http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/gfc/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-sun-is-shining-but-storms-lay-ahead-for-the-surplus/ The Reserve Bank has decided the economy is ticking along for the moment, and airline passengers lists confirm that many Australians have had a bit of cash to spare. On the day the central bank left official interest rates untouched, the Bureau of Statistics revealed millions of Australians have been in a position to take advantage of the dollar’s golden powers abroad. Last year, short-term departures by Australians reached a new record of 7.8 million overseas visits, up from 7.1 million in 2010. Back in 2001 there were just 3.4 million visits. Some 57 per cent of those who left the country for a short time last year did so for a vacation and a further 22 per cent said it was to catch up with relatives. That amounts to a lot of people with the dough to put to travel, a relative luxury. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-sun-is-shining-but-storms-lay-ahead-for-the-surplus/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-sun-is-shining-but-storms-lay-ahead-for-the-surplus/#item7706 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-happens-to-us-if-we-collide-with-gfc-2.0/ In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-happens-to-us-if-we-collide-with-gfc-2.0/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-happens-to-us-if-we-collide-with-gfc-2.0/#item7680 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-my-day-we-had-a-whole-war-to-protest-about/ Matt Granfield is a typical Gen Y guy with a social conscience. He joined his friends in protesting at the Occupy Sydney movement. His Uncle Barry was shocked to see him on the television. The Vietnam war veteran doesn’t understand what Matt’s generation could possibly have to complain about. While Matt thinks his Uncle, with his Medicare assisted health care and addiction to consumer goods, should question what he hears on the news every night. Below is a copy of their email exchange. From: Barry Granfield Sent: Sunday, 30 October 2011 10:20 AM To: Matt Granfield Subject: Occupy Wall Street Protests Dear Matthew, I saw you on the news last week. I have to say, I’m most disappointed. This Occupy Sydney thing is a farce. I know you’ll say it’s hypocritical of me, but back in the 70s we were fighting against The Vietnam War and a government who locked people in jail for refusing to be conscripted. We had a good reason. This is just silly. What on earth are you protesting against? And since when did you learn to play the bongos? Uncle Barry feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-my-day-we-had-a-whole-war-to-protest-about/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-my-day-we-had-a-whole-war-to-protest-about/#item7032 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-bit-rich-to-just-dismiss-the-occupy-movements/ The Occupy movement has certainly been grabbing the headlines over the last week. Apart from the protests that simultaneously occurred in capital cities around Australia, there was also the controversial police evictions of both the Melbourne and Sydney sites. In the latest news, it was reported that there are concerns that Occupy Melbourne will be targeting a protest towards the Queen when she visits the city later today. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-bit-rich-to-just-dismiss-the-occupy-movements/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-bit-rich-to-just-dismiss-the-occupy-movements/#item7000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-is-the-unlucky-country-girt-by-misery/ So. A bunch of European bankers with their sharp suits and their cuckoo clocks want to take a break from their fondue parties and ski lodges made of cognac to tell us about doing it tough as a true blue Aussie. What right they have, I don’t know. In the global economic climate, ‘Euro’ and ‘money’ make as credible a pairing as ‘Fascist Fun Run’ or ‘Relevant Bono’. Yet when Euromoney magazine named Wayne Swan the world’s Finance Minister of the Year, it presumed to get stuck into his constituents for their despondency. “Surrounded by the consumer baubles that wealth brings, grumpy Australians don’t seem to appreciate how good they’ve had it,” said the report. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-is-the-unlucky-country-girt-by-misery/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-is-the-unlucky-country-girt-by-misery/#item6808 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-qa-whats-happening-to-our-markets/ Global financial markets are going completely bananas. Again.  Financial experts worldwide are calling on leaders for some direct action to bring certainty to the struggling Greek and southern European economies. So what does all this mean for us? Australian treasurer Wayne Swan has described it as a dangerous new phase, while other economists have urged the RBA to take immediate action to avoid being caught up in the recessionary sweep. Eager to find out what all that actually means, The Punch asked Saul Eslake, senior economist at the Grattan Institute to give us the low down. 1. How much could the current crisis affect Australia? How worried should we be? The current ‘crisis’ reflects (first) the increasing likelihood (as markets see it) that Greece will default on its debts, resulting in losses that may render some banks who hold large amounts of Greek government debt insolvent, and that in the aftermath of a Greek default other countries (Portugal, perhaps Spain or even Italy, the latter two being much larger than Greece) will be more likely to default; and (second) the increasing likelihood that Europe and/or the US may slip into a second recession, in which case governments and central banks would have very little capacity to respond in the normal way (by cutting interest rates or doing fiscal stimulus). feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-qa-whats-happening-to-our-markets/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-qa-whats-happening-to-our-markets/#item6796 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-economy-kicking-goals-a-league-above-the-rest/ We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Australia is still in a “different” economic league to the rest of the world and there are five rocks underpinning those solid foundations. The global financial turmoil is definitely a worry. Many are saying it’s based on fear… and they’d be right. But it is also based on reality. Some of the economic numbers coming out of the US and Europe are seriously bad. So bad that the global market reaction has been justified. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-economy-kicking-goals-a-league-above-the-rest/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-economy-kicking-goals-a-league-above-the-rest/#item6561 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/An-island-of-calm-amid-global-economic-meltdown/ Twenty years ago today, Muscovites awoke to tanks in their streets in a ill-fated coup against the modernising leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. It was, it turned out, the last gasp of the hardliners and within months, Soviet communism was officially over. Along with the collapse of the Berlin Wall two years before these events were viewed somewhat triumphally as the end of history. Indeed a book of the same name was a publishing sensation in the early 90s. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/An-island-of-calm-amid-global-economic-meltdown/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/An-island-of-calm-amid-global-economic-meltdown/#item6536 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Ignore-the-crash-and-have-some-beer-and-skittles/ Share market panics are scary and absolutely no-one knows for sure where they’ll end up. The smarties will talk about buying bargains now because Australia’s future is more linked to China than the US or Europe, and how our economy is much better placed to ride out any financial storms than the rest of the world. They’re right. BUT share market panics are not logical. They’re driven by emotion and almost impossible to predict. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Ignore-the-crash-and-have-some-beer-and-skittles/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Ignore-the-crash-and-have-some-beer-and-skittles/#item6462 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/relax-its-not-another-gfc/ With the markets still dancing their crazy dance this morning, The Punch threw a few questions at CommSec chief equities economist Craig James. He’s the guy best known for inventing the iPod and iPad indices, which measure the relative price of said products in countries around the world. Last time, it was the Lehman brothers collapse. What has sparked the market plunge this time? It’s countries rather than banks or companies this time. The [market plunge] has been sparked by debt levels being held by Europe in particular, but also in the US. Investors as well as ratings agencies have a degree of impatience. They want to see improvements sooner rather than later. In my opinion a lot of investors and rating agencies are unduly focused on debt levels rather than [countries] growing their way out of it. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/relax-its-not-another-gfc/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/relax-its-not-another-gfc/#item6450 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 In 2008, one of the biggest financial disasters in history took place. When investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial crisis announced its unwanted presence to the world. Four years later, the European debt crisis has again left the global financial system teetering on the edge of the abyss. Make no mistake. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of economics. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a 1930s style Great Depression. Former prime minister Paul Keating has called it the “worst crisis of his lifetime.” Legendary speculator George Soros, in a chilling interview with Newsweek, had this to say: “We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.”