A week's not just a long time in politics...
5 Aug 08
Starting a new job and wrapping up my old position is taking up all my time
Our half-year results are out and the market reaction was generally positive, which is good news for my share options. It’s at times like these where professional judgement truly becomes apparent, every analyst has their own take on what the numbers mean and how the company should perform in the future. Some of the judgements are amusing, some are scathing, some are similar to my own assessment, and others offer new perspectives which can offer new insights.
The new job is going well and keeping me thoroughly busy. Unfortunately, so is my previous role which still has a few weeks to run before I can finally sign-off and leave it all to the colleagues I’m leaving behind. I’ve spent the week travelling the country to meet with traders, business planners, underwriters and senior business leaders introducing myself and fact finding. Due to severely stretched resource, the business did not receive as much contact with finance personnel as it would have liked. With me moving in as a dedicated resource, the business sees the opportunity to provide much fuller support and drive significant extra value. Of course what this also means is that they are relishing pushing significant numbers of issues, questions and opportunities in my direction. All this while battling with month-end, acting as a conduit between our back office operation and the trading teams.
A week is a long time in football, with Newcastle now being the subject of much takeover speculation. As a finance professional the idea of owning a football club as an investment has always seemed somewhat folly, particularly in England, where even the top clubs appear to be little more than a bottomless pit in which to throw large amounts of cash. Chelsea regularly turn a phenomenal loss (bankrolled by Mr Abramovich’s never-failing cheque book), Manchester United are so heavily geared that they look likely to be carrying Mr Glazer’s transferred debt until long after I retire, and clubs are required to spend enough every summer to make Warren Buffet blush just to placate their devoted fan base. As an ardent football fan, that rational goes flying out of the window every Saturday afternoon as I watch my beloved Newcastle thrashing out another hard-fought result.
Until next timers