With the collapse of MG Rover, the west midlands is in the doldrums. With tens of thousands of jobs likely to go at the company and at its suppliers, the local economy has, at the risk of understating the issue, taken a bit of a hit.

In that context, TS wondered what the plans were for the famed West Midlands stock exchange. This plan has been kicking around for a while, and a development agency currently involved in the attempts to salvage something, anything, from MG Rover, is also behind it – Advantage West Midlands.

So will it be launched this year as planned: 'We're still pressing ahead,' my man on the soon-to-be trading floor says.

TS wishes them the best of luck; once MG Rover has been wound up, there may not be many businesses around there looking to come to market.