For those of us in the western democracies we take reading for granted. We can buy or borrow books from the library and read on virtually any subject. During the Holidays a radio show was on and the interviewee said when a dictator comes into power one of the first things he/she does is control access to information. The type of subjects for books – becomes a sign because the leader does not want the population to think. The less they think, the easier it is to control them. This theme has been going on since the ability to write when religious orders control who read what. A wonderful movie is called In the Name of the Rose staring Sean Connery about the Connery character going to a monastery (which wrote books – at the time books were printed by monks) and the head of the monastery did not like laughter in the bible. When he found it, writers began to lose their lives. The head monk believed that laughter would not elevate the religion so he forbade it. The movie is based on a novel but it has many truths in it.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, when a company is profitable people are generous with their time and access to information. When the company makes less money, all sorts of sayings such as do you loyalty to the company? the information closes as people react by closing ranks. It is a time honour tradition and when things are tight fewer information is given out. The appearances that were formerly found are often still done but looking closely the signs begin to appear. If the company’s shares you own begins to behave in such a manner it is time to sell. Company’s are run by people, following senior management action can lead to knowing when to sell.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions