Financial Armageddon!!

[cube]

A lot of German money is tied up in loans to ship owners - up to 60% of the world's ships are funded by Germany, apparently. Trouble is the loans were made pre-crisis and since then new ships are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run, so no one wants the old ones any more and lots of owners are in 'negative equity' on a ship that no one wants to hire.

[Toasty]

Italy seems to have gone off the news map. Yes there are stories about clamping down on the Mafia. However there are indications all is not well in Italy. Speaking with Italian Colleagues it seems that there are significant numbers of families who are starving. Further more there is increasing levels of lawlessness and even riots( blocking major highways) yet nothing is being reported in the media. Its weird people are saying one thing and the media is reporting nothing. I am really not sure what to make of it.

That's really interesting. Are there any news sources or bloggers that have may provide this alternative view? I had a quick pass through Google but couldn't find anything useful.

[eri]

toxic waste being dumped on farmland

all over italy apparently

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news...ectid=11176028

[Davo36]

And good old China's influence is in there too:

Past probes have found that the Camorra and their Chinese contacts have schemed together in the lucrative illegal waste racket

The Chinese make their clothes with toxic chemicals and then get the local mafia to get rid of the toxic waste. What a perfect alignment of 2 corrupt groups.

We'll see more and more of this here IMHO. Since we've formed a FTA with a totalitarian, corrupt country.

[Perry]

Christmas Eve Spending Hit Record
Laura Walters
27/12/2013

Christmas Eve was the biggest trading day on record, electronic
payment processor Paymark says. Figures released today by the
bank-owned eftpos operator showed a record $238.4 million passed
through the electronic network on Christmas Eve, 18.5 per cent more
than on the same day last year. Head of sales and marketing Paul
Whiston said Paymark processed the highest value through the network
ever, as well as the highest number of transactions in one day - 4.35m
- and the largest number of transactions per second.

"To come off the back of a high like this and to also see the busiest
Boxing Day that we've ever seen is a hugely positive result for
retailers," he said. Boxing Day sales rose 12 per cent yesterday
compared with the same day last year, Whiston said. The increase in
Boxing Day spending was equivalent to an additional $14.4m in
retailers' pockets compared with 2012, he said. Yesterday was a
continuation of the growth in Boxing Day sales in recent years. "It's
also an indication that consumer confidence is high due to the
improved economy we're seeing at present - a win-win for retailers as
far as we're concerned," Whiston said.

[Leftette]

They say the same thing every year. Then they go on to moan about the state of retail.

[skid]

Its kind of the same ole quandary-- We dont save enough and therefore have debt ,both personal and as a nation ,but its great for the economy cause everyone is spending up big

[Perry]

Kiwi Confidence In Tiger Territory
Laura Walters
06/01/2014

New Zealand business optimism has skyrocketed, placing us fifth in the
world, according to a new survey. The Grant Thornton International
Business Report showed New Zealand's business confidence had jumped to
74 per cent in the fourth quarter, from 64 per cent in the previous
quarter. The quarterly survey of 3250 businesses from 45 countries
included 50 Kiwi businesses.

New Zealand came in behind the United Arab Emirates and the
Philippines (both 90 per cent), Peru (84 per cent) and Indonesia (78
per cent). However, overall global confidence levels dropped from 32
per cent to 27 per cent during the same period, the results showed.
Grant Thornton New Zealand partner Paul Kane said that for the first
time in many years New Zealand was favoured by a growing local economy
and renewed international interest following the global financial crisis.

[speights boy]

And that is evidenced here:

Wholesale rates rising

The market continues to price more than a 50% chance of an OCR hike at the end of this month.
We think this would be inconsistent with the RBNZ’s previous communications and rather see March as the likely timing for the first rate hike.

The market prices 125bps of rate hikes by the end of the year.
That is consistent with our own view.

and

This could be the 'rockstar' economy of 2014

New Zealand will be the "rockstar" economy of 2014, with growth set to outpace most of its developed markets peers, according to HSBC, a stark contrast with neighboring Australia, which is struggling to maintain economic momentum.

"We think New Zealand will be the rockstar economy of 2014.
Growth is going to pick up pretty solidly this year," Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia and New Zealand at HSBC told CNBC

[eri]

fingers crossed!

[Perry]

I do wonder if NZ is doing the best - really,
........................or
just not doing as badly as everyone else?

[elguapo]

I do wonder if NZ is doing the best - really,
........................or
just not doing as badly as everyone else?

In the land of the blind, a man with one eye is king.

[Wayne]

I do wonder if NZ is doing the best - really,
........................or
just not doing as badly as everyone else?

Are you suggesting that we could be doing better than we are?
Everything is relative really.

[speights boy]

Just on the nzherald business webpage this morning there are 5 or so articles about NZ companies announcing deals, contracts or investments.

What is the most encouraging part ?

Not one mentioned property prices.

[Leftette]

In the Herald?? Really??