Are you tough enough?

I hadn't heard about Tough Mudder until last weekend, and suddenly, there it was again, staring at me from the pages of City AM.

Check out toughmudder for the latest American craze to hit the UK.

100 creative and digital media businesses offer 300 job opportunities to school leavers

Launched on 20th March, in partnership with Metro newspaper and in association with Skillset, the IPA unveiled its Creative Pioneers Challenge, a nationwide search for the next generation of digital natives and creative entrepreneurs!

There is a dedicated Creative Pioneers Challenge website and we've already had a lot of interest.

Watch this space!

London tops the world's financial centres

The 2012 Global Financial Centres Index by think-tank Z/Yen Group, launched on Monday in the FT, reasserts London's position at the top of the league table.

In rank order, the top 10 are London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Zurich, Chicago, Shanghai, Seoul and Toronto. Phew!

Double digit growth for UK internet economy

City AM yesterday (19th March) reports annual growth of 10.9% in the UK internet economy; to £121bn. Representing over twice the average for G20 countries at 8.35 of GDP.

According to Boston Consulting Group it would hit 12.4% GDP by 2016!

Is it just me?

Or is the quality of creative copy and execution on the mend? A good showing recently, on my viewing list, at least.

China: check it out

Monday, Channel 4, 8pm - 9pm. A new series. China; Triumph and Turmoil

If you are thinking of doing business in China, it's a must-view. The series started last night and the first episode is available on 4oD

Investors should resist the tyranny of quarterly earnings

Hear hear! Thanks, John Kay (FT 29 Feb page 17) for these wise words. Let's hope wisdom prevails, and better reporting systems which relate to the quality of the corporate and marketing strategy ensue. We've been campaigning for this for what seems a long time.

I quote: "The tyranny of quarterly earning has created a dysfunctional cycle of smoothed and exaggerated numbers and relations between companies and analysts based on earnings guidance, an activity almost unconnected to the real business of the company and to assessing its progress... Never mind the quality, feel the length, has been the guiding principle of corporate disclosure for far too long!!

Good news from Stephan Shakespeare!

Phew! YouGov's Household Economic Activity Tracker (HEAT) is on the rise! (City A.M. 29 Feb page 20). 5 points higher than December, and 8 points higher than 1 year ago.

It's not because consumers have more money in their pockets as yet. But there is the glimmer of hope that business activity, and with that, confidence may be returning!

China to the rescue?

If Allister Heath (City A.M. 29th Feb) is right, China needs to get its banking system in order. A new report from Lombard Street Research shows that China's household debt is 29% GDP, net company debt is 76%, gross government debt is 79%. When massive reserves of 43% are factored in, net government debt falls to 36%. and total debt is thus 141%.

On the surface things look okay, but there is an underlying weakness. In the event of a crisis it is already at the limit of what it could absorb. Give it another couple of years and the situation would become unmanageable. Help!