Brain
Food
In the conference and convention market, venues are always looking for an edge over the competition. Given that
the organisers hope that delegates will be sharp and mentally alert, the Bolton Hotel in Wellington New Zealand has
developed a nice synergistic ‘twist’ on the regular offering. Their ‘Brainfood’ menu has been specially
designed to increase mental attention and concentration levels.
This is an excellent example of an organisation coming up with a unique point of difference in a crowded market
place where everyone is perceived to be the same. The key elements here are that the point of difference has a
connection with the core product, and it won’t cost a fortune to do. After all, you have to feed the delegates
something, anyway.
Is this something you could use either directly (linking a menu to an event) or indirectly (creating a low cost
relevant difference to your product or service that will differentiate you from the competition.)
Gold & Silver
Rises
My old friend, Garry White, writing for the Telegraph yesterday, echoes the front page editorial of October’s
Streetwise Report newsletter – gold is rising. Garry says, ‘Investors seeking a safe haven from current market
turmoil could see the gold price rally to "at least" $1,400 an ounce next year according to Capital Economics.’
Too true – more on this in the Streetwise Report out at the end of this week.
Mind you, Garry highlights another potentially good investment; silver! ‘Silver prices are also at their highest
level since 1980, climbing to $21.44 in intraday trade. Bullion traders expect prices to continue to rise. Gold
prices have risen by 18pc this year with silver rising 27pc.’ We can run a fuller article on investing in silver on
request.
ID Theft
Insurance
I’ve just received an offer of identity theft insurance at £70 for the year. For me, these are the ‘new’ PPI – in
essence, commission-driven, largely unnecessary insurance that is riddled with exclusions. Fact is, you probably
have cover in place anyway via a variety of sources. For example, if your bank card is stolen, you’re only going to
pay the first £50 of any fraud.
Which? experts agree and say that simply being vigilant is likely to be more beneficial than paying for ID theft
cover.
Their Rebecca Fearnley says, “Banks, building societies and the companies selling these policies are playing on our
fears and making money from our concern about ID theft and bank fraud. They’re selling us expensive policies we
don’t really need, and which we’re unlikely to ever claim on.” We have an article on ID theft, and how to avoid it,
available on request.
Best Deals
Online
Talking of Which?, they say that, if you are looking
for a savings account, you’d be better off shopping online. Looking at instant access accounts, the average rate in
a bank or building society high street branch was 0.56 per cent; that compares to 1.14 per cent for online
accounts.
Similarly, it’s 2.34 per cent to 2,58 per cent for fixed rate bonds and 1.53 per cent and 1.84 per cent for
ISAs.
The difference is even more noticeable with other offline and online deals – the best travel insurance deal online
is one-quarter of the best price you’d find in the high street. Shop around via these various comparison sites for
the best deals.
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