Global economy is in China’s hands
From the Australian
THE good news is that the world is still funding Aussie banks. The ANZ Bank last week raised $3 billion from the issue of so-called samurai bonds. Japanese investors are reassured by the government guarantee and attracted by Australia’s relatively high yields underpinned by the Reserve Bank. The bad news is that our biggest export market will buy much less of what Australia sells.
Stimulus package ignores climate chaos
The Australian Greens are consulting widely on proposals for including energy efficiency requirements in all school and housing projects to be funded in the stimulus package currently being scrutinised by the Senate.
In hearings this morning, officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet revealed that no thought had been given in preparing the package to requiring new housing stock to be energy efficient. Neither was any consideration given to funding cycleways or public transport infrastructure instead of roads.
“It beggars belief that a Government could insulate existing homes with one hand while building new uninsulated homes and schools with the other,” said Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne.
Regional stimulus bouys farmer’s hopes
From the National Farmers Federation
WITH the Australian Government releasing its $42 billion economic stimulus package mark II, capital works investment in regional Australia is vital to ensure farm production can continue to keep the national economy afloat.
Today’s announcement mirrors the National Farmers’ Federation’s (NFF’s) imperatives for sustaining Australia through the global economic meltdown and creating jobs by putting Australia ‘front-and-centre’ in overcoming the world food crisis and, in the process, generating lasting economic prosperity.
Woolworths losing ground in local cases
Supermarket chain Woolworths lost two cases against local residents last week with courts ruling against a two storey development in Sydney’s Erskineville and Wallaroo in South Australia. Woolworths Australia is a separate company to the UK based retail giant that has suffered significant financial loss in the last month. Despite Australia representing less than two percent of the world retail market, Woolworths and Coles both appear in the Top Thirty list of retail companies world wide. With around forty percent of the Australian retail market each, Coles and Woolworths hold an unprecedented share of the Australian retail market. Woolworths is facing widespread community opposition to its move to build 700 new supermarkets in close knit communities that have resisted mall shopping. The company made 16 percent of its profit last year from gambling.
Turnbull’s defence of financial institutions rubbished in US
Leader of the federal opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, claimed last week that criticisms of the US financial system are incorrect and the problem is simply that the government encouraged sub-prime mortgages. Writer Tanya Cariina Hsu has extensively debunked the claim, analysing the role of the private banks who control the US Federal Reserve and pointing out that the $700 billion rescue package has given a small coiterie of the world’s wealthiest people cash to pick up retail banks at rock bottom prices. She claims this pattern was repeated in 1929 and 1987. Turnbull has been defending the US financial institutions at the same time as governments in Europe and Asia are distancing their economies from the US system that has undermined their independence.
Investors move into agriculture
From The Land
After the dust settles from the sell off across commodities triggered by the global financial crisis, agricultural commodities will benefit from a secure demand outlook and tight supplies to outperform metals and oil in 2009.
Regardless of the gloomy macroeconomic outlook people still need to eat; therefore agricultural commodities will be more resilient during the economic downturn.