By Amanda Morrall
1) Trustworthy?
Apparently I have trust issues. I always have this sneaking suspicion that someone is out to sell me something. More often than not I'm right. Banks rank pretty high at the top of my list of who not to trust. Why? Well because let's face it, they have ulterior motives. Recently, I have softened my attitude towards banks (just a tad) given there are some nifty things happening in the technology space that might actually improve rather than impoverish their customer's lives.
However this article from boomerandecho.com, about whether you can trust advice from your bank has made me paranoid, once again. That's especially the case as a lot of surveys (a pretence to flog their products) come my way.
2) Pets for the super rich
I have written many times now about my pooch Mazzy and what a furry financial liability she is. Still I wouldn't trade her for all the coffee in Jamaica. After reading Richard Meadow's piece on pet ownership costs on Stuff.co.nz I got a bit of a boost. You see, when it comes to money and material stuff, everything is relative.
Compared to NBR Rich-lister Alan Gibbs, who furnished his Kaipara sculpture park with two giraffes (estimated to cost NZ$250,000 each over their lifetime) owning a simple canine and feline is a downright bargain. I am envious in one way though; that Mr. Gibbs' decision to buy a pair of these exotic creatures has spared him the effort of having to organise play dates for his expensive pets.
3) Corporate tax dodge
Kudos to "The Intruders", a U.K. protest group that is managing to penetrate the upper echelon of corporate U.K. and shame them (and their enablers) for duplicity and tax dodging of the most cunning kind. The Daily Mail reports on how The Intruders disgraced HMRC boss Dave Hartnett at a black-tie event for his largesse in cutting big corporates like Goldman Sachs and Vodafone massive tax breaks. It took a while for the crowd to cotton on to the fact that well-heeld Intruders were taking the proverbial in a big way and for organisers to threaten to sick the dogs on them. I howled. (see the video below).
I've decided we should start a NZ chapter. Anyone keen? Thanks to my most excellent tax columnist Terry B for this great find.
4) Burying debt
While alarm bells are being sounded in Canada about credit happy consumers continuing to borrow beyond their means as though the GFC didn't happen, Australians are getting super serious about getting out of debt. While household debt there remains high, the Reserve Bank of Australia reports that half of all borrowers are ahead of mortgage repayment schedules. (Clancy Yeates from the Age reports).
That said, the International Monetary Fund last week said "that the high level of household debt in Australia, coupled with falling house prices, was a point of vulnerability, Yeates reports.
5) Curious sales
Last week, Time Money reported on the Top 10 end of the world products that were all the rage in the U.S. This week, the magazine has compiled a list of nine products enjoying a curious surge in sales amid the recession. They include donuts; motorbikes purchased by women, guns, beer sold in cans and wrist watches.
Curious indeed. I haven't worn a watch in five years. With the exception of the odd Krispy Cream when I go through Auckland International, I stopped eating donuts after moving to NZ. Probably not a bad thing.
Forgive me StanGoodVibes, but this is one video you won't want to miss:
To read other Take Fives by Amanda Morrall click here. You can also follow Amanda on Twitter @amandamorrall
33 Comments
#4 yes but what the RBA isn't telling you is that the other 50% of mortgages are under stress and in arrears. It's kind of a glass half full glass half empty kind of statistic :-)
#3 Epic Video! Hartnett made my 2011 list of Corrupt Dodgy Twats, not far behind lifetime list member Fred Goodwin, and just ahead of Bob Diamond. There has to be a backhander in there somewhere for him, or a cushy 200k per year (non voting) seat on a board at Goldmans or Vodafone for his outstanding contribution to tax avoidance. It'll emerge in a year or two when no-one is noticing and of course there will be no probe into his past or any official comment about fraud or criminality (the Corzine effect).
I also think the comments by one of the officials "leave before we set the dogs on you" and "you are trespassing scum" speak volumes about the kind of arrogance that still pervades the establishment to anyone who dares question their right to break the rules don't you? Shocker.
p.s. a much better choice of video than, um, Slade LOL
LOL come on, you have to reserve some ire for those who are blatantly being fraudulous on a grand scale and then walking free. Why this very morning I was reading a respected Telegraph journalist pointing out the futility of fining the RBS for Libor fraud now that it's taxpayer owned, and that the fraud was committed on Fred the Shreds watch, not Stephen Hesters. There was considerable frustration on the part of the author that Fred is still milking the RBS for his pension instead of being behind bars.
Fred deserves to be vilified for his actions and his attitude. In fact he deserves a lot more than mere vilification. In cases like this, revenge solves everything. The British taxpayers should have justice, and in the immortal words of Spock, "sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". Goodwin, Diamond, and a good few others should be sent to the Tower*
* been watching The Tudors quite a bit lately
When you borrow money from a bank they become your business partner. The worst kind of business partner you can have. Not because you can't trust them in that 'they will steal from me' kind of way. Rather because they simply don't care about you. Not at all.
They want their money and they want it now.
Kind of like Fat Tony really.
But when you borrow a milion dollars from the bank they become your best friend. You get invited to Xmas parties, accounts with no fee's, mortgtages created with the up front fee's waived, your own manager etc etc.
Basically the more money you have (or borrow), the less they charge you. Which is strange really, given that you are more able to afford the fee's than a lot of their other customers who get stung repeatedly with charges.
#1 nearly forgot, had a liquid lunch yesterday (thanks NZ sav) with a friend who recently got AU$800k in a mortgage settlement dumped into her bank account (yet curiously I still ended up paying for lunch... hmmm) and commented that in the month it was sitting in her bank account before buying another property, she has a record number of calls from her bank trying to sell her all sorts of products.
Go figure.
#2 Try a £130,000 chicken coop.
2. Tomorrow I expect a $750+ bill for 1 rabbit to be op'd on.....thats just crazy....
so much for being given a free rabbit....one hell of an expensive stew (I'll probably have to incl divorce costs if i try that).
:/
Guess i should get another one so I can have slippers...
<runs>
regards
Ted The Wonder Lab took an unscheduled flight off that hill by Piriaka in the back of the (now ex) missus's car (note to anyone: do not buy your wife an expensive performance car as a present) and in the course of the car destroying itself in the field below Ted was thrown unceremoniously out of the window (I presume - luckily I was not present) and suffered some severe injuries.
To be fair the original estimate to rebuild him into The Seventeen Thousand Dollar Dog *makes Steve Austin running sound.. t.t.t.t.t.t......t.t.t.t.t....* was only about 4 grand, but what with the cost of bionics these days and the extreme care he received at that pet hospital by Unitech (who are totally wonderful BTW) in Avondele', it just kind of went over budget. a tad.
Meh, he was and still is Sarahs favorite dog (Sophie The Wonder Retriever is lovely too though*) and she suffered enough so... you gotta do what you gotta do. I'd do it again.
*yes, calling our dogs Edward and Sophie was deliberate
Wait until the bugger chews through all your cables behind the tv or computer, then stew might be more appealing. The boys playstation was the worst one to fix. I think myxamatosis got that one.
Second rabbit was a white angora which I just left to run around the property at will, that was on a 12 acre block. Certainly kept that cat entertained. Funniest bit was when my mate from a few doors down that farms 150 acres rocked up one day to see the rabbit on the door step. With an incredulous look he asked what the F*** is that!
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