On BP stock, herd instinct is dictating

BP may, fundamentally, be regarded as good value. The company has vast assets. Outside the Gulf of Mexico it is still busy producing oil, contributing to the company's bottom line.

But - and it's a big but – the PR war is still not won. The Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, cannot even go sailing with his son without causing an incident.

BP has become a day trading stock. Who would have thought it?

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I'm looking at car parks for new ideas

After a flurry of activity at the beginning of the year, my sense is that the property industry has quietened down again.

It could be post-election lethargy, the prospect of a long-awaited summer, the World Cup or, maybe, most of the population is too busy queuing up for iPads to do any business. It's probably that the market can't take its finger off the pause button because the banks still aren't lending in any meaningful way.

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Yes, it's time to cut. But let's not be hasty

Now that general election fever has subsided and David Cameron's new government has taken office, ministers will need to get to grips quickly with their new briefs and shift gear from debating to implementing policy.

In the business context, taking urgent steps to stabilise the market and begin dealing with our enormous budget deficit are obviously essential. Looking ahead, other key economic-related issues will also need to be addressed including our relationship with Europe.

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UK's chink of light

Hopefully, the Greek situation will resolve itself soon as the Greeks need to understand that they are going to have to take their medicine and the Germans will have to accept that their pre-eminent position in Europe means that they have to come to the aid of their much weaker partners.

In the UK, one would hope that we get a more definite result than the polls were indicating. What we need here is clear direction and a robust approach to cost-cutting and bringing down the huge deficit that has built up over the past few years.

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The IT court case of the year

Earlier this year, a long-awaited judgment was handed down on a technology "supercase" – BSkyB v EDS. Seventy witnesses took the stand and the documents filled 400 bundles. The result? A significant victory for BSkyB, with EDS being ordered to pay £270 million in interim payments pending determination of the final sum due. The remaining issues in relation to quantifying the damages payable will be decided at a further hearing later this month.

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Good news: West Bank is booming

With the news emanating from the Middle East being dominated by the failure of the world to deal with Iran's nuclear programme, the continuing financial crisis in Dubai and the recent spat between Israel and the US over construction in Jerusalem, very little attention is being paid to the economic situation in the West Bank.

It may therefore come as a surprise to many to discover that the economic picture in the Palestinian cities and towns under the control of President Mahmood Abbas's government is actually quite positive.

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Expert View: It's been a rollercoaster year

Pundits suggested 2010 would be challenging as it would be difficult to predict where markets might go and investors would be unlikely to see the returns achieved in 2009.

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Expert view: Civil litigation may change soon

Last year marked the ten-year anniversary of the Civil Procedure Rules, the sweeping reforms of the civil justice system spearheaded by Lord Woolf. Although many of these reforms have been judged successful, it is widely agreed they have failed to curb rising legal costs, often blamed for inhibiting access to justice.

In November 2008 senior judge Lord Justice Jackson was appointed to lead a fundamental review of the system of costs in civil litigation. Lord Justice Jackson’s report was published last month. The key recommendations include:

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Expert View: What the noughties taught me

Some pundits taking a look back at the last ten years have called it “a lost decade”.

They describe what they meant: if on the first day of 2000 you invested in some well-known stock indices, by the end of 2009 you had lost money. The FTSE (down 21 per cent), the S&P500 (down 24 per cent), or the Nikkei (down 19 per cent) were poor investments. Weren’t there several good years in that decade?

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Expert view: In property, location is still king

I’ve just spent a fantastic holiday in Tel Aviv — and what a place it is. I have to confess that I’ve hardly been there in years and the change is remarkable. As a food addict, it was heaven. The restaurants are amazing. So are the Israelis.

They are having a bit of a property boom over there, so I had a quick look around to see if there were any opportunities. We’ll see.

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