Phone hacking and the real costs

Up to March 2010, the News of the World newspaper published by News Group Newspapers, owned by News International and running almost 40% of newspapers in the UK, had spent over £2 million settling court cases with victims of phone hacking. Today New International announced the closure of the News of the World paper after 168 years with the potential loss of up to 200 jobs.

The cost to the News of the World pales into insignificance when you consider that over the last few days the parent company Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has seen its share price drop a few percentage points wiping over a billion dollars of it's market cap. 

The closure is more likely connected with the share price drop, advertisers withdrawing their support from other newspapers in the group, increased scrutiny over journalism going forward, and news international's bid to own BSkyB outright, than the real cost measured in the additional suffering phone hacking has caused to individuals, relatives and friends.

Have a listen to the Cash in your Business podcast and see how your business can benefit from the 10 vital signs of life.    

Wimbledon Centre Court Nadal V Murray in the Cash growth Semi Final

Let's look at the financial prize stats to date and see if we can serve up any conclusions on the outcome of the match (Wimbledon 2011) Andy Murray has played 391 Career tennis matches of those he has won 289 and lost 102 and in the process has earned himself $16million USD that works out at an average of $41,000 for each game played. Rafael Nadal has played 625 Career tennis matches of those he has won 517 and lost 108 and in the process has earned himself $42million USD that works out at an average of $67,000 for each game played.

So it looks like it's all over for the Scot until you challenge recent baseline performance with hawk eye. Year to date Murray has played 30 career tennis matches of those he has won 22 and lost 8 and in the process has earned himself $2million USD that works out at an average of $67,000 for each game played.  Year to date Nadal has played 52 career tennis matches of those he has won 45 and lost 7 and in the process has earned himself $4.3 million USD that works out at an average of $83,000 for each game played. So Nadal PLC is expected to win until you look at the prize earnings growth.

The earnings growth for Murray PLC has increased by $26,000 over the average baseline figure of $41,000 as compared to Nadal's increase of $16,000 over his average baseline serve of $67,000.  So there you have it invest in Nadal PLC for a powerful serve and a nice stable return or Murray PLC for a vastly improved baseline serve, a speedy return and a potential future winner. 

Finally, use your head. Nothing in this post is intended to replace common sense, and as you can imagine Cash prize money is only a part of a Players income. But the question remains how do others perceive your companies growth potential? Remember, it's all about Finding Cash in Your Business, handling it well and looking for the golden opportunities it creates.