Your letters
Turning
out for the betterTo the Editor
Let the bells ring out. Raise the flags. Sound the trumpets. Announce a public holiday. Good sense and good taste have prevailed! The introduction of wheelie bins and fortnightly waste collections into The Lee Parish has been postponed. And that’s official. The Chiltern District Council has said so. We have been spared. Halleluja!
In response to a query about plans for waste collection, the Chiltern District Council confirmed that “there was no set date for wheeled bins to be introduced”, but that they were “looking for a scheme to be introduced in 2011, but nothing definite”.
We can now all rest more easily in our beds knowing that our roads and streets will not be cluttered by unsightly, multi-coloured plastic containers and that the rat population will not thrive in our area for at least another three years. I would like to think that the anti-wheelie bin opposition at the Parish Council open evening caused the District Council to defer the scheme, but I imagine that shortage of cash was the real reason.
This heartening news should give encouragement to those who wish to stop the proposed low-level flights.
Things do turn out for the better – sometimes.
Mike Senior
The Lee
Independent financial advice
To the Editor
About 12 months ago I bought some shares in a ‘new-start’ retail business. I realised at the time that this might be a risky investment, but with the housing market wobbly and interest rates falling, I thought it worth the risk. In any case the man who sold them to me was a persuasive sort!
A year on at the first AGM, shareholders were informed that the business had exceeded its sales projections, turned in a profit in the first year, significantly increased the size of its balance sheet and was looking to expand into larger premises.
However, we were also told that no dividends would be paid (indeed it might be 10 years before any returns on the investments could be paid) and that the Board was now looking for a further investment from shareholders to finance the expansion. It also appears that there is no market for the shares to be traded! Naturally, I sent a copy of the accounts and AGM minutes immediately to my financial advisor. This is what he advised:
“As you know, the retail sector is not particularly buoyant at the moment. For a new-start retail business to be trading profitably in its first year is therefore unusual. It suggests the business has found an untapped niche market and has also perhaps secured some other competitive advantage. (I note for example that wages costs appear very low in the area.)Colin Sully
I note also from the minutes that the business managed to increase the size of its nett assets by nearly 30% while the AGM was taking place! If this is true, then it is indeed remarkable.
My advice? This looks like a good long term investment. Hold on to the shares… unless of course you want to sell them to me!”
Swan Bottom