Juggling Dynamite

This take from a Vancouver real estate agent is basic and yet little understood by many.  This credit-cycle-induced downturn is now underway folks.  Although, it is certainly not ‘unprecedented’.  It is common for people to misunderstand or miss the historical patterns and behaviour of financial cycles.

The Alternative lending space is booming and it has CIBC’s Bejamin Tal worried. According to the bank alternative lending now makes up 15% of the market in the GTA. Its likely similar here in Vancouver as I am seeing a lot of it. This space makes the financial system inherently more unstable in my opinion as these are all equity based loans on one terms. If equity drops as we are seeing now, it sets off a chain reaction. Here is a direct video link.

This clip offers a good update on issues affecting the Australian property market, households and the economy overall.  There are many parallels to Canada as well.

When it comes to housing bubbles, the bigger the bubble, the bigger the pop. That’s what Australia is probably experiencing at the moment — A large deflation that isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It was once thought that it was just a healthy, but overdue, correction. But now regulators, policy makers, and the Reserve Bank of Australia, are all beginning to worry. Although the current slide hasn’t shown too much of a threat to the broader economy, even the most conservative of observers are suggesting that prices will continue to fall at least until the end of 2019. The biggest problem is that the main causes of the downfall cannot be altered easily. The only tool left in the RBA’s arsenal is another rate cut, but many commentators have argued that such a cut will only ease the pain — not cure the affliction.  Here is a direct video link.

Recycling non-biodegradable plastics into other non-biodegradable plastics is a stop-gap measure. The solution requires us to greatly reduce the use of plastics and require that the ones needed be made out of biodegradable materials.  Time to speak up and act. We consumers accepting this packaging are enabling its demand.

There is no doubt Australia is one of the most wasteful nations in the world, so the practice of recycling helps to lessen our guilt. As we drag our bins out for collection each week, we feel like we’re helping the environment. But the reality is that we’re all being conned. Right now, Australia is stuck in an unsightly and worsening recycling crisis. What is being done with plastic waste, the material most people think would be easy to salvage and re-use, is of the greatest concern. As Liam Bartlett discovers, most of it ends up either being buried or worse – exported to countries like Malaysia, a place we are now treating like a garbage bin.  Here is a direct video link.