Consumption has plunged in Greece and so too have the profits of several small and mid-sized companies in the country. Many say that the government isn't doing enough to help -- and a new round of austerity could make the situation even worse.
Audrey MacLean says it's important to get girls interested in computing by first grade -- because by fifth grade, it's game over.
A trade group’s report says more small companies plan to shrink their work forces than expand them in the coming months.
U.S. stock-index futures fell and Treasuries rose before a report that will probably show home prices declined. European stocks were little changed as Greek lawmakers prepared to vote on austerity measures, while commodities rebounded from a five-month low.
Ah bonjour mes amis! At times last night it felt like I was
watching an episode of 'Allo 'Allo, but I'm assured it was
definitely The Apprentice. Some of the French accents on
show would even have made Steve McClaren roll his eyes.
This latest episode was basically about export. The candidates
had to select a product and sell it to French retailers. Export has
played a huge part in Bulldog's growth over the past 18 months, so
I was intrigued by how the teams would approach this challenge.
Tom and Susan were project managers this time around and in my review of the first episode I backed both
of them to make it to the final. I've been really impressed with
their contributions throughout the series and I'm keeping my
fingers crossed that they'll be the last ones standing.
However, there were mistakes made on each side this week that
stemmed from bad preparation.
Export is the same as doing business in the UK really. You have
to know your customers, your competitors and your consumers, so
research is key. We launched Bulldog overseas for the first
time in January last year in Sweden and before we got to this
point, my team and I spent months doing research. Months weren't
available to the candidates last night, but there were some really
straightforward pieces of information that would have given either
team a huge advantage.
I actually found myself laughing out loud (LOLing if you like)
at Melody's commitment to research despite talking to only four
people. Here's a thought: it's probably not a good idea to speak to
people at the Metro station about whether they'd buy a car booster
seat. It's a bit like asking an elephant grazing the African bush
if it would like to buy some ice skates. Nope, no to the ice
skates? Are you sure I can't interest you in two pairs? Frankly,
I'm surprised that more wasn't made of this in the Board room.
We found out later in The Apprentice You've Been fired
that Leon had actually worked for La Redoute, the major retailer in
this task, years before. This would have been even funnier than
Melody's "research" if it wasn't such a ridiculous thing to forget.
He should have asked that elephant.
Launching with a big retailer can give a brand huge credibility
when entering a new market. When we launched in Sweden we were very
lucky to do so with two of the leading retailers in the country.
This acted as a real selling point for other partners. In this
instance, Melody and Leon completely let Tom down.
Leon had a terrible task all round. It's fine to let a team
member play to their strengths, and Melody is clearly fantastic at
sales, but he just didn't contribute. His excuse that he couldn't
communicate because he didn't speak French was pretty weak. Jim,
for example, clearly (and I mean clearly) couldn't speak French but
he got by perfectly well on Susan's team.
In the end it was Leon who was fired last night and Lord Sugar
definitely made the right call. Leon was pretty much M.I.A all task
so it was the right time to say au revoir.
Read Simon Duffy's other reviews from this season of The
Apprentice:
APPRENTICE 2011: Entrepreneur Simon Duffy
reviews episode seven
APPRENTICE 2011, Episode six: Simon Duffy
reviews the 'Rubbish' task
Apprentice 2011: Simon Duffy on beauty,
Susan's big mistake and that "boardroom farce"
Find
out more about Bulldog Natural Grooming
Tough times continue for UK retailers with Thorntons set to shut up to 180 stores while Carpetright may close up to 50 outlets.
Travel companies have been ordered to end the use of hidden surcharges for passengers paying by card.
The head of the Bank of England says fears of a "tsunami" of home repossessions are overdone as interest rates will stay low.
Christine Lagarde takes a step closer to becoming the new head of the International Monetary Fund after she is backed by the US.
Sir Mervyn King says that the Bank of England has a contingency plan in case Greece defaults on its debt.