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Our big guest yesterday - Sir Richard Branson - had some good news for air passengers. The cost of flights might be on the way down soon.

The reason? That recent fall in the cost of oil. Big airlines like Virgin imposed top-up charges when oil prices were rising. Now Sir Richard says it's time to put them into reverse.

(Of course some airlines - like Ryanair - didn't impose any fuel surcharges, no matter how much oil prices rose. Rivals note tartly that it just changed its pricing structure so we had to pay for luxuries like luggage instead.)

This is an interesting observation in perspectives.

If you're a motorist or an airline passenger, or you run a factory or a freight haulage company, you'll welcome cheaper fuel.

But in some quarters, the fall in oil is being reported as BAD news.

And in a way, it is. Part of the reason the oil price is falling is the slowdown in economic activity in the United States and elsewhere.

There are many sides to even the simplest economic news. But I don't remember many people celebrating when the cost of oil was rising because of the economic boom in China and India - ie when it was the side-effect of something good.

Speaking of oil - our big guest on Friday is the man who runs Shell in the UK. If there's something you want me to ask him, just stick it in the comments.

Three other interesting thoughts from Sir Richard:

1. This is the toughest economic slowdown in his memory.

2. Banks that get into trouble should be allowed to fall.

3. Entrepreneurs should continue to take risks as there are still opportunities, even in a downturn. But those risks have to be calculated.

When he started his Virgin Atlantic airline, it wasn't long after the collapse of Freddy Laker's Skytrain.

So he made sure that when he bought his first plane, the deal said he could hand it back the following year if it didn't work out.

He ended up buying a second plane instead. And then some more.