economic crisis - fact or fallacy

hey
all this talk of doom and gloom the world over has been seemingly endless so got me wondering how it has affected you?
good or bad from different parts of our 'lucky' country
any thoughts of impacts that you have/are experiencing that may be of interest put em up here for discussion
cheers paul
(lets just not turn this into a political s#it fight as this is not what this thread is intended to be.. cheers)

i'll start by looking at my work, i work for a massive multi-national company the world over and many employee's around our country now are doing it tough (over 50% pay cut) and many casuals sacked. A lot of clients now have been concentrated to only one or two states in oz, and thus having a massive impact on my work mates and their families, but where i am, it was quiet but now is seemingly busy, however this may change in a few days, the nature of the industry (but why worry about something that i have no control over me thinks)
its obvious that many peeps are now holding their spending back as imports into oz have certainly declined coupled with the ongoing drought has a major effect on exports eg.grain etc

on the other hand a positive i see is the price of real estate has become seemingly more affordable with over inflated prices heading south.. however this effects values so all of a sudden most of us are all much poorer than this time last year if you have a home
+ i suppose my spending on my vws has been dented too as the exchange rate is not in our favor atm, but then again in 6 months time who knows where it will be..??
just a few observations
maybe if it just rains in more that one or two concentrated areas of oz everything will come up roses and the mighty Murray will flow again

im happy someone started this thread - i too am interested in 'real' stories.

My experiences are as follows:

I know of lots of people that have been sacked - i work in the construction industry, and as banks demand more for loans and less people invest and more have lost on the stock market, their is less happening in the construction industry - their are positives to this in a business point of view, but many real workers (site workers) have lost their jobs. I do wonder if some were disliked and the employer chose to use the recession as a means to sack them - i think that happens lots.

Their are positives, one is re-sale because the dollar is bad. I made a small profit on some musical items i sold - i lost $100 on a $2500 guitar i bought 2 and half years ago - i think thats pretty good.

House prices going down? its relative to the area - not where i am - it hasn't moved much - people are worried and are holding off selling - makes it much more competitive for those who want to buy - im trying to buy and you see the same people at the few house up for sale - competitive as!

whose to rekon that the reason companies are going 'tight' with pay and are downsizing are the decrease costs for a 'safetly' buffer if finances do go crap?

With the rediculous media plastering, the scare tactics would make any company take a secure approach. Happened to me at autobarn. Anyone who was there but wasn't all that 'necessary' as such was made redundant. They decided to run a minimum staff pool to allow continuous running but decrease costs, despite the average sales a day following the 'normal' trend it had always been.

The crisis is being developed because of the broadcasting of some stupid bank deals overseas and companies acting like hermit crabs crawling and hiding back in their shells as a result. In turn, its all a chain affect, which explains also the reaction in the share market etc.

Thats my 2c!

When i was over at straddie without a radio or tv, for 7 days i was free of listenin to the repetitive crap of how the world was crumbling down, and it was brilliant.

Mr. new's person luvs makin a drama. Everyone remember the bird flu/SARs? Everyone i knew of lived in fear it would spread all over the world and we would all be rooted. But fark, what happened to it? wheres it gone? Mr. news man's perspective was a little over dramatised, spreading unnecessary fear.

unnecessary fear that is making the companies downsizing and spreading the pressure onto the employees

ian.mezz wrote:It would be a bit better if the big banks, ANZ, WESTPAC, CBA, Etc passes on the interest rate cuts as quick as they put it up.😠😂😬

Or even better Ian, that they would pass ALL the cuts on not just some.... but good news...
looks like interest rates are going to be cut again...
by the reserve bank
but as you say...
the banks drag it out making heaps in the meantime...
and some don't pass it all on...

I thought the ombudsman etc was there to make things work correctly....????

cheers

LEE

PS: seems the banks have to much pull with the goverment... the voters don't always count.....??

it be better if the govt. got rid of the rip off stamp duty! we already pay tax, and medicare levy's - why get ripped off on over priced housing and then get a boot from the govt. too!

There you go Mr Reece, 30k to help our govt. go broke...

We'll find out at 2:30pm Ian -

- END RANT -

it hasn't made a BIG difference to Me..

I just wish the Aussie dollar would go up around 90c US for a week so I can get My parts in the US sent over...

I am lucky in one way..
Our Main TV can only get Austar satillite TV channels
so no local news... so only ABC SBS FOX CNN etc...

When I look at a newspaper [at Maccas lol] I see what you mean about - How bad a situation Our country is in..
Doom Doom Doom --- No wonder shops are closing [somewhere?] staff are getting dismissed...
BUT
Life goes on...

Look at how the banks can dismiss half their staff....
then replace them at a later date.... ???
when they find they need them....

I was thinking that Our local council would stop repairing roads etc...
but it doesn't seem to have made any difference....
they are building a new Office building etc...

Now if petrol could just get Stuck on $1 a litre... lol

LEE

Stamp Duty as You know was supposed to be dropped when the GST came in....

If everyone knows that... why didn't it happen??


LEE

Mick058 wrote:it would be better if the govt. got rid of the rip off stamp duty! we already pay tax, and medicare levy's - why get ripped off on over priced housing and then get a boot from the govt. too!

There you go Mr Reece, 30k to help our govt. go broke...

We'll find out at 2:30pm Ian -

- END RANT -

The media has a lot to answer for in this 'financial crisis'. I wish they would stop reporting the news like the Americans do. Instead of just stating the facts so us mere mortals can come to our own conclusion they use emotive words and embellish tones to pander to our emotions so that we are glued to the TV and they can sell some more adverts.

as it is in my industry lots of smaller companies have put upgrades and new equipment on hold for now but the government is ploughing ahead with the water infrastruture. they are tendering at present for the De-sal plant at Agnes waters, which I beleive is still to go ahead. And mines are still spending on upgrades too. Not as much as before but still. Most other companies are living off there stockpiles and until they run low there is no overtime and no casuals. Being a country that produces we are in a much better state than the US and UK.

Three things:

* As with any other financial crisis, if you can hang on to your job and your assets (i.e. house) you'll probably end up better off at the other end. Two examples of this: low interest rates at the moment and most people reduce spending, especially on things they don't really need. So saving goes up, and your mortgage drops quicker.
* The 24 news cycle is certainly contributing to the negative sentiment which creates a vicious circle. The news makes people nervous, stops them spending, which causes job losses, which reduces spending etc etc etc
* I work in a financial field where we try to save our clients more money than we cost. Thus far we've picked up more business than we've lost, because companies are desperate to save money, and the area we specialise in is one where costs are currently going up. We have a lot of large corporate clients and the impact on them depends on their industry. Building Products and Construction is travelling really badly, but only to the degree that profits are down significantly, not that they are disappearing out the door backwards. Many other industries are still relatively unaffected. I think a lot also depends on your physical location. In Sydney we can't stop building houses for long because we'll just run out of room to put people. That doesn't mean it hasn't slowed, but it shouldn't stop, but if you're a builder in a regional area you might be in a bit more trouble getting work.

Certainly in Australia we are in a far better position than most other developed countries, and hopefully new jobs will be created in the not too distant future for those that have already lost theirs.

Craig

psimitar wrote:The media has a lot to answer for in this 'financial crisis'. I wish they would stop reporting the news like the Americans do. Instead of just stating the facts so us mere mortals can come to our own conclusion they use emotive words and embellish tones to pander to our emotions so that we are glued to the TV and they can sell some more adverts.

Try watching the ABC, it's not quite as bad 🙂
I find watching the news on commercial stations painful, so I only watch ABC or SBS now (not to mention you don't have to put up with the ads either!)

Jay_1965vw wrote:

psimitar wrote:The media has a lot to answer for in this 'financial crisis'. I wish they would stop reporting the news like the Americans do. Instead of just stating the facts so us mere mortals can come to our own conclusion they use emotive words and embellish tones to pander to our emotions so that we are glued to the TV and they can sell some more adverts.

Try watching the ABC, it's not quite as bad 🙂
I find watching the news on commercial stations painful, so I only watch ABC or SBS now (not to mention you don't have to put up with the ads either!)

here here
i been on that wagon for many years now..
my fave radio station in abc news radio.. haha such a nerd i know but ya learn real stuff..

hasnt affected me. I'm in superannuation industry. People arent making any money out of it, but they still have to pay, and the computer systems still need to be maintained, and the trustees are working harder in a competitive world so they want more and more reports. The wife is in youth mental health and there's no shortage of screwed up kids being dished up. interest rates are low, so thats a bonus. I guess we're as safe as anyone could be.

I think its being used as an excuse by plenty of companies to do dastardly deeds. Many cases they might have to do it, but the banks are still announcing massive profits, at the same time they are paying exec bonuses, refusing to pass on full rate cuts and laying off staff. They suck.

I work in the engineering sector in a global company. Its very mixed for us, with some offices going as well as last year, while others are doing it tough. It jsut depends on which sector your tied into. I think the days of yerly 10% pay rises are gone, so are some of the perks we used to get.

But as others have mentioned, i think the media has allot to answer for, it just seems to make it worse.

One interesting thing to note. My GF works in the medical sector, and looks after HR. 12 months ago a medical receptionist or even a radiographer posistion used to get 10 to 15 applications over 8 weeks. One medical receptionist job she put on seek a few weeks ago got 45 applications between 4 and 5pm.......

I don't know if its allot of ppl out of work, or people with jobs looking for more secure jobs, but it seems interesting. About 60% of the applications are not even in the ball park either in skills or experince. about 20% are on the money and 20% are over quailifed and would be getting a pay cut.

h wrote:Try watching the ABC, it's not quite as bad 🙂
I find watching the news on commercial stations painful, so I only watch ABC or SBS now (not to mention you don't have to put up with the ads either!)

here here
i been on that wagon for many years now..
my fave radio station in abc news radio.. haha such a nerd i know but ya learn real stuff.. [/quote]

Quite right mate. If I do watch the news it'll be SBS or ABC. I just wanted to have my say about the American news channels, which is basically what 7, 9 and ten have become.

Did you hear the other year about the 2 news choppers in USA that crahsed into each other, killing both pilots and journos, whilst watching some car chase or something and the 3 news chopper then starts reporting on that and interviewing the pilot cos he knew the other pilots. How sick is that?

hehe. my upper manager was interviewing for a middle manager and one of the applicants actually said that he prefers to work on his own and would like to work from home if possible.❓

oh and I forgot to mention earlier that I lost my job and am working out the last week of my termination period. Anyway, the boss said it was from the 'recession' yet has taken on 4-5 new staff recently and 2 of them in my dept.
So yea, they are using it as an excuse😠

amazeer wrote:one of the applicants actually said that he prefers to work on his own and would like to work from home if possible.❓

Wouldn't we all?????

Lee

ian.mezz wrote:Yippie a long week end coming up you watch petrol go up about 18 cents a litre🙅🙅

Bloody hell....

Oh... forgot My Beetle has a full tank of premium...

I'll have to fill the other car up...

The petrol prices don't fluctuate as much as in the cities

and many times the fuel up here is up to >8c cheaper than Newcastle...

LEE

CBA are the 1st major bank to pass on a interest rate cut of 0.1% and line of credit products 0.05%.

I am expecting other banks to follow suit and not pass on the full 0.25%!

CP

yeh, pretty poor form really.

BeetleJuice wrote:CBA are the 1st major bank to pass on a interest rate cut of 0.1% and line of credit products 0.05%.

I am expecting other banks to follow suit and not pass on the full 0.25%!

CP

Whats going on....

Who can make the banks do the right thing....

LEE

someone should blow banks up... [Ted Bullpit]

hay Heres a idea why dont the petrol station have their price cycle so the cheap cycle starts on Friday?????? not Tuesday . This would be great🤪🤪

I think alot of problems would not exist if the media didnt either. I we didnt know about it, we wouldnt worry about it. Its almost a state of mind isnt it??? There is only 1 person in charge of all the money in the world. If you know what I'm saying (not looking for a debate - because there is not point debating the truth). I guess we are sadly just a large consumer world.

68AutoBug wrote:

BeetleJuice wrote:CBA are the 1st major bank to pass on a interest rate cut of 0.1% and line of credit products 0.05%.

I am expecting other banks to follow suit and not pass on the full 0.25%!

CP

Whats going on....

Who can make the banks do the right thing....

LEE

someone should blow banks up... [Ted Bullpit]

Banks are using the excuse of "Costs of Funds",but we all know that they control a lot of things!🤓

yes, but you have to feel sorry for the NAB board as their profits slumped in the year ending September 2008 to just $4.536 billion. Thats a drop of 0.9%. Clearly they are struggling.

CBA on the other hand had a profit increase over the same period. In the 6 months to December they made $2 billion when they only expected to see 1.6. Net profit for the 12-months to June 30 is expected to rise 1.82 per cent to $4.688 billion. So clearly the CBA are champions of the working class by passing on 0.1% worth of the 0.25% which they can barely afford.

I think CBA may have been short selling and now this has been outlawed there profits may take a bit of a dive!!!!

Gwendolyns Master wrote:Three things:

* As with any other financial crisis, if you can hang on to your job and your assets (i.e. house) you'll probably end up better off at the other end. Two examples of this: low interest rates at the moment and most people reduce spending, especially on things they don't really need. So saving goes up, and your mortgage drops quicker.
* The 24 news cycle is certainly contributing to the negative sentiment which creates a vicious circle. The news makes people nervous, stops them spending, which causes job losses, which reduces spending etc etc etc
* I work in a financial field where we try to save our clients more money than we cost. Thus far we've picked up more business than we've lost, because companies are desperate to save money, and the area we specialise in is one where costs are currently going up. We have a lot of large corporate clients and the impact on them depends on their industry. Building Products and Construction is travelling really badly, but only to the degree that profits are down significantly, not that they are disappearing out the door backwards. Many other industries are still relatively unaffected. I think a lot also depends on your physical location. In Sydney we can't stop building houses for long because we'll just run out of room to put people. That doesn't mean it hasn't slowed, but it shouldn't stop, but if you're a builder in a regional area you might be in a bit more trouble getting work.

Certainly in Australia we are in a far better position than most other developed countries, and hopefully new jobs will be created in the not too distant future for those that have already lost theirs.

Craig

Exactly my thoughts too. Media has a lot to do with consumer sentiment.

Personally. effect has been 25% of my super wiped away and shares in the pooper. But as long as I keep my job things will be ok. Mortgage rates are down, as are many other of lifes costs.

Grey 57 wrote:

Gwendolyns Master wrote:Three things:

* As with any other financial crisis, if you can hang on to your job and your assets (i.e. house) you'll probably end up better off at the other end. Two examples of this: low interest rates at the moment and most people reduce spending, especially on things they don't really need. So saving goes up, and your mortgage drops quicker.
* The 24 news cycle is certainly contributing to the negative sentiment which creates a vicious circle. The news makes people nervous, stops them spending, which causes job losses, which reduces spending etc etc etc
* I work in a financial field where we try to save our clients more money than we cost. Thus far we've picked up more business than we've lost, because companies are desperate to save money, and the area we specialise in is one where costs are currently going up. We have a lot of large corporate clients and the impact on them depends on their industry. Building Products and Construction is travelling really badly, but only to the degree that profits are down significantly, not that they are disappearing out the door backwards. Many other industries are still relatively unaffected. I think a lot also depends on your physical location. In Sydney we can't stop building houses for long because we'll just run out of room to put people. That doesn't mean it hasn't slowed, but it shouldn't stop, but if you're a builder in a regional area you might be in a bit more trouble getting work.

Certainly in Australia we are in a far better position than most other developed countries, and hopefully new jobs will be created in the not too distant future for those that have already lost theirs.

Craig

Exactly my thoughts too. Media has a lot to do with consumer sentiment.

Personally. effect has been 25% of my super wiped away and shares in the pooper. But as long as I keep my job things will be ok. Mortgage rates are down, as are many other of lifes costs.

Yep, my thoughts exactly. So long as you can keep your job then you'll be OK. Those who don't will struggle, poor me 🙁 but I do wish the government would grow some balls and stop the commercial stations from spewing the crap that they do.

Surely your not sugesting the Gov. go in for censorship?

donn wrote:Surely your not sugesting the Gov. go in for censorship?

not censorship persay, but try to make the media act more responsibly. I mean those beaver adds should never of been allowed to air. I'm pretty sure if you asked your GF/wife how her beaver was she'd right hook you!!! it's a touchy area but some things are just plain obvious 🙂

and the "erectile disfunction" ads, the people airing those ads every 5-10 mins between 5 and 6pm obviously arent picking up their kids from after school care, and having them asking what premature ejaculation is.

yup and Nova is getting way too smutty and they're not very subtle with their 'jokes' anymore

come to the enlightened abc my friends
leave the dank and unedifying behind..
there is a better way

h wrote:come to the enlightened abc my friends
leave the dank and unedifying behind..
there is a better way

ah but how do we get the children to follow towards the light 🙂

I personally dont listen to commercial radio, its the wife n child. I switch between triple J and ABC. Trouble is, I dont like the afternoon drive presenter for ABC Illawarra because he's a waffler, and because I'm pushing 40 sometimes triple J is a little too much for me so its not much fun sometimes. Ocassionally I seek relief on a commercial station but theres only so much veronicas/wes/pink/nickelback laced ads you can take. I've even tried the christian station, but the not so subliminal messages grate on me.

On the plus side I am always aware of the opposite side of the water trade debate and the cattle/pork/lamb markets from listening to the country hour. Well, no I'm not because I've got no idea what a 2 score lamb is or what a wether is. But if I needed to, I could google it.

amazeer wrote:I personally dont listen to commercial radio, its the wife n child. I switch between triple J and ABC. Trouble is, I dont like the afternoon drive presenter for ABC Illawarra because he's a waffler, and because I'm pushing 40 sometimes triple J is a little too much for me so its not much fun sometimes. Ocassionally I seek relief on a commercial station but theres only so much veronicas/wes/pink/nickelback laced ads you can take. I've even tried the christian station, but the not so subliminal messages grate on me.

On the plus side I am always aware of the opposite side of the water trade debate and the cattle/pork/lamb markets from listening to the country hour. Well, no I'm not because I've got no idea what a 2 score lamb is or what a wether is. But if I needed to, I could google it.

😂😂😂

Hi

I listen to 2GB and 2UE, don't like the lefties on the ABC much except for Saturday night country and Macca.

This whole thing was caused by Bill Clintons mob (wasn't that keen on George W either) wanting to get poor people into their own homes, didn't matter that they couldn't pay for them, because in America there is no responsibility to pay your mortgage if you default, unlike here.

Now they have 1/2 black man in the white house from naughty Bills party, I wonder where there going now, I hope not like other countries run by coloured people, Zimbabwe etc.

The company I work for made some bad investments, the bosses still have their jobs, they have just been laying off other staff, not themselves.

So if you qualify for your $900 from the Milky Bar Kid, what will you spend it on?

I would rather have seen spending on infrastructure than this pissy $900.

Steve

if only I was at uni, with a part time job. then I could get 2 handouts.

If I get around to putting in last yrs tax return, I'll be spending mine on floor tiles. Its a pity you cant be made to spend it on Australian products or services.

the idea is to just spend it..
i think thats the point here..

the idea of trying to keep the money in australia is a good one to me. i don't know if it makes sense on the global scale but...

as far as where the stimulus $ in my family are going... a chunk at least will go towards dental work for my eldest.

i have the great misfortune to work selling cheap furniture (but please don't hold it against me, i took the job out of need) and business has been good of late. we saw very little of the first hand out but so far from the children component of this one, a lot got spent on furniture.

as far as how my locality has been effected, i have heard a lot of talk but haven't seen any real tangible evidence of job losses. most people are talking of how hard it is getting to get a job but the numbers advertised in the paper seem to be about standard for this time of year.
i do know that people are reconsidering changing jobs, just in case. myself included.

does anyone else think that we will see a resurgence in nationalism if times continue to get tougher for another 2 or 3 years? both in australia and overseas?


edit. nice fractal video h.

I hear a lot of people now talking about buying Australian, they are taking longer to do their grocery shoping as they are taking the extra time to look for Australian made, well hello there they should have been doing that 10, 15 years ago, bit hard to get the horse back in the paddock after it's out and over the hill, still at least they can see the error of their ways and are making an effort even if it's too bloody late.

I still try to buy Dick Smith peanut butter and biscuits whenever i do the grocery shopping. I like what Dick Smith has tried to do with keeping ownership in Australia. Have a look at this list of former Aussie food brands that are now O/S owned:

http://www.dicksmithfoods.com.au/index.php?d=money&p=foreign-now

yea, it's kinda dumb letting O/S investors buy Oz companies. Cos where the the capital end up, thats right children 'not in Australia'.
Just take a look at the UK. It's totally buggered now cos it has no UK owned companies of any mention left. Being a pommie who has choosen to live in this lovely country I find it very saddening to see this American greed/commercialism infecting this wonderful place I have choosen to call home. I didn't come here just for the weather, I came here because of the people's general attitude and this is what seems to be changing lately.

Come on Australia, I would be proud to call myself an Australian so lets keep being Australian and stop this American crap infecting our souls.

whatnow wrote:does anyone else think that we will see a resurgence in nationalism if times continue to get tougher for another 2 or 3 years? both in australia and overseas?

nothing wrong with being nationalistic as long as it doesn't include 'hansonisms plight of shut the gates mate and lets not trade with anyone else' type a deal, that would be catastrophic for this country (being the 51st state of the good 'ol US of A n all..)

psimitar wrote:lets keep being Australian and stop this American crap infecting our souls.

i think that boat has well and truely left our shores.. US soft power is everywhere.. just look at the commercial tv networks - so called 'entertainment' mind numbing s#!t if you asked me as it only there to distract you long enuff before you finally figure it out n when you do you've got 3 kids a mortgage, car and credit card debits to make you get outta bed n goto work instead of doing what you'd rather be doing with your life..
that reminds me.. i missed lunch, so i better head to macca's

why give 900 bucks to all and sundry when what we really need is JOBS why not build big infrastructure like some more flamen dams and better roads. dont let the bloody unions in and pay people a resonable wage for a resonable days work and australia would benifit now and into the future! wheres kevs phone number ill give him a call!

Yeah i totally agree that Australia is the best place to be in this 'Global Economic Crisis'. We are the leading developed nation thanks to our relative small size and stringent banking regulations. Due to the global nature of the world we can't help but be impacted. It is hard to comprehend why our share market is down the same as the USA. Many blue chip companies (e.g. big 4 banks) continue to pay record level dividends.

The uncontrolled spending in the USA is going to catch up with us all. Just like the lowering of interest rates 8 years ago has lead to the problem we are in today. I think the worst is far from over. They are predicting unemployment rates to rise to 8+% here is Aust. by the end of the year. This means 1 in 12 unemployed. A lot of people are going to be effected.

In saying all this stay positive and give 100% in whatever it is you do. Make the lives of others better and you will be well on your way to ensuring your own personal success.

Happy Easter everyone!

oz_guy
www.hammocksaustralia.com.au

h wrote:

psimitar wrote:lets keep being Australian and stop this American crap infecting our souls.

i think that boat has well and truely left our shores.. US soft power is everywhere.. just look at the commercial tv networks - so called 'entertainment' mind numbing s#!t if you asked me as it only there to distract you long enuff before you finally figure it out n when you do you've got 3 kids a mortgage, car and credit card debits to make you get outta bed n goto work instead of doing what you'd rather be doing with your life..
that reminds me.. i missed lunch, so i better head to macca's

😂 😂 so sad yet ultimately true. I'd love to see how bad the TV has got in the UK for comparison. as for macca's, have you seen how big the drive thro queue is these days esp. in the evening 🤪 truely mind boggling and very sad at the same time. would Oz be the fattest nation per capita if not for these food joints?? one wonders

Hey Hammocks, where do those hammocks come from?

You can whinge and whine all you want. Just think are you part of the solution or the problem. We produce alot of good products here in Australia. When you can, and if the quality is comparable or better, then feel proud to buy Australian made. We do grow good oranges and lemons. It is the employees of these companies that spend their wages and down the line it gets to your company and your job.

Although if you want to buy something we don't produce, buy the best you can afford. We don't make televisions or dishwashers here. World trade is important and buying a good imported product is just as important, as it helps the global trade and there are countries that will buy fantastic products made in Australia.

Don't rush, relax and have a look at all of the labels when you do your shopping every week. Do a little research and see who owns what companies that you often buy from. At the end of the day it is your choice. However don't expect me to listen if you are not even interested in what a real Australian owned and made company and product is.

Yeah dont buy those big TVs on interest free , its just causing more credit trouble.

We have lost half our mech engs, and those of us remaining are not feeling particularly secure. The project I am on is in a long demobilizing phase, and many who head back to the main office are just being shown the door.

Bligh got voted back in with a slogan 'Jobs not Job Cuts' - I wonder how that would stand up in court with people dropping like fiies in Qld. Probably just another politician 'that promise is no longer operative'.

Retail is down in sales in a big way but theft (from my work by customers) is on the rise so it aint all bad for some😬
Last great depression in the 1930's took a war to solve and recover the economy........Who wants to help invade New Zealand??😉

dont worry about enzed it will boil down to either pakistan or north korea for that senario then the war war machine will kick in and bingo what econ crisis..

we've already got soldiers on the ground in two countries, (i'd imagine deployed in other countries on various duties as well) how much more do you want?

i really don't know if we will ever see a total war like WW2 where whole countries go on a complete war production footing. i certainly hope not.

🙁 but I do wish the government would grow some balls and stop the commercial stations from spewing the crap that they do.

censorship??

YES...

We had it years ago--- 60s & 70s Radio & TV

and it didn;t hurt anything.... IMHO

No Censorship between midnight & 6am...

the crap on TV late at night can stay.... lol

There are standards on TV but they are getting lower & lower...
older People who were bought up with high moral etc standards - it drives them crazy...
but they want to watch TV like any other person...
so its NOT OK to say don't watch TV....

LEE

Can we just light up our torches, steal a boat and head over to america to take over them for a change?

I suggest we start at hawaii... cause its awesome...

Then make our way to the south, and work our way up!
(the illegally immigrated mexicans can give us a hand while we are there)...

whats the F**K wrong with the Banks not cutting the interest rate. 😬
I imagine if we felt a bit more secure about keeping our Homes , we would try to go about our lives as normal and spend our money on the stuff we use and need.
As most of us in Australia have 30 year home loans and we are in it for the long haul.

I have a plan. Make exit fees for mortgages illegal. That way you'd be able to move on if you were being rorted. If you had a mortgage with NAB you could move over to CBA to at least get your 0.1%. Without competition, we're always going to get smashed. At the moment they pretty well know that once they have you, they've got you gripped firmly by the goolies.

Wasn't there talk of them doing this last year to the exit fees??? Hmmmmm...wonder what happened

bajachris88 wrote:Can we just light up our torches, steal a boat and head over to america to take over them for a change?

I suggest we start at hawaii... cause its awesome...

Then make our way to the south, and work our way up!
(the illegally immigrated mexicans can give us a hand while we are there)...

what an excellent idea 🙂 when would you like to leave. I am free from tuesday onwards 🙂

A guy I work with just applied to refinance after buying out his ex wife.
He was ahead on his mortgage since the split.
Has $50k in savings.
Has the income to manage the repayments and was rejected by his current bank.
The problem was that he has a credit card with a $17k limit.
The card actually owes him $100.
He has found a new bank to take his money now.


We recently applied to refinace as we found out during the finiancial frenzy that our brokered loan is with GE. Were told something completly different when we signed up. (Borrower beware).
Anyway we go through this process of a refinace application. Now this application is only available to the few not the majority of the population. So after 3 months we find out we don't qualify for refinance but if I want to buy again no problems.
Still with GE till the wife gets back to full time work after being on workers comp for so long.

She is in real estate and was sent to an office that was described as hopeless with no future and the Company were going to close it. She knows her stuff and with the one agent left bumped up his listings and enquiries to the extent another agent has been placed in the office and they are taking on a rent role once more. Amazing what can be done with the drive to do well. Now if only I could convince her that she should be making the money for herself and allowing me to stay at home and give up my job with the State. lol😂

wonder if cadbury will hit an economic crisis point today.

cadbury schweppes = foreign owned 🙁
there is better tasting choc out there rather than the floor sweepings melting down for glass and a half
im as guilty as nearly everyone today as i got choc made in the EU.. hmmm mmm tastes good

wtf my coles brand chocky is made in Belgium.

its ok. cadbury provide aussie jobs. sugar farmers, dairy farmers, truck drivers, train drivers, accountants, paper mills printers, fitters, cleaners, electricians, labourers, marketing... All adds power to the big merry go round

h wrote:cadbury schweppes = foreign owned 🙁
there is better tasting choc out there rather than the floor sweepings melting down for glass and a half
im as guilty as nearly everyone today as i got choc made in the EU.. hmmm mmm tastes good

oddly enough Aussie cadburys tastes very different from UK cadburys. I have been told its because of some agent to stabilise the Oz choc in the heat but yea Euro choc tastes much nicer. Go Lindt 🙂

I lost my job 10 weeks ago, Employed for the last 32 years. I'm in the printing industry. It took me 6 weeks to find another job, Unfortunatly it's 70 Ks away. But hey beggars can't be choosers. I'm lucky I got another job so soon. I know of others who are still unemployed. Manufacturing at the moment in any industry is basically fucked, just look in the papers for a job.
yeah it's hit me hard, less pay, tolls, no company car, petrol, etc.
But you gotta cope, get on with it & look forward to see what the future will bring, thats all you can do.
Chin up, people
Johno