Uncle Sam, the money man…

2 september 2015

The windows outside the Lauttasaari flat were black and it was a too wet to go for a walk. Pekka felt that it was time to make a decision about the money on their account. It was now 6 months after th…

Uber or not to Uber…

28 augusti 2015

I oppose redundant monopolies because, like over-regulation, they increase prices, and tend to deliver poor value for money, destroy entrepreneurship, and slow innovation. Monopolies do well in smalle…

Fennovoima…

6 augusti 2015

I was involved in the financing of all of Finland’s existing and coming nuclear plants in my work as a banker over 45 years. Imatran Voima’s 2 plants in Loviisa were planned and built in a very differ…

Silence is golden..?

26 juli 2015

Pekka Vataja wrote an excellent piece in HS this week about Finland blind’s support for Greece. Looking at the financial crisis regarding Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, the main creditor banks wer…

Do to others as you would have them do to you

20 juli 2015

I am back now from the Dolomites, after having seen that Northern Italy is doing very well from tourism. German and Italian Mercedes, and other big cars filled all the parking spaces, and the motorway…

The 3 S’s and their colleagues need to wake up to reality…

14 juli 2015

Sitting here in one Italian Alta Pusteria valley between the towering Dolomite mountains, my wife and I have been following the Greek drama as it unfolds. I am unable to stop my pen from scribbling… A…

When banks collapse

29 juni 2015

Greece is now a live experiment of what happens when an electronic banking system collapses. People cannot access their cash. They cannot make payments. Their credit cards stop working. Shops and gas…