We’ve just received our latest monthly energy bill. £90, more or less. This time last year, around £65. The crunch for many will be October when the central heating goes on and the next price rise comes in. Last winter typically we paid £160 a month. This winter the forecast is £400. That’s going to put a huge strain on budgets and in the words of the Bachman Turner Overdrive, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This is when people will make decisions about holidays, car’s and other big purchases, possibly also whether or not to heat their house, ho to the haidressers as frequently etc…Manufacturers of all products and the services sectors will need to react. One likely outcome is a slowdown in economies which export, China and other far Eastern countries. It’s a little like going back 30 years, perhaps no bad thing.