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Trade unions: how are they faring during the recession?
DEPENDING on your point of view, trade unions either bring power to the people on the shopfloor, or hinder a company from reacting to changing conditions.
As a business journalist I've seen things from both perspectives. Probably the first time I saw a trade union in action was a month after I joined the business desk at The Sentinel when tyre maker Michelin decided to make 950 job cuts amid cut-throat competition from manufacturers in China and other parts of the Far East.
Wedgwood's 250th birthday and Wayne Nutbeen
For a company that was on the verge of being squeezed out of existence at the start of the year, Wedgwood marked its 250th anniversary with suitable style yesterday. But in the great tradition of the pottery manufacturer, certainly in recent years, there may be a lot going on beneath the veneer of the message of a new beginning as it moves forward into a new future.
Just watch this video from The Sentinel:
Blur bassist Alex plugs pottery industry
Bone china plates make your food taste better. So says foodie and one-time Blur bassist Alex James in his latest column in Observer Food Monthly today.
Wedgwood: Another quiet before the storm
It's coming up to a month since KPS formally bought Wedgwood, and slowly edging towards the 40 days in which the new owners of the luxury firm would reveal their plans for the company.
Google maps: Wedgwood creditors
I've finally managed to get my Google Map of the creditors of Wedgwood working, after a bit of work to get the feed right.
Admittedly, it's four weeks later than I had hoped, but today has been the first chance I've had in a while to have a play with Yahoo Pipes.
To be honest, I'd already done the hard part in ripping the list of creditors out of a PDF document and then plonking them into a Google spreadsheet.
The Sentinel Business Awards 2008 - business as usual? Not quite
It's amazing, if completely unsurprising, how the state of the economy can impact on a celebration. Take for example The Sentinel Business Awards.
I've been to finale of The Sentinel Business Awards for eight years now, and reckon last night's bash was among the most sober events I've ever seen.
But given the fact that the country is in the grips of a recession which apparently has plunged the world into its lowest economic position for 60 years, I suspect that most firms would not want to go overboard.
Wedgwood creditors line up - but the pot could well be empty
Wedgwood creditors were lining up to stake their claims at a meeting today as the wider fallout from the collapse of the pottery giant has become apparent.
The Sentinel reported that 60 people - including individuals and those representing companies - went to the Britannia Stadium at the event hosted by administrators Deloitte.
Mining gold for World of Warcraft
Occasionally in the job I've got, there will be stories that I read about now which remind me of things I wrote about years ago.
Most of the time it's business stories, and companies such as Wedgwood, Spode or the Caudwell Group.
But today I picked up on a story in The Guardian which demonstrated the business opportunities that now exist for people willing to exploit the virtual worlds of MMORPGs (massively, multiplayer online role playing games) such as World of Warcraft.
Waterford Wedgwood bought - so now what?
So after weeks of negotiation KPS partners has gone and bought Waterford Wedgwood out of administration.
Reuters confirmed that the long-time front bidder had agreed a deal to buy the assets of the company - although for an undisclosed price.
It is good news for the brands, although a mixed blessing for the workers still at Barlaston.
Do all BT engineers all have asbestos-lined throats?
Do all BT engineers all have asbestos-lined throats?
In the past two weeks I've had to call out BT twice, first to install the phone line at my new house, the second to repair a fault.
On each occasion, the engineer has politely accepted a cup of coffee which they've quickly gulped down before climbing up a phone pole. I'm talking within two minutes of the water coming boiled out of the kettle.
Indeed, I can imagine every apprentice engineer may well have to pass a test in drinking down hot drinks on top of the skills in installing and fixing phone lines.
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