We begin with general questions, and question number one from Ash Denham. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding reports of potential asset stripping with the Edinburgh-based green investment bank when it has transferred to the private sector. Cabinet Secretary, Keith Brown The Scottish Government has made repeated representations, including yesterday and today as it happens, o'r grŵw gweithio'r broblemoedd sy'n 2015 o gwastioio'n rhoi cyfnod i'r corffodd wickediad cyflosio'r bank, sy'n siŵn eu ff temosig o blomau ym M hèrnebwr ei ddwyg, ac yn hyn o'r cyflosio'r droi. Rhaid i ni gyd yn oed beth ym mwyn o'r grŵw gweithio'r afael eich gwaith i gaelio'r mae'n gyfleidio'r grŵw gweithio'rกou wadows, ond mae'n cyflosio'r pierdig ym my concern is for the 55 jobs that are based in the city. Has the UK Government given any assurance that they will be protected? I share the same concerns as Ash Denham in relation to the jobs and also to the green purpose of the bank. I have received some partial reassurances from the UK Government in the phone conversation that I had yesterday that the strategic importance of the bank itself to Scotland will be fully considered as part of on-going discussions around its privatisation. I spoke to the UK Government's Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry and during that conversation I also pressed for greater transparency around the privatisation process as well as confirmation that the bank will continue to be headquartered in Edinburgh along with the 55 jobs that I mentioned. I should say that it seems passing strange that virtually every newspaper in the country has mentioned who the preferred bidder for the bank is and yet yesterday in that conversation the minister wouldn't confirm even at this stage when everyone else in the world seems to know who the preferred bidder is, who the preferred bidder was. It is my belief, as I am sure that it is for Ash Denham, that headquartering the bank in Scotland is extremely important. There was a campaign to make sure that it happened which succeeded and it is important not only because we have the pool of expertise needed to support that function but also because it is symbolic of Scotland's role as a leader within the green energy sector, which in turn helps to sustain and support the Scottish Government's reputation, not least in relation to the award for circular economy that we have had and previous awards in relation to climate change. It is extremely important to Scotland that we will continue to make representations. Daniel Johnson Thank you, Presiding Officer. Ash Denham is right to highlight the impact or potential impact on jobs, including many of my constituents in Edinburgh Southern. What assurances and indeed what role does the minister think that the Scottish Government can play in terms of engagement with potential purchasers of the green investment bank? Has it had any guarantees from the UK Government to that effect? Daniel Johnson As I say, the assurances have been somewhat partial. That is true in terms of the jobs and in terms of the headquarters function and it is true in terms of the green purpose of the bank, each of which are issues on which we have pressed the UK Government. Do you make a very good point about what discussions we could have with preferred bidders? I think that we are at the stage of a preferred bidder rather than a series of bidders. Of course, we will do what we can and we are doing what we can but it would be much easier if the UK Government could at least confirm who the preferred bidder was. It is very difficult in that circumstance to make sure that we can have those discussions but we are not being passive on this as she would be able to see more on this and more becomes clear over the course of time. Just to assure the member, like Ash Denham and Edinburgh, that the issue of the jobs and we are not just pressing for the jobs that are currently there, the 55 jobs, to be the limit. We are pressing very hard on a number of different forums to make sure that that has increased and there is a possibility that that will happen. Of course, we want to have those as high-quality, headquarter-type jobs and we want to ensure that the green purpose of the bank is maintained. The other issue that I have pressed very hard on is that we are not about to see asset stripping by a private takeover. Those issues are being pressed and if the member wants to discuss that further, I am more than happy to do that. I ask what progress has been made in providing the Crown of States with a social remit as part of the devolution arrangements? Control over the management and resources of the Crown of States in Scotland should rest with the people of Scotland. We are currently undertaking a public consultation just launched on 4 January to help to shape the long-term arrangements for management of Crown of States assets in Scotland. That consultation contains proposals and options on how Crown of States assets in Scotland can be managed differently in future, including the overall aims of the estate and opportunities for further devolution. Richard Lochhead I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer and I am sure that she will agree that the hard-won devolution that allows Parliament to provide a social and economic remit to the Crown of States will help the likes of tenant farmers in Glenlivet, Fockebirds or communities such as Tom and Tell or Port Gordon and my own constituency but of course communities elsewhere in Scotland as well to have much more say over their own future. Will the cabinet secretary ensure that her officials keep these communities up to date as the months go by through the consultation process and beyond? In terms of the surplus that is normally generated by the Crown of States, which previously would have gone to the UK Treasury, are there any prospects of that being retained by the Crown of States to reinvest into those communities? Roseanna Cunningham My officials and myself have met stakeholders including representatives of the rural estates and we are happy to meet any community representatives who wish to speak to us about this so anybody with an interest in the transfer should approach officials in the first place in respect of a meeting. With regard to the surplus for investment, Scotland Act 2016 requires the estate to be managed as an estate inland or as estates inland manage separately which would require primary legislation. So we need to maintain the estate. There is provision for on-going investment during each financial year for that purpose. The consultation outlines intention to continue funding maintenance and investment costs in the longer term and that would include management of liabilities from gross revenue or the capital budget. We are committed to providing councils with the net revenue from marine assets out to 12 nautical miles. We are making provision for the interim body to retain a portion of revenue for investment in the estate and there is discretion for Scottish ministers to vary the proportion retained and we will keep that under review. Claudia Beamish Thank you, Presiding Officer. I was very interested in the answer from the cabinet secretary to Richard Lochhead's question. It is an interest that I have had through the last session of the Parliament in the Racky Committee about the redefinition of remit in relation to both social inclusion and sustainable development and not only the remit but also the mission statement of the Crown Estate. While it is reassuring that cabinet secretary stresses that the consultation has been initiated, could she give further reassurance that it will be widely publicised so that marine harbour groups and coastal communities and, indeed, tenant farmers as highlighted by Richard Lochhead will have the best opportunity of inclusion in taking it forward so that we have a really inclusive Crown Estates for the future? Claudia Beamish Yes, I can reassure Claudia Beamish of that. It is important that all communities with an interest in any aspect of Crown Estate workings have a look at the consultation and consider whether or not they can contribute. There is sometimes a tendency to presume that it is really only local councils and or some of the bigger estates that might have an interest when, in actual fact, relatively small bodies and organisations will be very key to that. We want to hear the widest possible range of views on that. Work is on going to ensure that we get out and about, that we make sure that communities understand that they too can play a role in that. I would ask members in the chamber to ensure that, in those constituencies where there are Crown Estate interests, they in themselves generate as much interest as they possibly can. Annie Wells To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is tackling youth unemployment. Minister Jamie Hepburn In December, I published the second development in the young workforce programme annual report that highlighted the progress that we are making towards the programme's headline target of reducing 2014 levels of youth unemployment by 40 per cent by 2021. The report highlighted developments in growing vocational provision for young people in their senior phase, including growth in a modern apprenticeship programme, a significant expansion of foundation apprenticeships establishing 17 of the 21 plans developing young workforce regional groups and investing in the earlier introduction of cruise advice refocusing activity across our youth employment programmes on young people who need the most support. The Scottish Government's own progress report into its national drive to tackle youth employment revealed recently that the number of jobless youngsters increased over the past year by 2.4 per cent to 42,000. Last month, the Scottish Government missed a great opportunity for young people in the job market after it failed to ring-fence the £221 million in apprenticeship levy funds. How can we ensure that young people are given opportunities in skilled training in this month and this move will not discourage businesses from relocating apprenticeships elsewhere? What Annie Wells fails to mention is that, right now, Scotland continues to outperform the UK on youth unemployment and unemployment and inactivity rates. Indeed, she also failed to mention that Scotland's youth unemployment is at the lowest rate since the series of garringo statistics began and, indeed, is the second lowest youth unemployment rate in the European Union. I am surprised to hear the Conservatives once again raised the issue of their apprenticeship levy. Let's never forget that it was the UK Government that introduced the apprenticeship levy without prior notification or consultation with the Scottish Government. Of course, that £221 million is not new funding for the Scottish Government to be able to spend. It replaces existing funding. Indeed, when you take account of the £73 million cost to the public sector, it reduces the Scottish Government's spending levy by some £30 million, but we are investing significant resource through our draft budget in supporting young people into employment. We have got £81.5 million to increase modern apprenticeships, £11.5 million to expand graduate-level foundation apprenticeships, £9.3 million to support employers to recruit young people who face barriers to employment. A new flexible workforce development fund of £10 million, £3.9 million to support individual learning accounts, and an increase of £16.4 million in workforce plus budget to support delivery of a devolved employability service from April 2017, and other funding to support young people into employment, which is why I am sure that, once they properly assess the budget, Annie Wells and the Conservatives will have to support its passage through Parliament. To ask the Scottish Government when the joint ministerial working group on welfare will next meet and what will be discussed. The next joint ministerial working group on welfare is scheduled to take place on Monday, 20 February. The agenda for that meeting is still to be finalised. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The Scottish Government has announced a welcome consultation on using flexibilities within universal credit to make more frequent payments. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what discussions have been at the joint ministerial working group around split payments and why the Government is not also progressing with a consultation on this issue at the same time, which could prevent a situation where the social security system forces a woman experiencing domestic abuse to be financially dependent on that abusive partner? Let me assure Mr Griffin that we are looking at the issue of split payments very closely indeed. In fact, there is some intensive work and discussion going on between Scottish Government officials and indeed DWP officials. We are also taking the time to look at all the consultation responses—over 500 consultation responses—on the way ahead for social security. Of course, as part of that consultation, this was one of the issues that people would press in home hard to the Scottish Government. We are looking at the issue very closely. We have to find ways to enact political will. We have to find a delivery mechanism and we will be keeping both Parliament and committee fully informed as we proceed. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to regulate growth in short-term letting of residential property. Minister Kevin Stewart. The Scottish Government has no plans to regulate the growth in short-term letting, however we recognise that some concerns exist and welcome the opportunity to engage further with stakeholders on that matter. Our private housing tenancy act will come into force later this year. It will provide security, stability and predictability for tenants through measures that include a new modern tenancy, rent increases only being possible once in 12 months and tenants having three months' notice of changes to enable them to budget accordingly. In addition, councils will have the power to apply to ministers for a cap on rent increases in their area for up to five years and there will be a broadening of access to dispute resolution through the housing property chamber of the first-year tribunal. I thank the minister for his answer. Over the past few weeks, I have been speaking to constituents who live in the old town and grass market in Edinburgh. It is clear that there is a substantial problem with the unregulated growth in short-term holiday letting. We will look at a situation in which the residential population in those areas may substantially disappear within the next decade. One constituent has had very audible sex parties taking place in the flat above them. An elderly couple is now living out the rest of their years lonely in a tenement stair that has lost all of its permanent residents. Others are living with young families in a state of stress and anxiety due to the rent-seeking behaviour of a growing number of property owners. Does the minister agree that the use of residential property requires a tighter regulatory framework and, in particular, does he agree that the planning system and, specifically, use-class orders could play a significant role in ensuring that communities and councils have the tools that they need to regulate the residential character, not only in the city of Edinburgh but in many villages and rural areas across Scotland? I sympathise with some of the stories that Andy Wightman has given us. The planning system itself cannot always readily distinguish between different types of housing tenure, where a householder proposes to change the use of an existing residential flat, the requirement for planning permission will depend on the circumstances of each individual case, and it will be a matter for the planning authority concerned in the first instance. I suggest that Mr Wightman might want to engage in the current planning consultation and urge the residents that he has spoken to to do so also. To ask the Scottish Government whether it is content with the way that it records crime. Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson. Yes. The Scottish Government records crime using the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey and police recorded crime statistics. Both measures tell a similar story of falling crime levels. The production of our police recorded crime statistics is carried out by independent statisticians and overseen by the Scottish Crime Recording Board, which ensures that the data is transparent and trustworthy and produced in line with the code of practice for official statistics. The success of this approach was confirmed just last year when the UK Statistics authority designated our recorded crime data as national statistics, sending their congratulations to the Scottish Government on the leading approach being taken by our statisticians to improve the value of this information and user understanding of it. There is contrast with the position in England and Wales where the UK Statistics authority will not assess their statistics until there is improvements in police recording practice. What we have is a Scottish Government that issues press releases with misleading figures for crimes of violence when the true figure is much higher. The cabinet secretary will know that the Office of National Statistics in England and Wales makes no distinction between the different levels of violence in its figures. Why does the cabinet secretary not agree with Derek Penman of HMICS that, and I quote, its important crime is classified correctly so data published provides the public with an accurate picture of violent crime? The member may not be aware, but the classification of recorded crime and offences in Scotland has been exactly the same since the 1920s. The process that has been used by this administration is the same process that has been used by every administration since the 1920s, something clearly that the member had absolutely no idea on. I can also say that, in regard to HMICS's recommendation looking at some aspects of the statistics, that is a piece of work that has already been taken forward by the Scottish Crime Reporting Board. That work is on-going and will be considered in the coming weeks. Despite the efforts of the member to try to undermine our statistics here in Scotland, there are the only statistics of this nature that have that national classification because of the excellent standards that we apply. Mark Ruskell The cabinet secretary may be aware that the annual wildlife crime report came under scrutiny recently in the Parliament's Environment Committee. It was revealed that a number of bird of prey persecution incidents from two years ago were withheld from the report, despite details being in the public domain from other sources. Will the cabinet secretary undertake to investigate why this data was withheld and what Police Scotland can do to make sure that wildlife crime reporting is transparent, accurate and has the confidence of the public? Mark Ruskell The classification and the way in which issues are recorded within the statistics is taken forward by statisticians. It must comply with the code of practice that is applied to the recording of crime statistics. I have no doubt that, as we move forward with some of the changes that could take place if the Scottish Crime Recording Board believed that there is a need for any alteration to them, that is an issue that they can give consideration to. What I will do is ensure that the member receives a full and detailed response to the very specific nature of the wildlife crime to ensure that he has a detailed response to that matter.


Let's give him a hand. Oh, I thought you were talking to me. I just made all that up. Have pretty creative. What's up? Making calls equals building relationships. Did you drink? Yeah, yes. In my opinion, and this is just my own opinion, the biggest mistake agents make on phone calls is they're like that Serengeti theory I thought about. They're talking about looking for something to eat today and they're looking for that buyer thing and they're looking for that seller today and then they just move on and they're looking for something to eat today, survival. It's the scarcity mentality. And the reality of making calls is to establish a relationship and find some kind of likeness that you have with that person in your phone call. And you're going to hear from some of the experts today. I didn't have a list in case we run out of calls just so you guys can see how you do it when you really don't prepare very well. It'll be fun. But the reality is if you build a relationship and find some kind of something you have in common or commonality with that person then you've got a good chance if you set up a follow-up schedule, some kind of email schedule, something, whatever is preferable by that person going forward so that when they do come to making that decision, guess who they call? It's you, okay? You're going to learn today they don't hurt. Somebody may get cussed off or told what to do or whatever and you're going to see that there's no blood on the floor. They'll have no wounds. They may go home and have the mental anguish later when we don't see them. But really there's nothing that goes really bad when they call. You've got to be like a duck. What happens to a duck when you put water on his back? It rolls right off. I learned that in corporate America. You've got to be a duck.  Because it gets another piece of food to eat. And this is the secret that most people are looking for. They can't figure out why their careers are stalled. They can't figure out why they don't have any business. They can't figure out why they do and they don't. I will tell you that almost every person that has built a great business in real estate has gotten very good on the phone and very good at building relationships and it's become that little time block that we all talk about. So you can shortcut it. You can do what you've been doing forever and you can stay where you're at or whatever. But we did this years ago and it was really helpful to some people because they saw that the calls really were very effective. And I think how many did we get that time scout? About three people who talk at a 20. The best time to call is Saturday morning. I think people answer the phone the most. And I found the evening is the best time to call which hurts a lot of people's schedules too. And a lot of people don't want to make that call five to seven, four to six. But that's when people get home. That's when they're not at work. That's when they have a chance to talk. So it a lot of times makes it difficult. But one other thing that makes calls easy. So this is what I do before I make calls. Just to make sure that I'm in the right mindset. The board didn't do it before. There's one in this water in there. There's water. But the reason I say that is there are people and we did this in the past too, that would do calls in the evening. And they'd actually make it fun. And hopefully some of you will want to do something like that because you're going to see that it's really not going to hurt you when you just get some pizza and maybe you get a few beers and maybe have a little wine if that's what makes you feel better. And we had people, we used to do it as a team and we'd get here and turn it into a fun little evening event. We made calls and we had a lot of success with it. Remember that? I was here, yeah. Okay. Well, I don't know why I asked her. So anyway with that, do you guys want to say anything before we get rolling? Ricky, are you on a time frame until 10 o'clock? Yeah, we're going to close and get 11. Okay. So we're probably going to let Ricky run first. Are you okay with that? Yeah. Okay. You guys want to say anything before we get going? I like what you said about building relationships. I think the point is to introduce ourselves and to get to know them. And then I personally like to send some mail. Well, my mail is out continually, but I think if you establish the call with the mail and remind them even in the call that you may have received some mail from me recently, then they can kind of put your name with that mail. And I think I'm trying to stay on top of their name, like you said, when they do decide to sell. Most people are not going to want to sell when you call. They're not going to be interested in doing business. But the point is to establish your name, stay in front of them, send them the mail and then I've always tried to get the email address. Then we get the point of the call is to introduce yourself and hopefully get the email address. And then send them the mail address. Some people are going to be quick with you. You go to the next one. Don't take it personally. It's so easy to take it personally when people are quick with you or whatever. Just roll it off. I think and I want to do this to make 10 grand, 15 grand. Can I handle someone saying no to me to make 12 grand? Absolutely. Yeah. Or to help somebody. That's one of the points to help people. I'm not taking no to make 12 grand. No, I'm sure I can. I'm willing to do it. So I'm usually either calling for a buyer. I mean, we are trying to establish a relationship. I cut to the chase, sometimes a little quick, about I'm calling because so-and-so has a buyer and I'm calling to see if they would consider if they made an offer. Or things go on the breeze, y'all. Have you guys given any thought to selling like this? Something like that. And most people are going to say no, not now. Or, you know, in six months or nine months. And then the point is to ask them if I can stay in touch with them. Or would you mind if I stay in touch with you until the time comes to sell? And most people are going to say yes to that. So that's about all they're going to say. And you're going to see three different styles today, too. You'll establish your own style of what works for you. Did anybody notice Scott's tone? He's got this really calm demeanor. Very different than mine. Very different than Ricky's approach. But what you're going to find is you've got to be yourself and don't be somebody else on there. Because, again, remember the main thing here is to attract people that are attracted the way you personality and a person like yourself. Most of the issues I get as a broker are people where you've got someone that's from Venus and Mars that can't communicate well together. They don't like each other. They're just getting a deal done. And guess where it goes? Like this. The best thing you can do is build a base of people that like what you do, like how you do it, and like who you are. Because you're going to get a ton of referrals from those people, okay? Ricky made a comment a couple days ago in one of his videos about the number one reason people choose an agent is lackability. It's not skill or not. How many sold, do they like you? You can link everything. I don't have a perfect example of that. We have to have a communion. I mean, if they're analytical and scientific and they want to talk about number, then I try to meet them what they're saying. Basically guys, the bottom line is phone calls are keen and everything else just builds your brand. Like conversations are the key to all closings. Closings happen every single day. In our MLS, there's closings happening every single day. Conversation, every single closing originated from a conversation that's converted into a relationship. Every single one of them. Even if it's a buyer league, you still got to call them. It's all conversations. So if you really want to jumpstart your career, you have to just make a lot of phone calls. And so what I do, what I've thought about over the years was who is the most productive prospects I can talk to? For me, it's owners because they buy and sell. A lot of people think of owners as just sellers, just listings. But they buy and sell. They're the best source of buyers and listings. So they're a two-dimensional prospect. Why not just go after them, right? The other part of it is you cannot call all the owners in the area. It'll never happen ever. The limited amount of the highest quality prospects in the market, why not only concentrate on those to be most efficient, right? I think a lot of people just get caught up in all the other stuff other than making calls. And then they kind of trick yourself into thinking I'm doing good or I'm staying busy and all this stuff. But they're not being as productive as they could be. They're not being as efficient as they could be.  You know, what are they going to say? Are they going to catch me off guard? And really, it's a chicken and egg thing.  So you have to go through that stage of being really scared and just making them. And then once you break through that, they're stages. You're scared to make them. Then you make them, right? Then you say, okay, I'm not scared to make them. Now I need to figure out what I need to say to them. Then once you figure out what to say, then you figure out how to say it. And then the next part is how to read people. You know, reading people on the phone and trying to make them feel comfortable, that's the skill that everybody needs to be working on. It's how do I make everybody that I come in contact with feel comfortable with me? You know, on the phone or in person, etc. Because that's who they're going to choose to be the realer. Is whoever makes them feel the most comfortable? Because they can find a realer anywhere. I mean, there's 25 of us in this room, right? I mean, any me you might even know. But if someone really stands out to them, who makes them feel like they really care about them and really wants to help them long term, short term, that's who they're going to go with. So that there's an unlimited amount of people, owners, in this market, there's an unlimited amount for you. You, you, there's an unlimited amount of people that will only deal with you forever. In the market. All of us. Unlimited. Can't handle them all, ever.  You build your database that way, think about where you're going to be in three or four years, right? If you focus on this long term business and people want to buy and sell, you're not going to talk to anybody and to buy yourself. They've already decided when they're going to buy or sell. They already have. It's our job just to make them feel comfortable so that whenever that was, that decision is to be made, whether it be today or next year or next five years that were the one they come to.  Right? So when you're making your calls, my philosophy is I'm trying to make greater relationship long term and if they happen to be thinking about doing something now great, that's my now business. A lot of people say, how do you get now business? All your stuff is so long term philosophy. But really, you kill it short term and long term with the way I do it. So everything else builds your brand. You have to have that too. So it's the phone calls and then you build your brand with the emails, the Facebook, the postcards, the signs, the billboards and all that stuff. I got some phone numbers for you. And all that's together, right? And you know, the key to what Ricky's saying is that the mistake a lot of people make on the phone is is that they get somebody on the phone and then they start throwing up everything. They try to throw everything they got at them on the phone at once. And what I'm saying is you got a bunch of bullets in your chamber you can use and if you're looking at it from a relationship perspective, you can pull those bullets out and use them as you gain your relationship with them. But most agents just start, I'm the best. I did this, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. And personally on the other end, she's still trying to comprehend everything that you're saying. Again, I personally in mind, I try to get some kind of, I try to find some kind of kind of thread so that they remember who I am. You know, and... Scripts help with the fear. You're just writing down what you're going to say, and then you can talk about how long have you owned it, how you've talked about buying it, and other stuff like that, how did you pick the building. Just have some stuff in front of you that. And Richie's got scripts, and I've got Sarah Boyer thinking about it once. And maybe you guys can help. I was trying to enjoy this morning. She was one of my first calls. She was watching somebody online and got cut off. And she asked me what I say, and I'm sitting on it. But she's looking for a script on how to respond to a for sale by owner when you make the statement that I can guarantee you that I can make you more money selling your house using me as a realtor than you doing it yourself. That's a brazen statement to say to somebody selling their house. And she asked me, how would you back that up? And I said, well I don't make that statement, but I probably would. Go find the stats. I'd Google it, because there are stats on realtor.com and other places that show that people receive more value in the house sells for a certain percent more when it's with a realtor versus them that they did it on their own for sale by owner. Now if you've got that information and that script works really well, then you try to get them to sit down with it. But I don't have that script, because obviously she's looking for it. Do you guys have an answer to that? They're intense on what they're doing. But you see what I'm saying the scripts are important. Because if you're going to use a script like that, you better be able to back it up. Does that make sense? Absolutely. And I'm going to share what you do when you're really not prepared. I did that on purpose. I literally called and when I came in this morning I said to Carla go ahead and get my last leads with phone members from a certain lead source and I'm just basically going to call and I don't even know what they were looking at. Because sometimes you just let me tell you why I'm doing that. If you've got a time block and you don't have time to really prepare every time to do it the time block of the calls when you're new at this is extremely important. You need to be prepared but if you're not, you're going to blow some. People, India can bounce for this. I will let you fail a bunch, learning. Because me doing something for her every time she has an issue is absolutely never going to get her where she needs to be to make decisions on her feet and be a successful agent. I let them, I'll coach them but they're going to go make that call and dig themselves out of the hole that they got in. Me doing it for them has accomplished absolutely nothing. But it does pay off. I try to get her to do this. She's not afraid to call anybody anymore. Which is good. She has nine months of phone training if that's all she did and she will tell you it paid off. She's actually off to a really, really good year. She's had a few fall aparts and she will down on herself right now. But that's real estate. So with that let's make a few calls. Guys, please laugh or be noisy because these people don't know that you're listening. Check this out. How do you get numbers and all that stuff? Real quick. There's a website called Redax. Redax Geo Leads and it booms. Put that address in. It finds all the numbers. So there's no excuses. Click two buttons and boom, you get it. If you call Redax and tell them that I sent you they waived a $200 fee just saying that's how she got it out. It's one of our fees. Also all my phone scripts and videos of me making calls and stuff is on my website. You can go there and get everything for nothing. If you put it in the address repellent to point 2.880 they're going to give you all the home numbers? Yeah, all the numbers for the numbers. So then I take them out of Redax and I put them in Mojo. That's how I do the dial. Redax has a dial too. I don't think it's as great. So I put it in Mojo and it's a dial. So you just hit click and it just starts calling. You just sit there. You just talk to people. You don't do anything. You just type in notes for whatever on your computer and it goes from call to call to call. It'll triple dial. It'll call three at once. So I don't have time to get into that. But that's how you would like. If I need to call a building I just like to take them, put the address in and get the numbers. I make sure I'm not calling people that are listed and then I just put them in Mojo and hit dial. So it takes me like 10 minutes to find the numbers, look up the comps and put them in Mojo and start calling them if I wanted to do that. What's your strategy about voicemail? I use voicemail as a brand new tool. I'm not trying to get them to call me back.   This is the most question I get is about voicemail. I just say, hey it's Ricky Kruth Remakes of Arch Beach. Give me a call and get a chance. My phone number. And really my thing is I just want to hear my name and company then they'll see my postcards or emails or signs and they'll eventually start to get the point, hey this guy's for real. People want to see that you're consistent over time, you know, that you're real because they're getting postcards from 10 real owners. They're getting phone calls from people, you know, that are in and out of the business. You know, they're going to notice the people that are there consistently, you know, through whatever mediums you use to stay in touch with people. So, Scott just gave these numbers. I don't know these people at all. How big is that skill? I don't know what I thought. Two on one. Hey Miss Nevins. This is Ricky Kruth at Remakes of Arch Beach. How are you doing? Yeah, yeah, me too man. What's up? Hey man, it's a gorgeous day on the beach today. Look, I don't want to take too much of your time today but there hasn't been a unit at Pelican Point cell this year and I was just calling to see if there's anything in the world I could do for you. Hey, at Remakes of Arch Beach. I got you. That sounds really good. Hey, do you have an agent that you would work with if you were to buy a cell? Look, I'm sure at some point like to say you're retired, you're going to do all that stuff whenever you guys come to the point where you might want to sell. I'd love the opportunity to work with you. Would it be alright if I stayed in touch with you? Sure. What is your email address? I get it. Listen, I get it. Here's the thing. I'm not going to spam me and all that stuff. That's just how I'll stay in touch with people and I'm not going to do anything crazy. I'm just going to just stay in touch with you that way. That's not cool. Well, look, I'll stay in touch with you on other avenues. You guys give me a shout. When are you guys coming down next? I'm going to put you down for July and I'll give you a call back before then and maybe we can do some lunch when you guys get down here. That sounds good. Alright. You have a good day. It's in the car. It's in your car? Yeah. Hey, Miss Copeland. Hey, this is Ricky Caruth down at Orange Beach. How are you doing? Yeah, hey, I don't want to take up too much of your time today but over there at Pelican Point, no sales this year so far. I didn't know if there was something I could do for you. Yeah, there hasn't been a single sale. There's not zero. Zero sales in the building this year.  Hey, hey, is there an agent that you guys would work with? Got you? Well, I mean, you never know. I mean, something could happen in 5 or 10 years. I got you. I never decided that I'm pretty good. You guys have a good day. Thank you. There's not been a sale in the building. I'm calling to see if you guys have given me thought to sell it. She gets you confused. See, there's different strategies, you know, and the thing is, is like when you go through a call section, you may have something that you're saying and then you don't feel like it's hitting them just right. Switch it up. Like I was calling Turquoise Play so all back and I was saying, I think I was saying like something like, hey, you know, I sold 100 properties last year and I didn't know if you might want to sell. And they were not, I wasn't getting the response I wanted. They just weren't. So I switched it and I was like, because I have a listing there. So I switched it from that to, you know, I didn't hear anybody, you know, might be interested. And then I started getting the responses I wanted and I started creating those relationships and stuff. So don't just stick to your strip and just, you know, always be perfect in it and tweaking it and making it better and taking notes and figuring out, that's how I came up with the script that I have, that I do. It's from trial and error, just figuring out what works and what doesn't work. That's what I was talking about. Ricky's dead set on the relationship. Scott, I'm not throwing you on the bus here. No, no, no. It's true. But you're more aggressive towards the listing and what's happening right now on their scripts and they're both successful. You see what I'm saying? So you got to figure out what works for you. The long-term is the better strategy. I'm not, my interpersonal skills long-term are not as good. This is what I wanted to know about how much you are. Well, I see what you're talking about. She sounded confused. There's no sales in the building. I think she was like, are you saying it's a bad building right now? You know, because if you maybe, I mean, there's an awkwardness saying there's nothing listed in your building right now instead of saying there's nothing sold because I know she's like, what do you mean there's nothing sold? She's wearing the business so we know what you're talking about. And part of it is too you can't base your whole thing on the way one person responds and I'm two calls in. See, if I were going to call the whole building and call all 100 units or whatever, I would get about 10 or 15 calls in and I would figure out what I need to be saying. It's hard to maybe 10 calls to really get to where I actually knew exactly how I needed to approach each person. That part of it is like adapting your script as you go with the reasons that you're doing what you're doing and getting the people's... You want to say things and have such a tone that you get that response of warmness. You want them to come back and kind of feel warm with you back and forth. That's when you start winning. I like, is there anything I can do to help you? How are things going in Pelican Point? We're going to get you in a second. You're going to say three totally different styles. You're going to need three different styles. You're going to find it's making the calls what's important. Dennis, Rikki, Karuth, Remax of Orange Beach. Give me a ring back when you get a chance about Pelican Point. You're reaching me here at 251-752- 1138. Talk to you soon. Real simple. Do you have any better results on your phone or your office? Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter as long as you can move in my opinion. Stand up is important. Your voice is different when your hands and arms and legs are moving. I'm going to call my name. I don't think you'll ever hear your people name.  Hey Miss Waller. This is Rikki Karuth, Dennis Remax of Orange Beach. How are you doing? Oh yeah, me too. It's a gorgeous day down here. I don't want to take up too much of your time today but Pelican Point, there's only one listing there 1403. I was just calling to see if there's anything I could do for you guys. They're all over the place. There was a corner unit that actually broke 500. There was 420, 415, 1403 It's always listed for 460. In the mid-force let's see, you are second or third? You're mid-force depending on what the condition is. You're probably on the higher end. Hey, do you guys have an agent down here that you work with? Well, I'm sure at some point I don't know if I were 10 years down the road you might be something. What if you aren't going to stay in touch with you? What is your email? Cool. When are you guys going to be down in the area next? I'm going to put you down, I might give you a shout and maybe we can do some launch or something and put a face with the name and all that good stuff and hang out for a bit. Yeah, I'll do that and I'll send you some emails and stay in touch and if you guys need something let me know. Alright, thanks for the call. Bye-bye. So is. Your email address. So like, look, I got a role, I got a closing, but I would have went further with that conversation. I ended it kind of quick. I would have kept going and kept getting and talking and getting to know her a little bit and saying, you guys know, I just cut it short but you see what happened there. I got the email address and I didn't ask them if they wanted to buy or sell. It's different. I'm approaching them differently. That's going to stand out to them and then if I were to want to still Scott's client, I could call them. Scott needs to follow up. I'm going to send a weekly email every week on the same day forever like I have since 07 and develop a relationship. That's it.


If you're new to the channel, I am Gold Pony, I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the brand new 2024 Honda Accord, courtesy of Apple Honda of Hanover in Hanover PA, for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. So today we are in this one because this is the second year into the 11th generation Accord. You do also get two years or 24,000 miles of complimentary maintenance as well. So that's gonna save you a little bit of money there too, but ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering feel, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. As you can imagine, there are several different trim levels for the 2024 Accord. First one being the LX starting at $27,895, which by the way is a $600 bump from the 2023 model year. EX, which actually is the one we are in today, starting at $29,910. Sport hybrid for $32,545. That's what I reviewed last year, I think. EXL hybrid for $34190. Sport L hybrid for $34525. And then the touring hybrid for $38,540. So you can imagine with all of these trim levels, there are two different power plants available for the Accord. First one is going to belong to all of the non-hybrid trim levels, of course. That one is powered by a 1.5 liter turbocharged four cylinder, putting out 192 horsepower at 6,000 RPM, 192 pound-feet of torque coming in at 1,700 RPM, power sent to the front wheels through a CVT, zero to 60 time for that one, approximately 7.2 seconds. With MPG numbers coming in at 29, the city 37 on the highway, taking regular unleaded fuel. But so then there is that other engine configuration belonging to the hybrid trim levels. That one is powered by a two liter naturally aspirated four cylinder with two electric motors, putting out 204 horsepower combined, 247 pound-feet of torque, power sent to the front wheels yet again through a continuously variable transmission, yet again. Zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 6.6 seconds. So a little bit quicker there. With MPG numbers, get ready, 51 in the city, 44 on the highway. That's pretty insane, taking regular unleaded fuel yet again. So before we do any kind of fun acceleration test here in the Accord, I do want to mention to you guys the drive modes. I believe the hybrid does give you more drive modes than the non-hybrid configurations. So for us, we got sport, normal and econ, the econ drive mode buttons located directly behind the shifter there, but essentially adjusting things like the shift points, the throttle response and the climate control settings as well. So if I were to put it in that econ driving mode, for example, it's going to dial back to AC on hot days, giving you a little better MPGs. I remember that in my old Civic. It did work actually. It gave you a lot more MPGs, so I did want to mention that. So now that we've got all of that out of the way, let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put this acceleration here to the test. Keep in mind, we got the 1.5 liter turbocharged four cylinder and let's see how quickly we can get our new 2024 Accord here up to speed. All right, in three, two, one, go. It's not bad. There actually wasn't that much turbo lag. Okay, now we're really kicking. When you get a higher up in the RPM, this thing definitely goes, son. But there wasn't much turbo lag actually, and I was kind of expecting it because typically we turbo charge four cylinders. That is what you get. It wasn't that bad in the Accord. I will say that. So absolutely no issues when it comes to the acceleration. Of course, with the hybrid, that is even quicker and there is no turbo lag whatsoever because it's not turbo charged. And you got the electric motors. So that one's going to be a lot quicker off the line. But having said that, this one wasn't bad. So plenty of an acceleration emerging onto the highway, but too long at that acceleration, braking is equally important. And believe it or not, the braking configuration is going to differ between the turbo charged engine and the hybrid configuration. So for example, up front, you will find 11.5 inch ventilated front discs for the turbo that we have today. But then that gets bumped up for the hybrid, bumping it up to 12.3 inch ventilated front disc. In the back, it's going to be the same either way coming in an 11.1 inch solid rear disc. As far as that 60 zero stopping distance goes, that comes in at a respectable 121 feet. That's pretty much what I would expect for this thing. Having said that, the braking feel is fine. It's actually a little bit on the firmer side of things, not anything super firm, but it's 100% not a soft braking feel either. So as far as that braking feel goes, that has been certainly perfectly fine on my short little test drive here today.  As far as ride quality goes, you do tend to feel a little bit more of the road. Typically with the Honda Accord, that is to be expected for whatever reason. So it's more of a driver's car, honestly. If you're looking for a sedan, this is more of a driver's sedan without a doubt. And that's fine, because that's what this vehicle is. It's nothing crazy. It's not a very firm ride or anything like that, but it's not the most pluscious ride compared to some of its competition, I will say that. But the steering feel is absolutely brilliant without a doubt, definitely on the heavier side of things. And that's what really puts the Accord ahead of the competition, because it instantly points you in the direction that you want to go. The handling is absolutely amazing as we are carving through these back roads right here. Just the steering feel is just brilliant. It's such a fun car to drive. And this is a commuter car, so technically it doesn't have to be, but it is an incredible steering feel on this thing. So that is something I really wanna emphasize with the Accord. If you're looking for something a little bit more enjoyable to drive, this is definitely one to check out. Because like I said, it does instantly put you in the direction that you want to go. It's a fun drive, but as far as cabin noise goes, we're going 30 miles per hour right now. There is a little bit of rain noise, but the wind noise is definitely held at bay. So absolutely no issues there. Touching of visibility, I honestly should adjust my rear view mirror, but I can see perfectly fine out the back. So with the shape of the Accord, you really shouldn't have any issues when it comes to visibility. But did wanna mention with the touring trim level only, you get rain sensing windshield wipers to help assist you with forward visibility a little bit. So whenever the Accord detects any kind of mist or rainfall, it's gonna automatically turn on this windshield wipers for you.  So that's gonna project your speed, speed limit and safety features up onto your windshield so you can better focus more of your attention on actually enjoying the drive. So gotta love that as well. But that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2024 Honda Accord. All right, and so here she is you guys, the new 2024 Honda Accord finished in Canyon River Blue. Very cool name for an exterior color on any vehicle, but as always, let's go ahead and start with where the Accord is made. Taking a look at the VIN, first character is the number one, indicating that the Honda Accord is built and assembled here in the US. But let's go ahead and start up front on this one. Black front grille with active grille shutters does come standard on the Accord. Active grille shutters meaning that the grille shutters are gonna open and close, dependent upon the engine cooling that is needed at any given time. To the sides, LED headlights do come standard with LED daytime running lights as well. Do also get the automatic feature, meaning when it starts to get dark on a night, the headlights will turn on automatically for you there. But you also get automatic high beams for every single trim level across the board. So if you have your high beams on at night and it sends a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's gonna automatically dim them back to low beams and when that vehicle is gone, it's gonna automatically bounce it back up to high beams for you there. So that is pretty darn cool. And I do like the low hood line on the Accord. It was redesigned last year, of course. So definitely a very nice look up front. But anyways, there are pretty much rounds out the front end of this one. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the side. And so now since we are around to the side of the Accord, chrome upper window trim does come standard on the Accord. Body colored power adjustable side mirrors coming standard as well. However, there will be gloss black for the sport trim levels heated for the EX trim level and up. You're gonna get LED integrated turn signals then for the EXL and touring. And then the reverse gear tilt down feature for the touring trim level then as well. But then take a look down at the wheel setup. 17 inch alloys coming on the LX, EX and EXL trims. And then 19 inch alloys coming on the sport trim levels of course, but the touring then as well. And they do get two different designs of course, but gloss black side skirts then coming with the sport.  But I do like the side profile of the Accord, but now let's go ahead and make our way to the back. All right, so now since we are around to the back of the Accord, all the way to the top body colored shark fin antenna. Just below that you do have LED tail lights. You gotta love the new design as well. But one of the coolest things about the, in the middle of the tail lights there is the throwback 90s logo.  Typically these days, especially with Acura, Honda's luxury brand, they have massive logos on the front and the back. But with the Honda Accord, it's a tiny little guy. I think it's pretty darn cool. But anyways, there is dual exhaust outlets tucked away underneath there. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always, here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around to the back of the Accord, when it comes to opening that rear trunk, there is a button on the key fob, but there is a button of course on the trunk itself as well. But once opened up, cargo capacity comes in at a very impressive 16.7 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, of course there are some levers back there in the cargo area. There's a 60, 40 split. Me and the rear seats do fold down for quite a bit of extra space then if you needed it. You will have some LED cargo lighting. They didn't go with the halogen bulbs. They went with the LEDs. So I gotta love that. There's actually a couple grocery bag hooks back there as well, which you don't typically see in sedans. That's an SUV feature typically. So I did like seeing that there is a couple grocery bag hooks back there. Then if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor, you will find a spare tire, which is interesting because last year, when I reviewed the hybrid, I remember it was a tire inflator kit and a little bit of in-floor storage. So apparently the turbocharged engine doesn't get that. They get the real spare tire, which I personally prefer honestly, but then make your way up to the rear legroom and comes in at 40.8 inches. That's a good bit for reference. I mean, even six feet tall. This is how much space I have back there. Rear center armrest with cup holders does come standard for all trim levels across the board. You gotta love that. Dual rear USB charging ports coming with the EXL and touring trim levels only. Heated rear seats coming with the touring trim level only. And to my surprise, no rear ventilation coming standard. So would have loved to have seen that, especially in a mid-sized sedan like the Accord. So Honda, I would add that one definitely, but then make your way up to the front seats. Claw seating coming with the LX, EX, and Sport trim levels. Leather seating for the EXL, Sport, L, and Touring. Heated front seats for the EX, EXL, Sport, L, and Touring. Ventilated front seats for the Touring. Power adjustable front seats for the EX trim level and up. And then memory settings are gonna come on the EXL and Touring trim level. So keep in mind, we got the EX trim level with us here today. So do with the power adjustable seats, which are plenty fine. Definitely very adjustable lumbar support as well, but they are a little stiffer than I expected quite honestly. I will say the pilot seats that I just drove, they were incredibly comfortable. So not quite as comfortable as those, but they'll get the job done. Certainly no issues with the seating here, but then taking a look at the steering wheel, it is tilt and telescoping. It is gonna be leather wrapped for the hybrid trim levels. Otherwise it is gonna be wrapped in urethane, like you guys are currently looking at right now. But then make your way up to the startup. Let me start by showing you guys the key. You got your Honda logo on the one side. When you flip it over lock, unlock the button to pop the rear chunk there, but the circular button, that is gonna be a remote start, which by the way comes standard for all trim levels across the board. That is pretty cool, but also coming standard keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do here is simply put my front of the brake and press that engine start button located just to the left of the air vents there. And so once started up, a 10.2 inch digital gauge cluster does come standard across the board. So gotta love that.  There's a speed limit recognition up there. There's a digital speedometer. There's your outside temperature. And of course all this can be controlled by using the steering wheel mounted controls on the left side of the steering wheel there. So that is pretty darn cool. I like that. So then making our way to overall interior quality, there is gonna be a power moonroof coming with the EX trim level end up. I like that as well. Overhead sunglass holder for all trim levels across the board. Automatic climate control for the LX, but then dual zoom climate control for the EX trim level and up. It's a bit driver and passenger because that they're in temperatures there. Aluminum foot pedals coming with the sport trim levels. Of course, auto dimming rear view mirror for the EXL and touring. And then a wireless phone charger for the touring trim level then as well. So overall when it comes to interior quality, it's kind of on the basic side of things.  You got a couple USB charging ports there, but surrounding the shifter and surrounding the cup holders here, you have this matte black finish. So would have loved to have seen Honda finish that in a gloss black to kind of match the shifter here as well as kind of finished in a gloss black. So I think that would have looked a heck of a lot better. Maybe they did it to cut costs. I don't know, but there is a lot of matte black plastic kind of found just surrounding the climate control buttons here as well above the passenger side glove box. But then within the center armrest, there's actually a decent amount of storage in there. I will say that more than I'm used to seeing you got a 12 volt power outlet in there as well. So overall the design to everything is quite nice.  Not a matte gray, but like a nice design to it. Kind of like Hyundai does with most of their vehicles like the Sonata for example. So that's what I would have wanted to see. But anyways, now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen here. Seven inch color touch screen display coming with the LX and EX, 12.3 inch color touch screen display for the hybrid trim levels. Either way you get Bluetooth and audio streaming. You also get Android Auto, Apple CarPlay. You get Hyundai's famous clock set up which I always like to put it on up there. And of course you can check out your radio information up there as well. So when it comes to the sound systems there are three of them. Four speakers and 160 watts are gonna come on the LX trim level. Eight speakers and 180 watts for the EX, EXL and sport trim levels. And then a 12 speaker Bose sound system is going to come on the touring. So having said that, we do have the eight speaker sound system with us here today. So what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and turn on the radio. Let's see what we got playing today. And let's test out the clarity of this one. What can we do? It's okay. It sounds like an eight speaker, 180 watt sound system. It kind of sounds like a six speaker sound system honestly. So it's not the best. Maybe that's because it was FM radio and they didn't have serious XM connected to this thing but it not the best sound system in my personal opinion. But anyways, last thing I want to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen is when you do put the accord in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming stated across the board letting you know who or what is behind you which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so first let me start with the best part. IIHS top safety pick plus which is the very highest designation given by IIHS. So that pretty much has it all right there. Front side, side current airbags do come standard driver and passenger knee airbags as well. In the back you're also going to get rear side impact airbags. A lot of times that's an option even with luxury automakers. So that is pretty cool that that comes standard. In the back also latch, AKA lower acres of tethers for children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, tapers for monitoring system but also coming standard of course, Honda Sensing. So Honda Sensing gives you a ton of advanced safety including forward collision warning, lane departure warning, a collision mitigation braking system, road departure mitigation system, lane keep assist, traffic jam assist, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and a driver attention monitoring system then as well. Then the EX and touring trims are going to add parking sensors and then there is a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert. Optional for the EX trim level end up. So overall, what a custom my final thoughts. Rear legroom is great. Anything over 40 inches for the rear seats is absolutely amazing. Cargo space is great as well. You get great MPGs on the hybrid trim level that we don't have today but I reviewed that one last year. So 50 plus MPGs, that is absolutely insane. Great safety as well. You can't beat an IHS top safety pick plus. It doesn't get any better than that but where the Accord really shines really is the driving dynamics specifically the handling and the steering feel. It's absolutely amazing. It feels like every single car should feel like but doesn't. So the Accord does that absolutely brilliantly. As far as room for improvement goes it really needs rear ventilation. I knew the Sonata gets it. I'm pretty sure the Camry gets it. I don't know why Honda doesn't give the Accord rear ventilation.  So that is one thing I would definitely add. All wheel drive option would be nice as well. Just about every other mid-size sedan offers that. I know the K5 does. I think the Sonata is now going to be offering that. I know the Camry does. I know the Altima does. So I think Honda offering an all wheel drive option for the Accord would be absolutely brilliant especially in PA here cause we do get some snow. And lastly I think multicolor ambient lighting would look pretty darn good in this thing as well. But anyways, that is about it for this one you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you want to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to YouTube. Be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're into new car reviews cause that's what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay Gold.


We expect another 50 basis points. So at the moment it's the Fed being 50, ECB being 50, and the Bank of England also going up by 50. So hopefully no surprises there. What is your take on UK equities and the pound dollar? So we've seen the British pound strengthen pretty materially versus the dollar since the whole mini budget episode back at the end of September, beginning of October. Again, it looks like the pound probably still has a little bit more to run. It is getting up here towards resistance levels around 123. And so if you were to get a break above this 123 region, you could certainly see the pound rally back up towards 126. Again, it looks like it might have just a little bit more to go just because it came off such oversold levels and it's really yet to get to an overbought stance on an RSI basis. And so perhaps there's a little more strengthening left there. If we look at the UK 100, the FTSE 100, you can see that this is pretty much the top of the range. We haven't been able to really materially move beyond this region now going back to the beginning of the year. And in fact, it's kind of odd that you would see so much rate tightening and so much, you know, so much risk of recession in the UK to do to all these high inflation prices and the FTSE is trading just a little bit off its all time highs. And not as all time highs, but the 52 week highs. And so it's kind of ironic to see that. And again, like the other indexes, you can see that it's had a really big sharp move higher off of its lows and it's broken that up trend just a little bit. But there may be some support here for the FTSE around the 7400 region if it should continue to drop. Right, Michael. Last question. Are you optimistic for 2023? I think 2023 is going to be very challenging year. I don't, my view right now has been that we're probably heading to some sort of stagflationary period where we're likely to see sort of this high inflation, low growth environment. I'm not really in the recessionary camp at this point. I'm just more of the view that I think we're going to likely see persistent and high prices. And that's going to probably eat into the consumer and that's probably going to help to slow growth and just keep things sort of questionable for at least the first 6 months of the year.


Spring Cleaning is here and Appalachian Wireless has the deal to get you started. Get a Samsung Galaxy S8 for a penny or a Galaxy S8 Plus for only $89.99 on the region's best network. Better service, bigger savings, that's today's Appalachian Wireless. So your agreement requires you to store for details. Pikeville Medical Center is teaming up with the Pikeville Police Department in order to help raise money for its community outreach program. As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. Typically, when hosting a race, you must first use the proceeds made at the event to pay for the race expenses and then the rest can go to the specific fundraiser. However, PMC's physicians and medical staff have agreed to pay for the entire cost of hosting a race. All proceeds made from the event will then go directly to the police department's community outreach program. We go out at the beach, not only our schools in the city of Lemons, we take care of those well enough. We wanted to reach out and go to all the 13 elementary schools in the county. And we went to their coordinators, asked them to get us a list of things that kids need. It didn't matter what it was, it could be food, it could be clothing, it could be even a ruler. Pikeville Medical Center's Run With The Cops 5K will be held Saturday, June 2nd at Bob Amos Park. Registration will begin at 6.30 that morning and the race will start at 8. Poverty rates is explosive in the Appalachian area. And we know all these rural communities in the humongous need for social services, doesn't matter who's going to sponsor these programs. Either governmental or private operator doesn't matter, but they need the money, they need the budget to be able to feed these kids. And we know some of these kids, they go mainly to school just to eat, unfortunately. So the school system at this point, especially in the rural areas, is struggling to find the sponsorship to be able to pay for the meals. To register online, log on to tristateracer.com slash PMC Run With The Cops. For more information, call the number listed on your screen. In Pikeville, Shelby Porter, EKB News.


It's time for some scuba shams. You kind of broke the internet yesterday It was one phrase under any circumstances was trending within like 12 seconds of you tweeting out yesterday Do you want to you want to take it away on the Dillon Brooks situation? Yeah, so the the Grizzlies had exit interviews on Sunday in Memphis and In in those exit interviews, I'm told the Grizzlies informed Dillon Brooks that they are moving on from him You know under no condition do they view bringing him back his tenure in Memphis is over He turned out an extension early in the season Talks ended after that and clearly there's not gonna be a deal for him in Memphis It was too much as end of the season not only the back and forth of LeBron You have just ten points in that series against against the Lakers on 13 shots 30% from the field 20% from three a couple of missed defensive assignments. We know the the punch that led to the ejection on LeBron You know, he was also suspended a couple times this year for technical So Lord, he this is a guy who spoke at the end of the season about wanting a bigger role And I do think there will be a level of interest among contending teams in Dillon Brooks We'll see what his market is like But he will not be back in Memphis and let's not get it twisted wearing Jorts multiple times didn't help Can I wonder if Chandler can pull that look off, but I did see Chandler Florida probably I did see Chandler's comment on Instagram about Dillon Brooks Chandler. What what what's what say you right now? I Got multiple takes on this honestly, and I didn't think it'd come to me defending Dillon Brooks Real problem with the Grizzlies. First of all saying this in late April early Bay It's not like Memphis is this huge free agent destination So the fact that they're saying that and yes was Dillon Brooks annoying. Yeah, was he obnoxious? He's turned into this person that he wasn't like that when I was with them in Memphis And he actually was a good dude and and he's taken on this this personality that has Caused him his future in Memphis But what my point is he was a critical part to their team all season long and this team was the to see They were pretty consistent all year long. John Morant had his issues Dillon Brooks was a Consistent part of the success of this team. He wasn't very good in the playoffs and he did cause a lot of distractions So I understand they're coming from but let's not act like they're just gonna hit home runs in free agency And they can't possibly use Dillon Brooks next year. And so I have a problem with it with the team Making this public kind of kicking him when he's already down and be and yes itself inflicted Yes, he did himself and Dillon Brooks. I said on Instagram. He played his hand completely wrong here But I don't like the team doing this. I don't like I understand what just don't resign You don't have to make it public. You don't have to let shams find out like you don't have to public You know, I mean, so I get it because he has become this person that not a lot of people like and I'm sure the people in the Organization don't like him but kind of tacky in a bush league move for me to for a franchise to get this out this early before free It's even starts like they're just gonna hit home runs getting someone better than Dillon Brooks I don't see that either one fairness and far be it for me to protect the man here But I don't know that the team released this this felt like it was a sympathy ploy perhaps on the Dillon Brooks side of thing because of the phrase specifically under any circumstances, which is an absurd Wording to put into anything because it's it's like using the word never forever It's we could call you on this one and we might at some point So I want to ask you a have you ever heard of anything like this to say under any circumstances? They get felt very weird and it must have been because of the reaction it got immediately after you posted it Yeah, I've never heard anything like this in that situation, which was kind of crazy It made me stop when I read it. That's aggressive in April But at the same time too, I think what Chandler said it's not like it's a crazy hotbed for free agency right but at the same time That locker room is a little different. Like I think what makes them so special is you know, how to get along together to chemistry and camaraderie I don't think you can throw just anybody into that locker room and they all you know, you know Blend well together. I do think though This is a sign that they're trying to change the locker room in Memphis and they're trying to turn the page on this year They were disappointed not only the John Moran incident with the flashing of the gun But just the off-the-court you saw I mean not for me to say but Zach Kleinman their their GM executive VP Their head coach Taylor Jenkins they came out after the season said we want to get away from the trash talking And I think a level of decorum professionalism in that organization to win But listen, if they're gonna get better this summer, it's not gonna be via free agency It's gonna be they've got a boatload of assets. They've got five first-hand picks that they can trade this summer They've got three draft swaths. They offered a handful of those picks for Kevin Durant last summer They're gonna be in the market for when you talk about top shelf players this summer Memphis is gonna be right at the top of the list in terms of trying to get a player And you can go get a star and Adam with John Morant, Jerry Jackson, Jr. Desmond Bain you you upgrade. I I do think the weird winner of all this is somehow Draymond Green And I want to know what he knew about that Memphis team when he said yo the dynasty is gonna happen He's going there But Look the wording is strong and the wording is so specific I trust Shams was reporting obviously that it had to have happened and had it been said somebody wanted it to be out There and it's you know under no circumstance. That's like yo We're telling you out. Don't don't let the door hit you enjoy. He wasn't the problem Are they saying this to Desmond Bain who did not have a great series? Are they say this to Jaren Jackson who struggled in his own in the series? Are they saying this to the guys who I've heard who weren't there to be available? You know, there's a lot of blame to go around on that team and to make him the scapegoat Yeah, it's it's it's a lot. I don't know You know again, they're gonna have to do some trade market and we'll see it You know, they might want company towns and they might end up with OG and a no be and it's a much different world when you end up Between those two different players But yeah, I mean look you're not gonna pay Dillon Brooks 20 25 million a year let somebody else do it That's not how you build a good team, but to kick them on the way out like this By the way, Dillon Brooks learned a very valuable lesson kids like he was distracting sure so was John Marant But John Marant gets to stay and you figure that out Okay, you know now So you can't you can't play by the same rules as the face of your team because the distraction is the same The smack talk was still there, but Jaws not going anywhere ever That being said Chandler, what where's he going Dillon Brooks? You got to pick a team today. What do you see? I? Like him in Dallas with well Kyra being in Luca Did they're a team that needs toughness and not necessarily another distraction? But I do think Dylan will learn from this and they'll realize that this was more negative than positive Especially in the media and all the things that come with him and at the end of the day Dillon Brooks is a role player and he's a good role player and he can score the ball. He can defend He's tough. He's fearless and a lot of teams lack that I can see you know Denver could use a guy like him Phoenix anybody that has a good offensive team that has stars that needs to be Protected with a wing like this He has value and I see all this stuff that the Shanghai sharks or the Beijing ducks And that's I think just like the fans talk trash because as annoying as he's become He's still a valuable player. He's still a versatile player He was wildly inefficient to the playoffs. I think he was forcing trying to prove points trying to do more than he is But he still has a future in the NBA and he's still gonna be just fine He just needs to mature a little bit and get a little bit more professional got some options there Yeah, no, I definitely agree right now, you know Dillon Brooks after a sixth season He's averaging 14 points on 42 43% shooting, which is pretty good. He's been in tough games He's been on you know winning teams and I think at one thing that you can't take away He's a competitor and I think he and tone down his approach But his natural hurry and what he ticks with is going to compete and he's not going back down from some of the top players And and I think when you put him wet, you know Championship caliber team you need a guy that doesn't really care and not so much Ryan our test ish, but you can stop up and you know, probably form mold in that sense But you know, definitely it'll be you know, the grizzlies gonna have a you know, big loss on your hand You know one of the biggest since Chandler Parsons laughs.  Look, I don't know if I've ever seen him take an open shot He seems to only want to take contested shots out of rhythm likes to make it challenging But there are worse players in this league and and you can do worse with the defender off your bench I actually think Boston would be an interesting place for him Whoa with the way they play and the way they let their guys play freely on offense and the defense It'd be interesting to see if he make it was way out there. I think a fresh culture for both sides I think Memphis and Dillon Brooks I think Dillon Brooks would probably benefit from being in a different culture as would Memphis to turn the page Yeah, and plus he has time now to sort of reinvent himself like Madonna like come back as a completely different person Get a new stylist, yeah No, Jorts ever take a quick break here when we come back shams with the latest scoop on Chris Paul and that groin injury When we come back


What's going on y'all? I'm looking at the news and it says It's actually trending. It's breaking It's coming from all sources liberal and conservative that from the president Donald Trump will be arrested By Tuesday, which is the 21st Fox News reports Trump says illegal leaks indicate he'll be arrested Tuesday Trump says Manhattan District Attorney investigating alleged hushed money payments He made to stormy Daniels is corrupt and politically motivated So looks like people are getting what they want that they're trying to stop him from running For president in 2024 and they're doing everything they can to stop him And it looks like this one is gonna be one of them But let me know what y'all think in light of all things over Hillary's emails. Why they haven't arrested her I think we know why but leave a comment in the description below. I'm trying to see something


What's going on everybody my name is John Boyd's friend and we are going to the home run Derby and we are giving out winners from all your favorite John Boydians. Kelsey Winger who do you have winning the home run Derby?  People don't forget. I'm probably going Peter Lanzo as well I'm not gonna lie not because of Kelsey but that just happened to be a really bad thing. That's a great pick. No there's too many people. Peter Moylan former Dodgers pitcher returning home. Number 41 2013 season turned around when me and Pui hit the town in about April when 42 and 5th oh sorry I'll go Ronald O'Kuny Jr. Jack Doyle from We Got Mice. Peter Lanzo. Jolly Olive she says you. I feel like I have to pick Pete but everyone's picking Pete but I'm gonna pick Pete so I'm going Pete. David Mendelssohn from your girl's bedroom and it's Pete till it's not but like you're calling J-Rod show for a reason. He's gonna do something. Ladies and gentlemen the king of the world Joe's McFly. Juan Soto. Jerry Blevins 24 year major league reliever who are you taking in the homer and derby. I go with my man Pete Alonso three Pete Alonso. Oh I get it. I'm going Julio. I think he wins. Mike homer and derby. Ladies and gentlemen Chris Rose. Welcome back to Dodger Stadium Corey Seger. Seger will win. That's a crazy man. Jimmy what's your homer and derby pick. Peter Alonso. What's that phrase you've been saying. Pete Pete you won't. And ladies and gentlemen the other half of We Got Mice. Oh Zach Lorenzo Charlie D'Amelio's. Dodger's legend Albert Pujols. Did you really just pick Albert Pujols? Yeah. Did you really pick Corey Seger? I'm with them we're going big Albert and you guys need to go to Shady Rays code JohnboyAS. $20 off any of these bad boys you've seen around the van. Go check out the website ShadyRays.com JohnboyAS. No not two S's made that mistake. JohnboyAS. Thanks Shady Rays. We're gonna catch every homerun ball. From room B and B. I carry shade wherever I go. Right. We're not live but we're right down to stadium. Trevor Pujols. That's the one run. Having fun with Trev. Oh yeah. Oh my god. Everyone's loving this beer. Whoa. Okay. As long as one Pete wins that's all that really matters. I think Pete Alonso would feel the same way. I don't even get him on. He can't catch him. It didn't catch him. Are you happy that one Soto won? Very happy. Yeah. Listen not only did one Soto win Dominican Republic won and baseball won because a lot of their young talent was on display so far today. I love it. Get a Mio. You already know what time it is. Let's go. What J-Rod. We got like over here. They want they want to try to make you leave.