of things we always get at Lake Road being nowhere in sight. Obviously if it's true, then the 40% of items stocked are going to be mainly the most popular 40%, so any specific basket would only have a few things missing.

It's an extremely competitive marketplace. Costs feed through to prices that you pay.

Gladys kidding herself to think that Tesco have a clue what they're doing? Your contributions to this thread become more ridiculous as time goes on.

It doesn't. According to the staff, they carry only 40% of the grocery lines that are stocked in the Lake Road store. This was borne out by our experience in searching for stuff that wasn't there. On this basis, it would appear that all those around the Island who thought they were going to enjoy the Tesco Superstore experience closer to hand are going to be disappointed.

I was invited to accompany Mrs W on her first expedition to Victoria Rd last weekend. She'd waited until the initial hype had died down. First impressions are that it's very smart, obviously all the fittings are shiny and new. Other than that it was a bit of a disappointment. Yes, there is the clothing section, and quite a lot of kids' stuff that I'm sure they'll move a lot of, but clearly this isn't going to be taking over from Lake Road. Quite a lot of the stuff we normally buy was missing. She queried this with "colleagues" walking the floor: "Do you have x?" "No, we don't stock it." "I normally get it at Lake Road." "Yes, but we only carry 40% of the grocery lines they do." "I thought this was going to be the flagship Tesco on the Island." "So did we, but that's it. The clothing and other non-food lines, but only 40% of the stuff in Lake Road." So I doubt whether she will be making a return visit.

No, Stretford as a matter of fact, but my mother grew up in Old Trafford (despite her being a blue), and my grandfather was from Newton Heath, so I think that'll do.

What he said was patently untrue, and in your latest link all of those trends have been in train since long before Brexit. I think he even mentions 1997 himself. It's easy to search out links to support a position. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/london-regains-sole-top-spot-000100189.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFlYKSgVzmdPZgPf-1ucsav3NVS-DZ_ejDf67BaKsCKjSN9Zw4oViUe0VWJLdLuHJQm96FTeZY0DB6uLf8PnRfnMYBmlaJbOj7H7TWH5zHLdaNw4r2cawOdRhyzWXgV_2H5MfpN-Y2JDIp-V3x26AvD3b5jw3Zg-PXzLhgadkgrS Of course Brexit was about far more than financial centres in any case. Full marks for your indefatigability though, which could never be in doubt.

Not reduced at all. You and I played the ball in every conceivable way, ad nauseam, until we kicked it to death. Nothing more to be said about it that hasn't been already. This was just a spot of housekeeping, and if it's a person's opinion that one is commenting on, then obviously one has to address the person as the subject, and clearly it is relevant in this case that Rose chaired the failed official remain campaign.

Overrated as a businessman. He rode success at times as well as presiding over a good deal of decline. Not an entrepreneur either. He never created anything at his own risk with his own money. Started out as an M&S trainee and schmoozed his way up the greasy pole, saying the right things to the right people at the right times. Jumped ship and headed up various PLCs. Typical stuffed suit beloved of the City and the establishment, while being remunerated accordingly. As he says himself, he's an old moaning remainer. Of course he is! He even chaired the failed "Britain Stronger in Europe" official remain campaign, so naturally he doesn't get it. If he thinks Britain's demise started in 2016, he's well wide of the mark. It started before any of us were born and continued throughout our membership of the EU. He says everything that has happened since 2016 except Covid has a link back to Brexit. Presumably including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting gas and oil shock? He obviously hasn't looked at the disarray in the EU recently. Plenty of demise going on there too.

Not Tesco's fault that our government wastes taxpayers' money on excessive pointless bureaucracy and grandiose schemes, but their tax rate could stand a little more jacking up to something approaching what they pay in the UK. Better still, make the likes of Amazon pay fair taxes in every country they trade in. American tech firms get a ridiculous free ride at the expense of indigenous business.

It's not, considering the scale of capital employed. It's peanuts. There are nearly 10 billion shares in issue. Some of the profit will be reinvested and the latest dividend yield is 3.67%. You can get far higher returns in a deposit account. They also pay their taxes onshore, unlike Amazon and their ilk.