The multi-party inquiry into New Zealand banks met with submitters in Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Many interested parties including Finsec addressed the inquiry, but the banks themselves were absent, with the exception of Kiwi Bank.
Finsec’s submission focussed on the need for greater control of lending practices, and greater oversight of the banks generally and presented a brief analysis of banks financial health.
The Council of Trade Unions also gave a high profile submission. CTU Economist and Policy Director Bill Rosenberg said that our banks are charging excessive margins on floating mortgages and credit card rates, and that there is a need for greater regulation of international capital movements to and from New Zealand.
“We also discussed bank charges, competition in the sector, and responsible behaviour of banks,” said Rosenberg. “We note that while some increase in competition may have benefits, we should be cautious as there is an expert view that excessive competition will encourage the high risk behaviour that led to the financial crash in the USA. For this and other reasons, further consideration of suitable supervision and regulation of New Zealand’s financial system is merited in the light of the international and domestic financial and economic crisis.”
Read the Finsec submission here:
http://www.finsec.org.nz/submissions/Submission%20to%20banking%20inquiry%20092009.pdf
We hear all kinds of confusing messages coming out of MSM and the government right now on the real state of the economy. This index or that is rising slightly or at least decreasing at a slow pace. Unemployment rates have stabilized at about 300,000 net jobs lost per month. Blah.. Blah..Blah.
Here is the real situation and how it really does affect you directly. The National Combined Debt now stands at about $11.7 Trillion dollars. We will be lucky to have $13 Trillion in total GDP this year. To make this personal, every Tom, Dick, and Harry, along with every member of their families, including even baby Jake owes $38,380 right now. And BTW, you each have spent $8,670 so far this year. So the next time you are doing your family budget don’t forget to add your federal burden, based on a family of four, of $188,200. Bet it wasn’t in the budget before hey? How crazy is this?
Well, try this on. The US “unfunded” liabilities (read Medicare, Social Security, and Prescription Drugs) is $58 TRILLION! So, the same Tom, Dick and Harry Clan members are on the hook for $191,941, or using the “family of four” model, $767,764!! Yikes!
OK, let’s re-look the family budget. On average, we have about $100,000 in real debt, most in our mortgage, we got about $25,000 in credit card debt, $188,200 in federal burdens, and we are the hook for $767,764 in unfunded liabilities. That means, on average, every family in America is $1,080,964 in DEBT!! That means what exactly, you so cleverly ask? It means that in the last two years over $12 Trillion has been lost in HOUSEHOLD wealth. That I think we all can understand. Who took our money? It didn’t disappear, it just well uh got re-allocated, that’s it.
To give more perspective to this discussion, in 2009 alone so far, 590,170 families have had their homes foreclosed by the banks. That means banks have created, keeping consistent with our “family of four” model, 2,360,680 homeless people. Is it really starting to sink in now?
No? OK, there have been so far in 2009, 962,727 personal bankruptcies. Using our model, that means an additional 3,850,920 lives that have been affected by this financial debacle. Then you add the 18,000,000 unemployed to these numbers and the 50 million folks without health insurance and we are talking a large segment of our population is in severe financial distress.
But hey, business will turn around and when things start booming, we won’t be talking like this, right? You better sit down for this one. The current Currency and Credit Derivatives (you remember derivatives. the mortgage derivatives cost us $7.6 Trillion) is $645 TRILLION! If 15 % of that puppy goes south, we are looking at $97 Trillion or 13 times the size of the mortgage fiasco. The more research I do, the more I am starting to get pissed. How about you?
We can start ending this madness, I believe, by stopping these political “auctions” and start holding real elections in this country. We need a Public Funded Campaign law right now! Only then can we have competent people run for office and once elected they would faithfully uphold the constitution and represent their electorate.
(Newser Summary) – BP discovered a massive oil cache under the Gulf of Mexico after drilling the world’s deepest exploration well, Bloomberg reports. The discovery at Tiber Prospect may hold reserves equivalent to 3 billion barrels. In order to find it, BP engineers drilled to a total depth of 35,055 feet—taller than Mount Everest.
Although the find will take years to develop, it is expected to increase BP’s output in the Gulf by 50%, to 600,000 barrels a day after 2020. “What today’s announcement proves is that BP is a very, very successful explorer,” said an industry analyst. “They’ve opened up the whole area for discoveries.”
Tourism is something that the developed world enjoys, evolving from it’s modern beginnings with the Victorians, to its position today as a major industry in its own right. Tourism continues to grow, driven to some extent by an ever expanding population of retired people.
I don’t believe Surrey Heath is taking advantage of the opportunities that tourism brings. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating a new Thorpe Park in Surrey Heath, what I’d like to see is greater use of our green space and our cultural heritage. Both areas could be set up to generate income and enjoyment for visitors.
Just look at the evidence for a deficit of cultural tourism in our borough. Take a look at the Heritage Open Days website. Look at what’s on offer in the South East, and see how little is on offer in Surrey Heath. Case made methinks.
The government sees the London 2012 Olympics offering tourism potential. Do we in Surrey Heath? I’m not sure we do. This report interestingly says,
“… 80 per cent of tourism income is generated at home by day trips, business stays, holidays at home and visits to relatives.”
Again, please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not suggesting that Surrey Heath Borough Council goes into the leisure industry. But it does have a role to play, pump priming I’d call it. Heck, we’ve the undoubted skills of Bob Potter to tap into, owner of the Lakeside complex.
I love this solution!!!!! This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on “How WouldYou Fix the Economy?” I think this guy nailed it!
Dear Mr. President, Please find below my suggestion for fixing America’s economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan: There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings – Unemployment fixed..
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered – Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage – Housing Crisis fixed. It can’t get any easier than that!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress and their constituents pay their taxes…
If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know. If not, please disregard.
I, Cringely: “Economic Bloggers” by Robert X. Cringely: 31 August 2009
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これは今年初めに行なわれた Kauffman Foundation の経済ブログに関する会議だ。ビデオが最近公開されたばかりだ。私もビデオに出ているが、経済ブロガーがメディアや文化で果たしつつある新しい役割についてよくまとめていると思う。ビデオの出来もたいへんいい。散髪が必要に見えるところはいささか難だが・・
Here’s a video just released by the Kauffman Foundation covering their economic bloggers conference from earlier this year. While I am one of the people in this video, I think it takes a very good look at the emerging role of economic bloggers in both the media and our culture. It’s also a delight to see such high production values, though I sure need a haircut.
Toyota Motor Corp. is planning its first long-term closure of a domestic assembly line as auto sales fall to their lowest level in more than 30 years.
Toyota, which cut domestic output 49 percent through June, will reduce output by about 220,000 units by shutting down the line at its Takaoka plant in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, from the first quarter of fiscal 2010 through the second half of calendar 2011, spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said Wednesday.
The automaker is considering reducing its annual global production capacity by around 700,000 units from 10 million to deal with the persistent auto slump, the company said.
As part of the effort, Toyota is also studying a plan to suspend factory operations in Britain’s Derbyshire for a production cut of another 150,000 units. The automaker will soon announce the closure of New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a California-based joint venture with General Motors Co., for an output reduction of 300,000 units.
