Martin Steer JP and Christine Walters respond to Rory Stewart’s suggestion that jail terms of less than six months could be scrappedPetty offenders are only jailed way into a long pattern of offending and failure to respond to non-custodial sentences. Prison is employed by magistrates usually as a last resort as the bench knows full well that rehabilitation in these days of austerity is unlikely – it is unlikely even for longer sentences.When the courts have tried all non-custodial punishments escalating from discharges, through fines, to low-level community penalties, medium community penalties, then high-level community penalties, and the drug user/habitual yob on a hair trigger/recidivist hasn’t responded, what does Rory Stewart suggest they do next (Jail terms of six months or less could be scrapped, prisons minister suggests, theguardian.com, 12 January)? Continue reading...

Schools are in urgent need of greater understanding and alternative strategies, writes Dr Simon Gibbs. Funding is a factor, says Paul MoranLast year I gave a paper based on my book Immoral Education: The Assault on Teachers’ Identities, Autonomy and Efficacy to academics in the Netherlands. When I told them that part of my argument was the rate at which young people were being excluded from schools and gave them the figures, the response was that “if that were happening here there would be national outrage”. The UK figures are now even worse (School exclusion rates in London double the national average, 12 January). The most recent figures from the DfE reveal that 7,720 young people were permanently excluded from schools in 2016-17. Of these, more than half were in year 9 or above. Children eligible for free school meals were more than four times more likely to be excluded than those not eligible, children with special educational needs more than six times more likely than those not, and there were disproportionate numbers from certain ethnic heritages among those excluded. Although schools are the agents of this phenomenon, the reasons for this scandal lie deeper in the nature of education and the pressures on schools to perform, and are in urgent need of greater understanding and alternative strategies.

Stock markets are down again as weak eurozone factory output and Chinese trade woes worry investors

Financial markets around the world sell off sharply after drop in Chinese exportsFears are growing over the state of the global economy after China recorded a shock fall in exports, while European factory output declined by the biggest margin in almost three years.In a sign that the worldwide slowdown is gathering pace, official figures showed Chinese exports were down 4.4% in December – the largest fall since 2016 – on the back of faltering demand in most of its key markets. Imports fell 7.6% to reflect waning domestic demand.Related: US-China trade war: is the time ripe for peace to break out? | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Harold Wilson was right: we need a separate department for the economy to boost growthThe Treasury is the most powerful institution in Whitehall. It is actually a super-ministry combining functions separated in many other countries: management of the economy and control of the public finances.These two functions are not accorded equal weight and never have been. The Treasury has always been primarily a finance ministry that views its main task as ensuring the nation’s budget arithmetic adds up.Related: Why the UK economy needs a platform 9¾ leap of imagination Continue reading...

Labour’s leader stands on the principle that members make party policy – and the majority of them are Remainers‘So what,” the schoolboy son of a friend asked, while being forced to listen to the Today programme on the school run, “was politics before Brexit?”This brought back memories of my own naive inquiry of my father at the end of the second world war: “Will there be any more news, Daddy?” Not too enlightened for an embryonic journalist, but you can see the point.I keep having to remind people that a host of very prosperous people voted Leave, for reasons best known to themselves Continue reading...

The bricks-and-mortar chain is the latest high-profile victim of the shift to online shopping but some wounds are self-inflictedThere can be few bleaker testaments to the beleaguered condition of US retail than the Sears department store in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Once a flagship of the world’s largest retailer, the landmarked art deco building was opened in 1932 by Eleanor Roosevelt, who made the first purchase ever in this location, “a pair of baby booties”, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. There’s little of that historic legacy on display today.There is just one entrance open at the store now. The walls are a dirty beige and much of the merchandise sub-discount. Yet many of the shoppers said they were pleased to come and browse. Unlike hundreds of shuttered stores across the country, it is at least still in business.Related: Sears liquidation looms after $4.4bn takeover deal faulters Continue reading...

First daughter’s name said to be ‘floating around Washington’ but it wouldn’t be her first unconventional roleThe Financial Times reported on Friday that the name of Ivanka Trump is “floating around Washington” regarding the need for a new president of the World Bank.The role will soon be open due to the surprise departure of the current president, Jim Yong Kim. But on politics Twitter, at least, the idea that his replacement might be the first daughter was met with widespread derision.Related: 'Judge me by my enemies': Comey and Trump find common ground in FDR lineRelated: You’d think Ivanka Trump would be worried about her emails. But guess what? | Emma Brockes Continue reading...

Leveraged loans are ringing alarm bells for regulators who fear a repeat of 2008’s mortgage disasterWhen an expert in financial risk at one of the world’s most powerful private equity outfits tells investors to scale down their exposure to a specific corner of the debt market, it is worth taking notice.Henry McVey, who sits on the risk committee at KKR, said last week that the leveraged loan market – a $1.3tn (£1tn) pile of risky corporate loans – had been on a “great run in recent years” but the firm was now cutting its exposure to the asset class to zero.Small changes in default rates in the loans or even in expectations of same could cause a meltdown Continue reading...

Switching from Waitrose to Morrisons could save shoppers £170 a year, survey findsShoppers looking to tighten their belts after the Christmas blowout could save money by online shopping at Morrisons, according to a new Which? survey.The consumer group’s analysis found that on average, the Bradford-based supermarket offered the cheapest online groceries, based on a basket containing 77 popular branded products including Andrex toilet roll, Hovis bread and Cathedral City cheddar cheese. Continue reading...

Manufacturing is struggling, growth is unbalanced – and solving Brexit won’t fix our woesJudged by what is happening in the rest of Europe, Britain’s economic performance in late 2018 was reasonably good. France was paralysed by the gilets jaunes protests, while Germany and Italy flirted with recession. The UK is likely to have grown by 0.3% in the final three months of 2018, and by contrast with the other major European economies that’s not too shabby.Look beneath the bonnet of the economy, though, and things don’t look quite so good. It is not really that growth halved between the third and fourth quarters, because activity was unusually high in the summer and early autumn as a result of the World Cup, a heatwave and a bounce back from the weather-related hit to growth earlier in the year.Related: UK GDP growth slows to 0.3% as manufacturing stalls Continue reading...

Data grabbing | Country diary | Cost of stamps | A question of perspective | Steepest street titleThe solution is surely to use the non-profit Ecosia search engine that plants trees and quite simply guarantees that it protects your data (Together we can thwart big tech’s data grab, Opinion, 7 January)?

The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the three months to November, the weakest rate in six months, dragged lower by a fall in car production

From China to Europe and beyond it is likely to be a nerve-racking yearAs Mark Twain never said: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you think you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Over the course of this year and next, the biggest economic risks will emerge in those areas where investors think recent patterns are unlikely to change. They will include a growth recession in China, a rise in global long-term real interest rates and a crescendo of populist economic policies that undermine the credibility of central bank independence, resulting in higher interest rates on “safe” advanced-country government bonds.A significant Chinese slowdown may already be unfolding. The US president Donald Trump’s trade war has shaken confidence but this is only a downward shove to an economy that was already slowing as it makes the transition from export- and investment-led growth to more sustainable domestic consumption-led growth. How much the Chinese economy will slow is an open question; but, given the inherent contradiction between an ever-more centralised Party-led political system and the need for a more decentralised consumer-led economic system, long-term growth could fall quite dramatically.Related: How will central bankers cope when the next recession comes?The notion that additional debt is a free lunch is foolish Continue reading...

New emission tests, Brexit fears and weak demand apply brakes to wider economyThe British economy slowed in the three months to November as car manufacturing went into reverse amid the broadest drop in industrial production since 2012.In a sign of mounting weakness in the economy, with fewer than 80 days to go before Brexit, the Office for National Statistics said GDP growth cooled to 0.3%, down from a rate of 0.4% in the three months to October.Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key government statistic and provides a measure of the UK's total economic activity.Related: What are biggest risks to the global economy in 2019? | Kenneth Rogoff Continue reading...

Exclusive: Carolyn Fairbairn of industry body will urge MPs to put economy before politics

Weak consumer demand prompts department store chain to consider scrapping bonus for first time since 1953John Lewis is considering suspending its staff bonus for the first time in 66 years in the wake of the worst Christmas for retailers since the depths of the financial crisis.The employee-owned department store group, which also owns Waitrose, said it would “need to consider carefully … whether payment of a bonus is prudent in the light of business and economic prospects at that time”.What's the problem?Related: Sainsbury's Christmas sales hit by struggles at Argos Continue reading...

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras praises new ‘relationship of trust’ with German chancellorAngela Merkel arrived in Greece on Thursday for a two-day visit to the country that has posed some of the greatest challenges of her time at the helm of Europe’s powerhouse economy.It is a trip heavy with symbolism for a leader whose policies have defined the continent and who has announced she will leave office at the end of her term in 2021.Related: Greek PM promises relief measures after years of austerity Continue reading...

Supermarket records best festive sales performance in nearly a decadeTesco has emerged as one of the winners of the Christmas period, reporting its best growth in nearly a decade, while other major retailers such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer suffered.Britain’s biggest retailer posted 2.2% growth in UK like-for-like sales in the six weeks to 5 January, its strongest Christmas performance since December 2009. Sales rose 0.7% in the 13 weeks to 24 November. Continue reading...

Sales by retailer of car accessories and bikes fall as shares slump to six-year lowMore than £120m was wiped off the value of the Halfords bikes and car maintenance chain on Thursday after the retailer issued its second profits warning in a year, blaming mild weather and lower consumer confidence for a fall in sales.The company’s shares slumped by more than 20%, to a six-year low of 217p, as the retailer said that its profits would be only around £60m this year, rather than the £70m City retail analysts had expected.What's the problem? Continue reading...

Beijing talks look to have neatly concluded, just in time for Trump to visit Davos and claim victoryEverything is slotting neatly into place for peace to be declared in the trade war between the US and China. The 90-day truce brokered between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit last month is holding and talks at official level in Beijing this week have gone well.China’s eagerness for a deal was shown when Xi’s righthand man on economic issues, Liu He, turned up unexpectedly at the start of this week’s talks. Xi is sensitive to the damage Trump could cause to China’s slowing economy and wants a rapid agreement.Even while running for president, Donald Trump waged a war of words against China, promising punitive import tariffs to “bring back” jobs to America.Related: Shops suffer worst December in a decade as Brexit fears take toll Continue reading...

Trade war with US is handbrake on growth in world’s second biggest economySales of cars in China have dropped for the first time in almost 30 years, a sign of the importance of ending the country’s trade dispute with the US as the world economy begins to falter.As the US and China appeared to be edging closer to ending the trade dispute between them on Wednesday, the figures illustrate how the bitter standoff, as well as sluggish local demand, have acted as a handbrake on growth in the world’s second biggest economy.Related: US-China trade war: is the time ripe for peace to break out? | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Slump in third quarter adds to dismal record on improving efficiency since financial crisisThe productivity growth of British workers fell to a two-year low in the third quarter of last year, according to official figures released amid warnings that failures of government policy and Brexit are holding back efficiency gains.According to the Office for National Statistics, annual growth in economic output per hour of work slumped to 0.2% in the three months to September, down from 1.6% in the second quarter and marking the weakest period since the third quarter of 2016. Continue reading...

Closure of agriculture department offices could not have come at a worse time for farmers awaiting emergency federal aidJust as American farmers thought Donald Trump had rescued them from the economic consequences of his trade war with China, along came the government shutdown.Related: American farmers fear being caught up in Trump's trade warsRelated: The Iowa farmers on the frontline of Trump's trade war with ChinaRelated: Trump administration to provide $12bn in aid to farmers hurt by tariffs Continue reading...

Struggling chain blames ‘worrying’ fall in sales on tough consumer market and move to offer fewer discountsMothercare’s problems continued over the key festive trading period as the retailer blamed a sharp fall in sales on a tough consumer backdrop and its decision to offer fewer discounts than a year earlier.The struggling baby and maternity chain said sales at UK stores open for more than a year fell by 11.4% in the 13 weeks to 5 January, while online sales tumbled by 16.3%.Maplin, Toys R Us and Jacques Vert have all collapsed in recent months, but several retailers and restaurant groups are facing financial problems and are trying to close stores or negotiate rent cuts. Continue reading...

All the day’s economic and financial news, as Germany’s factories suffer a 4.7% annual drop in output

Not just the eurozone at risk but countries further east and south, such as Belarus and TurkeyA no-deal Brexit will have a negative economic impact from Moldova to Morocco, as the shockwaves sweep eastwards across Europe and through trade links to North Africa, the World Bank has warned.Unlike previous reports which focused on the UK and the 27 members of the European Union, the Washington-based organisation said nations from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova in the east, and around the Mediterranean from Turkey and Egypt to Morocco would also suffer should Britain and the EU fail to agree a deal.A hard Brexit would take Britain out of the EU’s single market and customs union and ends its obligations to respect the four freedoms, make big EU budget payments and accept the jurisdiction of the ECJ: what Brexiters mean by “taking back control” of Britain’s borders, laws and money. It would mean a return of trade tariffs, depending on what (if any) FTA was agreed. See our full Brexit phrasebook. Continue reading...

If Europe’s biggest economy bumps into a slump then UK bargaining power may changeTake Europe’s three biggest economies and list them in order of the likelihood of being in recession in the second half of 2018. Chances are Brexit-bound Britain would come first followed by France after its gilets jaunes protests. Germany would come last.In fact, it is the eurozone’s locomotive economy that is at biggest risk of fulfilling the technical definition of recession – two consecutive quarters of falling output. After contracting by 0.2% in the third quarter, the latest news from Germany suggests it may have struggled to grow in the fourth quarter as well. Continue reading...

Andrew Halls of King’s College School writes that there is barely any difference in difficulty between GCSEs and IGCSEs, while Bernie Evans is concerned about the Pre-U examinationsIt is untruthful to suggest that private schools take IGCSEs because they are easier (Labour calls for an inquiry into GCSE changes ‘gamed by private schools’, 31 December).Until 2010, grade inflation had been rampant at both GCSE and A-level for at least a decade. During the years of New Labour, syllabuses were dumbed down, with simplistic coursework a key requirement of almost every subject. For a few unhappy years, GCSEs even became modular, as A-levels then were, so the nation’s children took public exams every single summer from year 10 to year 13. Continue reading...

International aid community shocked by decision to quit three years early and join private sectorJim Yong Kim has announced he is stepping down as the head of the World Bank, in a move that sent shockwaves through the international aid community.He will leave by 1 February, three and a half years before the expiry of his term in 2022.Founded in 1944 at the Bretton Woods conference as a vehicle to support the reconstruction of postwar Europe, the World Bank made its first loan to France in 1947. Continue reading...

Brexit uncertainty and the diesel emissions scandal has hurt demand for new cars, warns industry body

Policymakers who think fiscal policy alone is enough are setting themselves up for a shockIf you ask most central bankers around the world what their plan is for dealing with the next normal-size recession, you would be surprised how many (at least in advanced economies) say “fiscal policy”. Given the high odds of a recession over the next two years – about 40% in the US, for example – monetary policymakers who think fiscal policy alone will save the day are setting themselves up for a rude awakening.Yes, it is true that with policy interest rates near zero in most advanced economies (and just above 2% even in the fast-growing US), there is little room for monetary policy to manoeuvre in a recession without considerable creativity. The best idea is to create an environment in which negative interest-rate policies can be used more fully and effectively. This will eventually happen, but in the meantime, today’s overdependence on countercyclical fiscal policy is dangerously naïve.Related: US and China resume trade talks with both eager for compromise Continue reading...

Asian shares rise as fresh round of negotiations begins amid concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economyUS and Chinese officials held their first face-to-face negotiations since a 90-day truce was declared in a trade war between Washington and Beijing, in the hope of ending a bruising confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.Hopes that the sixth round of negotiations between the two sides could yield a breakthrough helped Asian shares rise on Monday, combined with optimism about the state of the global economy on the back of strong US jobs figures on Friday.Related: China's moon landing proves it is more than just a paper dragon | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Austerity and wage stagnation to blame for ‘crisis level’ unsecured loans, says TUCBritain’s household debt mountain has reached a new peak, with UK homes now owing an average of £15,385 to credit card firms, banks and other lenders, according to the TUC.The trade union body said household debt rose sharply in 2018 as years of austerity and wage stagnation forced households to increase their borrowing.Related: Britain is crippled by record personal debt while the Tories boast of a boom | Maya Goodfellow Continue reading...

As Donald Trump and Xi Jinping prepare to meet over the tariff war, both sides need a solutionFor the US it was a wake-up call. Convinced that it was a world leader in the knowledge economy, the US was shaken out of its complacency when its communist rival announced a breakthrough in space exploration.More than six decades separates the launch in 1957 by the Soviet Union of Sputnik – the first artificial satellite – and China’s success last week in being the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, but the same question is posed by the two events: is US economic hegemony at risk? Continue reading...

Forecasters may be anxious not to be caught out, as they were by the 2008 recession. Nonetheless, the signs look ominousThere is a tendency for institutions that missed the warning signs before the last financial crisis to over-cook their doomsayer’s warnings as they consider the potential for another one.The International Monetary Fund leads a group of gloomy forecasters that worry about the stability of the global economy amid rising debt levels and slowing GDP growth. How long, they ask, can the expansion seen since the last crash go on before another recession hits?Jacking up rates to calm growth is straight out of the textbook. The trouble with doing it now is that growth is slowing Continue reading...

Talks begin this week in Beijing to end the trade war – and even titans such as Apple are feeling its impactIt epitomises China’s position in the global economy that a seismic warning about its health last week came from a US company: Apple. The iPhone maker cut sales forecasts, citing the unforeseen “magnitude” of the economic slowdown in China – a vital growth market. At the same time the head of Baidu, China’s biggest search engine, warned his employees that “winter is coming” in the world’s second-largest economy.If China is indeed entering an economic winter, then the chill will spread around the globe. Forty years after communist China opened its doors to trade with the west in a dash for growth, the country’s mix of free-market policies and central planning faces one of its sternest tests. Continue reading...

Slowing growth and rising debt at home may affect Beijing’s ability to keep up its vast investments in the developing worldConcerns over Chinese growth could spell problems for Africa and other parts of the developing world. Beijing funded an overseas investment boom in the past few decades as it strove to become the world’s second largest economic superpower, while also buying vast amounts of the natural resources produced by emerging nations.The scale of the expansion forms part of China’s multibillion-dollar “Belt and Road” Initiative, a state-backed campaign to promote its influence around the world, while providing stimulus for its own slowing economy. The transcontinental development project launched by China’s president, Xi Jinping, in 2013 aims to improve infrastructure links between Asia, Europe and Africa, with the aim for China to reap the benefits from increasing levels of global trade.More than four fifths of the amount China spends on construction overseas goes to low- or middle-income economies Continue reading...

As US officials fly to Beijing for negotiations, the president says the Chinese ‘sort of have to’ make a deal on tariffsDonald Trump has said China’s weakening economic growth puts the United States in a strong position as negotiators from the world’s two largest economies prepare for trade talks on Monday.US officials are heading to Beijing this weekend for the first face-to-face talks since Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, agreed in December to a 90-day truce in the trade war as they sought to strike a deal.Related: Things to watch out for in 2019? Doom and plenty of gloom Larry ElliottRelated: China's Xi Jinping calls on Donald Trump for trade compromise Continue reading...

Services sector report shows slow demand as economists predict GDP growth of 0.1%Brexit anxiety dragged the UK economy almost to a standstill at the end of 2018, as a key gauge for the largest sector of the economy showed optimism among firms fell to the lowest levels since the financial crisis.According to the latest snapshot for the services sector compiled by IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply – which covers banks, restaurants and hotels – subdued growth conditions persisted in December, with concerns over the UK’s departure from the EU resulting in companies putting spending decisions on hold.Related: 'Brexit anxiety' holding back British services sector – business live Continue reading...

It’s easy for nonsense to become common sense, such as on the rail rises. Beware the ‘fairness error’ – equality helps everyoneOne of the most depressing things about politics in the UK is realising how easy it is for total nonsense to become common sense and received wisdom.Take this tweet from YouGov, following the recently announced rise in fares. “There will be calls for train fares to be frozen – the main beneficiaries will be those in wealthier households. 42% of those who made more than 50 train journeys last year are in households earning £40k+. Just 10% are in households on less than £20k”. Most of the poor, YouGov sagely intones, take the car, or bus, or walk. Therefore we should not lower the price because that means only rich people will benefit.Related: UK trains 'are packed to near double capacity'There will be calls for train fares to be frozen - the main beneficiaries will be those in wealthier households. 42% of those who made more than 50 train journeys last year are in households earning £40k+. Just 10% are in households on less than £20k https://t.co/FjIiaeD86d pic.twitter.com/mRznAzMnRWRelated: Why aren’t we outraged by child poverty in Britain and the US? | Mary O’Hara Continue reading...

Industry activity hits three-month low in December as uncertainty continues to riseThe UK construction sector ended 2018 on a weaker footing, hitting a three-month low in December amid fading demand for commercial projects and the growing risk of a no-deal Brexit.According to the Markit/Cips UK construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which is closely watched by the Bank of England and the Treasury as an early warning gauge for the UK economy, the building trade suffered a slowdown in activity in December. Continue reading...

Resolution Foundation urges chancellor to tighten wealth taxation to boost public sectorPhilip Hammond could raise an additional £7bn a year for the Treasury by scrapping tax breaks for the richest in society and tightening up existing wealth taxes, research from one of Britain’s leading thinktanks shows.In a report prepared ahead of the chancellor’s government spending review, which is due later this year, the Resolution Foundation said that the additional funds could be raised to help finance the higher spending on public services needed to meet the demand of Britain’s ageing population.Related: Has the time come for a wealth tax in the UK? | Richard Partington Continue reading...

Trump claims ‘We’re the talk of the world’ as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdownAfter their worst year in close to a decade US stocks started the new year with a more than 1% decline on Wednesday before inching their way back into the black as Donald Trump blamed a “glitch” for last year’s losses.Markets wobbled between gains and losses all day on Wednesday as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdown while the US government shutdown dragged on.Related: Markets dive as China manufacturing weakens in bleak start to 2019 Continue reading...

Growth concerns in focus after worst year for US equities since crash

UK buildup of finished goods rises in December at second-fastest rate since 1992Britain’s manufacturers ramped up their stockpiling efforts last month in preparation for a potential no-deal Brexit in less than 90 days’ time, with factory output rising to the highest level in six months.According to the latest snapshot survey from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, growing concerns about Brexit disruption from border hold-ups after 29 March led more businesses to build up stocks in December. Continue reading...

Australian dollar at risk of crashing below crucial 70 US cent mark as growth slows in SingaporeChina’s huge manufacturing sector has shrunk for the first time in 19 months, sending stock markets into a tailspin in an ominous start to 2019.The weak data released on Wednesday follows a slew of other disappointing figures from the world’s second largest economy and underline concerns that is heading for a tough 12 months.Related: Australian house prices falling at fastest rate in a decade, data showsRelated: 'All necessary means': Xi Jinping reserves right to use force against Taiwan Continue reading...

We are trying to be positive, but there’s little likely to put a smile on your face – except for a couple of things …Making predictions in the world of business and economics is a fool’s errand but that’s no reason not to have a crack at it. Here are some things to look out for in 2019, which could be a rollercoaster ride.What's the problem? Continue reading...

Be it smartwatches or smart speakers, it’s never been easier to make gadgets. But only the big players have the muscle to surviveImagine a shopper in an electronics store. Look, there’s a Fitbit display, with its “activity bands” which measure your steps and show details. Or, more pricey, its Versa smartwatch. Perhaps to save money, just buy the activity band? But wait … just over there are some generic activity bands, and they’re cheaper. Maybe save some money with those.Move along a bit, and there are GoPro cameras. But once again, there are some slightly cheaper models beside them; not well-known brands, but a camera is a camera, surely? Further along, there’s a Parrot drone. Next to those is a Sonos speaker, which works with Amazon’s Alexa. But beside it is a cheaper Amazon Echo, and a voice-controlled Google Home, and a Siri-enabled Apple HomePod. Why would you go with the smaller brand, faced with those offerings from tech’s behemoths? Or, at the previous displays, why not just buy the cheaper models?Related: The 20 best gadgets of 2018 Continue reading...