Headlinemoney/Money Talks questions
Name:
Rob Griffin
My business card says I am:
Freelance journalist
The main areas of the financial services market that I cover are:
Fund management, savings and pensions.
I was prompted into writing about finance by:
After a few years working on City desks I was offered a job covering personal finance and investments by Nils Pratley at Sunday Business - and I loved it.
The biggest influence on my career as a finance hack so far is:
Matt Guarente for patiently answering my endless questions when I first started in PF; and David Prosser for giving me plenty of work when I first took the plunge and became a freelance.
The best piece of advice I have ever been given is:
You won’t make everyone happy with what you write so just be fair and honest.
The best news story/ feature I have ever written about the financial services industry is:
An expose on dodgy mortgage brokers who were lying on application forms to enable their clients to borrow ridiculously high sums from lenders.
The headline I would most like to see in the finance pages is:
Unfair inheritance Tax to be scrapped: Gordon Brown offers to return everyone’s money.
The first big decision I would make if I took over the regulation of financial services in the UK is:
Put a maximum limit on how much interest store and credit cards can charge.
The column/feature in the wider media which I always read is:
Jeremy Clarkson in the Sunday Times. I also read John Nicholson on Football365.com.
I would invest a £500,000 windfall in:
After clearing the mortgage, I would buy a flash Mercedes and go on a round-the-world cruise.
The most memorable freebie I have ever been on while covering the subject of finance is:
A two day trip to Greece with MasterCard a few years ago. As a freelance I don’t get that many offers (hint, hint!) although I was taken to see Hairspray by Birmingham Midshires which was great and also earned me a huge number of brownie points with my wife.
My guiltiest pleasure is:
Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate.
If I was invited to a fancy dress party, I would turn up as a:
Spiderman.
You won’t know this, but I’m very good at:
Putting things off until tomorrow.
