Are you ready to Take Stock?

Jun 10 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

PRODUCTIVITY across North East offices no doubt surged this month as staff who had become addicted to our fantasy stock market game finally got back to work.

The Taking Stock game saw almost 700 people take part on The Journal’s business website, nebusiness.co.uk, over several weeks as players gambled virtual money on real stocks.

And now bosses – who were far from immune to the Taking Stock craze which swept through businesses across the region – must brace themselves for the return of their staff’s attention to the game later this month.

On Wednesday, June 24 players will once again dust down their trading room jackets armed with a virtual kitty of £100,000 as they prepare to do battle.

Last time out our winner, John Bottomley who runs the Bathroom Studio shop in Birtley, Gateshead, and played the game under the moniker White Van Man, received a luxury stay at Matfen Hall and £500 in cash. This time the player with the biggest portfolio will again receive £500, courtesy of stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin, as well as a luxury break for two.

Brewin Dolphin’s business development and marketing director John Duns said: “We are delighted to be involved with this again as it introduces people to the stock market as an interest. We are very impressed with the technology and I think people will find it a lot of fun to play.”

Taking Stock, which was designed by Newcastle-based technology firm Scott Logic, allows players to invest in medium, large and North East listed businesses. It also enables you to create mini-leagues among your colleagues, meaning you can go up against rival firms in the region.

The Journal’s business editor Iain Laing, said: “Taking Stock was amazingly popular and brought a lot of fun for people looking at the stock markets, which otherwise can be a little depressing at the moment.”

All players who played the first game will receive an email about the new game and will be automatically entered into it unless they reply indicating a desire to opt out. New players can join up on nebusiness.co.uk until two weeks before the end of the game on August 21.