A GREAT deal has been said about the current economic climate, probably too much. There seems to be an ongoing competition among experts and the press as to who can come up with the most dire forecast. One says things are bad, another says it s worse. Thi

A GREAT deal has been said about the current economic climate, probably too much. There seems to be an ongoing competition among experts and the press as to who can come up with the most dire forecast.

One says things are bad, another says it's worse. This may serve to burnish certain egos but it does nothing for consumer confidence and certainly doesn't do anything for the majority of businesses that have been well run.

In Hertfordshire we are fortunate to have many companies, large and small, that have set the standard in terms of innovation, companies that have been developed using sound business practice, companies that have been run responsibly. While some will need to tread cautiously they remain viable and will continue to be a source of wealth generation and employment.

In any period of challenge those with the ability to demonstrate clear thinking will come to the fore, thrashing around for one solution after the other is not the answer. The problem is within the financial system not, by and large, within the run of the mill businesses that most of us know and understand.

Of course they are affected but it is not a problem of their making. Left to their own devices with sensible levels of financial support they will continue to succeed.

What is needed is a period of reflection, enabling the myriad of initiatives to work. The seemly endless drive to fill column inches or airtime must come to an end. In the same vein the apparent need by some to provide justification has to cease.

We all have a good idea what went wrong and where the blame lies. It will be the innovative non-financial businesses that will get us out of the problems that face us and we are calling on politicians, regulators and the financial press to clear their heads and ensure that an environment is created that will enable them to do so.