A market adjustment or the beginning of the end?
There's a saying that when America sneezes the rest of us catch a cold. When Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve - the Yankee equivalent of the Bank of England - questioned the health of the US economy last week, global stock markets reached for the Lemsip.
The FTSE 100, the UK's leading stock index, crashed by three per cent. Other markets, notably China, headed south, albeit for different reasons. Billions were wiped off the value of shares, etc.
But this domino effect thing is nothing new. How often does the City rally after a Wall Street surge? And what about those investors who pile in to buy shares when prices 'collapse'? Smart cookies, I'd say.
True, it's not quite as straightforward as this, but there've been wobbles before and the market bounces back. The question is whether this one is a likely to be a real one or of the dead cat variety.
I think there is a parallel of sorts to be drawn between the recent stock market hiccup and certain aspects of the UK pub industry. The collapse of Definnitive Leisure for the second time, as it was effectively Wessex Taverns reborn‚ highlights one of two things: either the parlous economic state of the bar market in the North East of England, or the travails of a company that couldn't continue in the sector in its current form due to other factors.
As some of those trading in the same area as Definnitive Leisure have already noted, lightning doesn't strike twice - but it did here. Then again, the region is up to its gills in pubs and bars. New venues are opening all the time, and matching commercial realities with the expectations of the market is not always easy.
While the market is tough, there are some who are thriving, there are those who are surviving and there are some, like Definnitive, who go to the wall.
Unpredictable things happen in business. All one can hope for is that, traditional or otherwise, pub companies remain absolutely on top of what they do. For the sake of all concerned.
