Blogs

It's not a good time to be trying to sell anything even slightly on the heavyside. Yesterday's State of Trade Survey from the Construction Products Association shows that the heavyside is suffering the effects of the credit crunch-triggered housing collapse more than most. Only to be expected, of course, since it's the heavy materials, the…

Hmm. Tax cuts. So the Prime Minister is thinking about bringing in tax cuts so that we can all start spending again and re-energise the high street, the housing market and the economy in general and get us about of the financial mess we're in (in time for the next election, perhaps?).

Wandering round the EcoBuild show a couple of weeks ago, several things struck me. One, obviously, was 'where on earth am I and how can I find that stand I want?', but one other was how mainstream the show seems to have grown.

At last, there's a government-organised scheme which is going to benefit some builders merchants - two schemes actually.

Whoo Hoo! Permit me, if you will, to gloat, just a little over the fact that there will apparently be an announcement in the PreBudget Report later today of a Boiler Scrappage Scheme, similar to the car scrappage scheme.

Wow, this national insurance row is hotting up. Now Jewson's Peter Hindle has waded into it.

Ooh goody. The big banks have made lots and lots of lovely profits.

There was quite a lot of noise on the web last night regarding Mary Portas - she of the orange bobbed hair and power-dressed heels - and self-styled Queen of Shops. It's also been echoed on our sister site DIYWeek.net so I thought I'd take a bit of a look.

Where would this industry be without the grapevine? There's nothing that binds people together - and I mean blokes just as much as girls - like a good old gossip.

Well those of us who thought that last week's Housing Strategy didn't go far enough found out why at about 12.30pm yesterday when that nice George Osborne stood up in the House of Commons and told that there's no money.