What a pleasant week we had, CML dinner then 3 good days in Malaga, lovely weather, interesting work and good food and drink...what more could one ask for...maybe the end to the crisis in Europe or even a resolution to the economic issues in the UK.

The problem is that neither will happen and 2012 looks like it is certain to continue to get worse... And that’s a fact not my opinion. So what do we do about it, well according to the Government we should alienate ourselves from the rest of Europe and fight on single handedly, however, this has gone down like a lead balloon with the rest of the countries and our boys seem to be surprised...as much as it hurts me to say it, standing on your own in this climate is probably the worst thing we could do...we are an Island unloved by most of our neighbours and first on their economic assassination list, yet we seek to give them every excuse to load the gun.

I am not as you know the most astute when it comes to politics but I do have half a brain when it comes to dealing with financial problems, and the way we are dealing with this is basically flawed. What we should do is cuddle our neighbours for a while and not attempt to start World War III... I realise this may resort in us having to speak with a Gaelic lilt or even drink French wine again but these are the prices you have to pay for harmony in adversity. Mark my words, failure to comply this time round will result in failure to survive...

On a lighter note I have seen and met with a number of new private equity funders who are keen to make some money in 2012 and this at least will provide some with a competitive edge. And just so some well-known individuals don't get too big for their boots the biggest second charge loan written has been beaten not by anyone famous, but by a new entrant who nobody knows...the worst thing is that they don't want to go to the intermediary market as a whole, just a few specialists.

One other thing to note is that from the 1st of Jan we will be funding both bridging and development so hopefully that will create some movement in certain areas, in addition I am back to China in January to sign a funding agreement there and on top of that we have had an approach from some other funders who also appear to be able to provide money into this market, let's hope they are genuine.

On a very serious note I have received some intelligence that a small firm from the Hammersmith area is creating problems with potentially misrepresented cases...please keep your eyes peeled as that is all we know at present and let us know if this is true and who they are... it is difficult enough without having to battle fraud as part of the job.

Have a good week

Terry