General News Thread

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7pyrj0vx7o

 

In other news, Cuba is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, and is pretty much being blackmailed.

[leicsmac]

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

That is one way of maximising shareholder value.  Not even the most common one to be honest, partly because the share market is generally well informed and looking beyond the immediate reporting period to the value a business provides, and partly because poor wages generally don't deliver happy people, and happy people don't deliver quality product. 

That used to be the optimistic maxim.

 

In these days of mega, globe-spanning companies that have a large market share, does it really hold true that often?

[Jon the Hat]

33 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

That used to be the optimistic maxim.

 

In these days of mega, globe-spanning companies that have a large market share, does it really hold true that often?

Most markets have a range of companies in them operating with different models.  My point was the statement that low wages and lower quality are not the only ways to make money, and rarely the way to make it consistently.

[leicsmac]

5 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

Most markets have a range of companies in them operating with different models.  My point was the statement that low wages and lower quality are not the only ways to make money, and rarely the way to make it consistently.

No disagreement there. 

 

That being said, why have consistency when you can make as much as you can for as long as you can, run things into the ground, then buy it up through a shell company and do it all over again elsewhere? That's consistent in of itself. 

 

I would hypothesise that the more noble model you speak of is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to business models today. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

4 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

That being said, why have consistency when you can make as much as you can for as long as you can, run things into the ground, then buy it up through a shell company and do it all over again elsewhere? That's consistent in of itself. 

Pretty much what is happening at Royal Mail.

 

Edit: in fact across the entire delivery industry.

Edited 14 May by Trav Le Bleu

[leicsmac]

3 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Pretty much what is happening at Royal Mail.

 

Edit: in fact across the entire delivery industry.

Sadly, I don't doubt it. 

[filthyfox]

7 hours ago, CornwallFox said:

Rubbish. 

 

Costs are high because shareholder value is legally what CEOs are appointed to maximise. That means maximising profit by keeping wages low, increasing prices, reducing quality. Things we see across the board. 

 

If you get paid minimum wage with a family, it is highly likely the state is paying you benefits to subsidise your wages not being enough to live on, even if you work full time. 

 

Work used to pay enough to live on. It no longer does. Minimum wage is an attempt to at least force some degree of sensibility to wages. Without it wages would be even lower. 

 

Wages is only one aspect of cost. If wages go up 10% that is not the same as costs rising by 10%. 

I'm in Newquay right now...

I used to be able to holiday quite well here.  This year prices are STUPID.

 

Been out for dinner with the Mrs twice and its cost £85 each time- two main meals, 3 alco drinks and a pudding to share.  AND THEN they have the cheek to add a service charge!!!

 

And these are independent places.

Edited 14 May by filthyfox

[Zear0]

3 minutes ago, filthyfox said:

I'm in Newquay right now...

I used to be able to holiday quite well here.  This year prices are STUPID.

 

Been outnforndinner withbthe Mrs twicen and its cost £85 each time- two main meals, 3 alco drinks and a pudding to share.  AND THEN they have the cheek to add a service charge!!!

 

And these are independent places.

What do you expect there? It’s so touristy that house prices and accommodation are through the roof and energy and food prices are off the charts high. Staff need high wages just to afford to live and the business to operate. Meals out are 50% higher than pre-COVID let alone in tourist hot spots.

[CornwallFox]

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

Most markets have a range of companies in them operating with different models.  My point was the statement that low wages and lower quality are not the only ways to make money, and rarely the way to make it consistently.

One of the many reasons capitalism has failed is that markets aren't really markets. Let's take the chocolate industry. There's not much competition coming to steal their thunder that I can see:

 

One company bought every brand you grew up with — then quietly gutted them. Same packaging. Same price. Less of everything that made them good.

 

That company is Mondelez International.

 

🐀 Mondelez owns Cadbury, Toblerone, Milka, Oreo, Ritz, Chips Ahoy, Marabou, Clif Bar — and dozens more.

 

🐀 In 2010, Kraft (now Mondelez) acquired Cadbury for $19,600,000,000 — against the will of British workers, unions and politicians.

 

🐀 They promised to keep the Somerdale factory open. They closed it. Hundreds of British jobs gone. Production moved to Poland.

 

🐀 2015: Cadbury quietly swapped the Dairy Milk chocolate in Creme Eggs for "standard cocoa mix." Their own words: "It's no longer Dairy Milk." Six eggs became five. Same price.

 

🐀 2016: Toblerone widened the gaps between peaks — 400g became 360g, 170g became 150g. Consumers said they felt "cheated." One fan: "Not to be melodramatic but thanks for ruining Christmas, Mondelēz."

 

💰 2023: Toblerone moved production from Switzerland to Slovakia — cheaper labour. The Matterhorn logo, 115 years of Swiss identity, was legally required to be removed from the packaging.

 

🐀 Milka: 100g bars became 90g. Price unchanged. In 2025 Milka was awarded Germany's "Goldener Windbeutel" — the consumer protection prize for shrinkflation.

 

🐀 Oreo: packages shrunk 10–15%. Consumers on PissedConsumer.com (1,321 reviews, avg 2.3/5): "Less filling and taste different." In 2024 Mondelez quietly "adapted the recipe" — called it "meeting changing tastes."

 

🐀 Marabou: Sweden's beloved chocolate since 1916. Swedish consumers: "It no longer tastes the same." Mondelez announced weight reductions in 2025 — customers: "Tänker inte köpa deras produkter framöver." (Won’t buy it again). 

 

💰 Clif Bar: founded on organic ingredients and employee ownership. Mondelez bought it for $2,900,000,000 in 2022. Employees on Glassdoor: "They gutted everything." "Sold out everything good they stood for."

 

💰 CEO Dirk Van de Put: $22,300,000 in 2024. 657 times the median worker's salary. Bonus structure based on "cost savings." Your chocolate got worse. His bonus got bigger.

 

🐀 Mondelez 2024 revenue: $36,400,000,000. Net income: $4,610,000,000.

 

The playbook never changes. Buy a beloved brand. Cut the ingredients. Shrink the package. Keep the price. Deny everything.

 

They didn't ruin your taste buds. They ruined the product.

[Free Falling Foxes]

Has anybody actually been canvassed on their doorstep by a politician?

A day doesn't go by where they don't make a reference to, 'What people on the doorstep are telling us'.

 

[st albans fox]

2 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

One of the many reasons capitalism has failed is that markets aren't really markets. Let's take the chocolate industry. There's not much competition coming to steal their thunder that I can see:

 

One company bought every brand you grew up with — then quietly gutted them. Same packaging. Same price. Less of everything that made them good.

 

That company is Mondelez International.

 

🐀 Mondelez owns Cadbury, Toblerone, Milka, Oreo, Ritz, Chips Ahoy, Marabou, Clif Bar — and dozens more.

 

🐀 In 2010, Kraft (now Mondelez) acquired Cadbury for $19,600,000,000 — against the will of British workers, unions and politicians.

 

🐀 They promised to keep the Somerdale factory open. They closed it. Hundreds of British jobs gone. Production moved to Poland.

 

🐀 2015: Cadbury quietly swapped the Dairy Milk chocolate in Creme Eggs for "standard cocoa mix." Their own words: "It's no longer Dairy Milk." Six eggs became five. Same price.

 

🐀 2016: Toblerone widened the gaps between peaks — 400g became 360g, 170g became 150g. Consumers said they felt "cheated." One fan: "Not to be melodramatic but thanks for ruining Christmas, Mondelēz."

 

💰 2023: Toblerone moved production from Switzerland to Slovakia — cheaper labour. The Matterhorn logo, 115 years of Swiss identity, was legally required to be removed from the packaging.

 

🐀 Milka: 100g bars became 90g. Price unchanged. In 2025 Milka was awarded Germany's "Goldener Windbeutel" — the consumer protection prize for shrinkflation.

 

🐀 Oreo: packages shrunk 10–15%. Consumers on PissedConsumer.com (1,321 reviews, avg 2.3/5): "Less filling and taste different." In 2024 Mondelez quietly "adapted the recipe" — called it "meeting changing tastes."

 

🐀 Marabou: Sweden's beloved chocolate since 1916. Swedish consumers: "It no longer tastes the same." Mondelez announced weight reductions in 2025 — customers: "Tänker inte köpa deras produkter framöver." (Won’t buy it again). 

 

💰 Clif Bar: founded on organic ingredients and employee ownership. Mondelez bought it for $2,900,000,000 in 2022. Employees on Glassdoor: "They gutted everything." "Sold out everything good they stood for."

 

💰 CEO Dirk Van de Put: $22,300,000 in 2024. 657 times the median worker's salary. Bonus structure based on "cost savings." Your chocolate got worse. His bonus got bigger.

 

🐀 Mondelez 2024 revenue: $36,400,000,000. Net income: $4,610,000,000.

 

The playbook never changes. Buy a beloved brand. Cut the ingredients. Shrink the package. Keep the price. Deny everything.

 

They didn't ruin your taste buds. They ruined the product.

45gram Cadbury bar in my corner shop 

last week 99p

this week 89p 

 

I needed a sit down when I saw 

[Zear0]

5 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Has anybody actually been canvassed on their doorstep by a politician?

A day doesn't go by where they don't make a reference to, 'What people on the doorstep are telling us'.

 

I have, but I live opposite my MP so not sure it counts.

[Zear0]

7 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

45gram Cadbury bar in my corner shop 

last week 99p

this week 89p 

 

I needed a sit down when I saw 

[davieG]

7 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Has anybody actually been canvassed on their doorstep by a politician?

A day doesn't go by where they don't make a reference to, 'What people on the doorstep are telling us'.

 

Never in all my voting years. Hundreds of pointless leaflets.

 

Based on doorstep canvassing I should be voting for Jehovah's Witnesses

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

13 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

No. They aren't. 

 

Everyone has prejudices, that's not the same thing. 

 

 

No we don't shut up you silly Welsh idiot

[Jon the Hat]

34 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

One of the many reasons capitalism has failed is that markets aren't really markets. Let's take the chocolate industry. There's not much competition coming to steal their thunder that I can see:

 

One company bought every brand you grew up with — then quietly gutted them. Same packaging. Same price. Less of everything that made them good.

 

That company is Mondelez International.

 

🐀 Mondelez owns Cadbury, Toblerone, Milka, Oreo, Ritz, Chips Ahoy, Marabou, Clif Bar — and dozens more.

 

🐀 In 2010, Kraft (now Mondelez) acquired Cadbury for $19,600,000,000 — against the will of British workers, unions and politicians.

 

🐀 They promised to keep the Somerdale factory open. They closed it. Hundreds of British jobs gone. Production moved to Poland.

 

🐀 2015: Cadbury quietly swapped the Dairy Milk chocolate in Creme Eggs for "standard cocoa mix." Their own words: "It's no longer Dairy Milk." Six eggs became five. Same price.

 

🐀 2016: Toblerone widened the gaps between peaks — 400g became 360g, 170g became 150g. Consumers said they felt "cheated." One fan: "Not to be melodramatic but thanks for ruining Christmas, Mondelēz."

 

💰 2023: Toblerone moved production from Switzerland to Slovakia — cheaper labour. The Matterhorn logo, 115 years of Swiss identity, was legally required to be removed from the packaging.

 

🐀 Milka: 100g bars became 90g. Price unchanged. In 2025 Milka was awarded Germany's "Goldener Windbeutel" — the consumer protection prize for shrinkflation.

 

🐀 Oreo: packages shrunk 10–15%. Consumers on PissedConsumer.com (1,321 reviews, avg 2.3/5): "Less filling and taste different." In 2024 Mondelez quietly "adapted the recipe" — called it "meeting changing tastes."

 

🐀 Marabou: Sweden's beloved chocolate since 1916. Swedish consumers: "It no longer tastes the same." Mondelez announced weight reductions in 2025 — customers: "Tänker inte köpa deras produkter framöver." (Won’t buy it again). 

 

💰 Clif Bar: founded on organic ingredients and employee ownership. Mondelez bought it for $2,900,000,000 in 2022. Employees on Glassdoor: "They gutted everything." "Sold out everything good they stood for."

 

💰 CEO Dirk Van de Put: $22,300,000 in 2024. 657 times the median worker's salary. Bonus structure based on "cost savings." Your chocolate got worse. His bonus got bigger.

 

🐀 Mondelez 2024 revenue: $36,400,000,000. Net income: $4,610,000,000.

 

The playbook never changes. Buy a beloved brand. Cut the ingredients. Shrink the package. Keep the price. Deny everything.

 

They didn't ruin your taste buds. They ruined the product.

I agree, so stop buying it.  There are alternatives, especially outside the major supermarkets.

 

The same happened with Beer, they merged and merged until they produced generic crap.  The market reacted and look at how many craft beers companies there are now!  The big boys repeatedly buy them to try and buy back the market share they lost, and then other ones pop up and the market moves.

 

The market isn't perfect, but it gave you Cadburys in the first place.  If people stop buying the crap, and buy good stuff instead, the market follows.

[Jon the Hat]

35 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Has anybody actually been canvassed on their doorstep by a politician?

A day doesn't go by where they don't make a reference to, 'What people on the doorstep are telling us'.

Yes, but only when I lived in an area where it was worth their time.  They focus very much on swing seats.  More chance if you have a new candidate, as they are not already busy doing the job.

 

[st albans fox]

24 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

The price of cocoa isn’t the same as cpi 

Cocoa increased by 35% from 2003 to 2019

CPI increase 2003-2019 is 43%

 

so it’s even worse than the graph shows 

 

however, since 2019, cocoa has increased far more than cpi so today’s Freddo price of 37p isn’t so terrible 😄

[st albans fox]

Good timing for Ange to be cleared by hmrc 

[Parafox]

55 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Has anybody actually been canvassed on their doorstep by a politician?

A day doesn't go by where they don't make a reference to, 'What people on the doorstep are telling us'.

 

Never.

 

Jehovah's Witnesses, however... 

[Jon the Hat]

17 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

The price of cocoa isn’t the same as cpi 

Cocoa increased by 35% from 2003 to 2019

CPI increase 2003-2019 is 43%

 

so it’s even worse than the graph shows 

 

however, since 2019, cocoa has increased far more than cpi so today’s Freddo price of 37p isn’t so terrible 😄

Freddos are more expensive because kids want one and ask their parents for one.  Branding Win.  They are way more expensive than they should be for the amount of chocolate.

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

I have, but I live opposite my MP so not sure it counts.

So you're to blame for government policy?

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

Never in all my voting years. Hundreds of pointless leaflets.

 

Based on doorstep canvassing I should be voting for Jehovah's Witnesses

[Zear0]

3 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

So you're to blame for government policy?

Nah, gits a Tory.

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Yes, but only when I lived in an area where it was worth their time.  They focus very much on swing seats.  More chance if you have a new candidate, as they are not already busy doing the job.

 

And haven't already failed, as is the ultimate fate of 99% of politicians, maybe even all.