Oh dear

THE world's richest man has spoken, and it's not good news.

When Warren Buffet, left, opens his mouth, people generally listen. It's not just because of his wealth ($62 billion, according to Forbes). He dismissed the dot.com boom as unsustainable, and remains a byword for financial prudence and value investment.

He has repeated earlier fears about a recession, adding, "My feeling from what I see in the economy is this, it will not be short and shallow."

Don't put away those stat-up plans just yet?

NOW would not seem the right time to start a business - or is it?

The one lesson RR believes that anyone who starts up and survives in a recession would take with them is that if you can survive then, you can survive any time (providing you exercise the due care). Do you believe in yourself enough?

Hope for us yet?

JAPAN may be about to break a 30-year-old cycle and not follow the US into recession, it has been claimed.

It appears that the country's economy may be buffered from slowdown by China's increasingly voracious demand for consumer goods. This goes back to an earlier RR argument - the emerging economies (with average growth of between 6% and 9%) will require trading partners.

Only time will tell what that means for the economic balance of power across the globe, and how bad we get it this time round. Tidal waves are moving.

Recession? Yes - no - err, good

ADVERTISING and marketing are often used as key indicators of how the economy is doing. Both make for Marmite topics of debate for business people - you either think they are an essential part of business, or a luxury that detracts from the real job of making and selling.

Regardless of what side of the fence they sit on, most companies will rein in the marketing in times of economic uncertainty. So when Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the world's largest advertising group, reports a slowdown in revenue and says recession will bite proper in 2009, people are going to listen.

But there are still plenty of observers out there, like this columnist on The Scotsman, says we still only have the housing market as proof that there are difficulties, and only the drop-off in mortgage approvals as evidence there.

Meanwhile, The Times has decided to have a bit of fun with one of those 'you know when...' columns, pointing out that there are good times to be had in a recession, too. Judge for yourself.

Archbishop attacks debt culture

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has attacked unsecured lending and punitive interest rates, claiming that they have caused Britain's huge debt levels.

Dr Rowan Williams, left, aimed his remarks at what he called "doorstep lenders" during a debate he tabled in the house of Lords last Friday, April 25.

Tips for businesses

SOME of these may seem a bit obvious, but tips for businesses like this are worth a quick read to make sure your business has them all covered.

More tips

GOD bless America, as they say, for its online thrift promotion community. This feature covers family finances, while this one looks at saving when you're young.