As a lifelong Red I'm encouraged by the solid interest shown in Liverpool FC by the Rhone Group.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett have few friends among the Anfield faithful and it's probably best for all concerned that they leave the stage at the earliest possible opportunity.

However, I've always felt they sometimes received a worse press than they actually deserved. Some of the bile they've had directed at them has been way out of line. Many of the club's current woes can be traced back to the credit crunch and very few people saw that coming ...

You will read in Wednesday's LDP Business how Liverpool John Lennon Airport has broken into the top 10 of the UK's busiest airports for the first time.

You will also see JLA has reversed 18 months of passenger losses with an 8.2% and 6.6% improvement in the final two months of 2009.

What is pretty clear is that JLA has thrived despite getting little help from the Government ...

The oft-quoted statistic about the MIPIM commercial property conference in Cannes is that its delegates quaff more champagne than people at the world-famous film festival a few weeks later.

I don't know whether that is still true but it has left the impression in some peoples' minds that the whole event is one big jolly.

So would it be right for Liverpool, which has attended the event for 10 years, to pull out in 2011, as has been suggested? For me, the answer is a very definite NO ...

The fuss over National Museums Liverpool having to fork out £750,000 to property firm Downing to ensure building work could start on the Museum of Liverpool is predictable.

But I think Downing was completely in the right and should be applauded for giving the city a much-needed lesson in how the world of business works.

During the planning process for the museum it was discovered that the sight line between the Port of Liverpool Building, owned by Downing, and the former dock offices was protected by a covenant dating back to 1963 ...

Gordon Brown's track record when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer has been rightly questioned in the wake of the recession.

As Prime Minister he took the right measures to shore up the economy but his excessive public spending during the good times has now come back to haunt him.

However, there is little evidence to suggest the UK economy would be better in the hands of the Conservatives and shadow chancellor George Osborne's 'people's bank bonus' idea is another blow to the Tories' credibility' ...

So the latest accusation by Labour against the Tories is that they lack spacial awareness.

I'm referring to the report in today's Daily Post claiming that if the Conservatives win power in the spring they will scrap the regional spacial strategy (RSS).

This strategy outlines wide-ranging plans for housing, transport and business investment. Labour claims major projects like the the Second Mersey Crossing and the electrification of the Liverpool to Manchester railway line. Just as worrying is the suggestion that the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) would also be scrapped...

There have been comparisons made in recent times between New Labour in the run up to the 1997 general election and the rejuvenated Conservative Party today. There are certainly parallels.

Back in '97 people the public was totally fed up with John Major's Tory administration and it's "sleaze" and there was widespread enthusiasm for Tony Blair. There are many reasons today why people are fed up with Gordon Brown but the difference this time is that people still seem very unsure about David Cameron.

If the polls are to be believed then Britain could be heading for a hung parliament after the general election in the spring. This possibility is terrifying UK economists...

"Merseytravel remains committed to Merseytram and is working with our city region partners and other stakeholders towards securing the funding needed to make it a reality."

So said a Merseytravel spokesperson (gender unknown) this week in reference to its latest move in the Merseytram charade. Up to 800 householders and businesses along the Line One route have received letters telling them their properties may be subject to compulsory purchase orders (CPOs).

Presumably, they are not the "stakeholders" referred to in the statement above. They are more likely, to use a military euphemism, to be regarded as "collateral damage"...

Trade credit insurance sounds pretty benign and inoffensive but it has become the silent killer of the recession.

Ethel Austin is the latest retailer to fall victim. Now the jobs of thousands of people are in the balance.

Ethel Austin is a pretty secretive company but it has given the impression that, at least at operational level, things have been going okay. So what is trade credit insurance and why is it so important?

We're business-friendly, Liverpool City Council always insists. The owner of Liverpool pubs Thomas Rigby's and the Lady of Mann could be forgiven for thinking 'with friends like these, who needs enemies?'.

The council has told the bars in Dale Street that delivery vehicles can no longer park outside between 8am and 6pm.

Owner of the two outlets, Heron & Brearley, is furious. Area manager Ken Lupton said: "This has resulted in beer supplies being severely affected because our suppliers will not deliver outside of these times."

This is a crazy decision by the council ...