Our cover feature this week lays out in plain terms that if brokers want to survive they must accept that diversification is necessary.
The UK economy is a different creature now compared with 18 years ago, though all this talk of recession can't help but inspire recollections of the early 1990s. John Major was Prime Minister, Nigel Lawson had just resigned as chancellor and Norman Lamont succeeded him.
As I sunned myself in Greece on a much-needed holiday in August 2007, I had no idea how the my BlackBerry signalled massive changes in my life, the mortgage industry, the UK and ultimately the world economy.
As the economic downturn begins to bite we will see more businesses throwing in the towel in the coming months.
Another day, another change in the financial landscape. Borrow and spend has become scrimp clients with money to invest are hard to find and the number of home owners with enough equity to warrant remortgages are dwindling.