Posts Tagged ‘Recession’

Five Oh One And All’s Well with the World

February 19th, 2010

How are things in your corner of the world?

For those of us who have jobs, things seem to be okay – the market is up again, the company is back to working a an 8 hour day 5 days a week, there is even an occasional new face at the water cooler and people are making bookings for holidays. So there is a sense of normality.

New clouds

But apparently not all is well. There is still massive unemployment, massive debt and too many closed stores in the malls. Now there is a faint rumbling of thunder from far away and new clouds are gathering. ‘Beware!’ shout some of the stock exchange advisory services, ‘it’s going to crash again and you’ll lose everything!’ Do they know something that we don’t or is this some new kind of reverse public relations ploy – if the market does crash they will advertise, “We at ABC knew; we told you; you didn’t listen and now your money is all gone! Next time listen to us. We know the market! Send in you special low introductory registration fee today!”

Acropolis Now

There’s a problem in Greece – massive debt. And the fear around the world is that it may be contagious and spread along the Mediterranean countries and infect them with debt as well. Meanwhile the entire world and especially the markets, are watching to see what happens with Greece, and this is apparently what’s holding the market back at the moment.

The China syndrome

With the help of massive government stimulus action, China is now leading the world economy out of recession, according to a new OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) report. Already the world’s second largest economy, China could well overtake the United States to become the leading producer of manufactured goods in the next five to seven years, it says. I find it difficult to think that the one day the US may no longer be the world’s leading economy. China is certainly putting the pressure on. Many forecasters are predicting that the only investment that will be positive in 2010 will be the ETF’s in China.

Exchange-Traded Funds

An ETF is a security that tracks an index, a commodity or a basket of assets like an index fund, but trades like a stock on an exchange. ETFs experience price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold. By owning an ETF, you get the diversification of an index fund as well as the ability to sell short, buy on margin and purchase as little as one share. Another advantage is that the expense ratios for most ETFs are lower than those of the average mutual fund. When buying and selling ETFs, you have to pay the same commission to your broker that you’d pay on any regular order.

China ETF’s

For ETF investors, making the right choice of fund in China will be critical to success.

Tags: China, ETF’s, Greece, OECD, Recession, Relapse
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Returning to normal

February 10th, 2010

Things are definitely looking up

When the Great Recession fell upon us in December 2007, I made some basic changes in order to continue enjoying life as I was accustomed. As my writing clients dropped off, I stopped various activities.

The symphony concert

The first to go was our renewal of the subscription to the symphony concert. For about 7 months of the year there is a concert every month. The tickets are expensive but the orchestra is great and we love about sixty percent of the music. The rest of the music is either modern or we simply don’t enjoy it. The non-renewal of the subscription was an easy decision.

The gym

I stopped going and decided that in these times of Great Recession I would simply walk in the streets each morning. As a writer I spend many hours scrunched in front of the computer in a question mark. I took to the gym in an effort to prevent my back giving out. Walking in the street is just as good, I decided. But I didn’t. I hated the exhaust fumes, the traffic, the noise, the summer heat and the winter rain.

The art school

Last on my list of luxury cut-backs was to stop my once-a-week session of the painting group at the art school. This was an expensive luxury, but I loved it. I had always dabbled with a brush and paints and never managed to produce anything worth looking at, let alone keeping. In my later years I decided to ‘just do it’. I registered at the local art school and joined the painting group. My life took on another dimension – I was creating properly and under supervision. I painted great pictures. I gave some to my children and hung others on the walls at home.

The work situation

As the Great Recession stumbled along I made further cuts in places like the supermarket, the movies houses, gifts; in fact I cut anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. My moves paid off. My writing clientele all but disappeared and my income dropped dramatically – so I tailored the spending accordingly, always leaving a small margin between the two so as to keep the bank manager from banging on my door.

Bottoming out

The situation reached bottom some months ago and my first ‘remedial’ action was to rejoin the gym. I found that I was missing the exercise and once back to my routine I felt better immediately. More work trickled in and I weighed the options of returning to the symphony concert but so far I have done nothing about it, despite the many phone calls from the concert office to please come back. I guess they are feeling the pinch too…

The latest step.

I went back to the registration office at the art school this morning. They were pleased to see me and I can’t wait to get back into the painting group tomorrow morning. I hope things ar e ba ck to normal.

Tags: Concert tickets, Gym, Painting group, Recession, Spending
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