Outcomes of Incomes

Lies,damned lies and statistics

In 2013, October 07, to be precise The Melbourne Mercer Global pension Index proclaimed that we were a lucky bunch of superannuates . The Press seized on this and in their usual modest way proclaimed "Australia's retirement system among world's best!"

Right.

Let's move on to barely a year later when the Global Agewatch Index which monitors quality of life for the elderly has determined that Oz is not among the top 10 of the world's best countries. Australia ranks # 13 ,behind New Zealand Canada and the U.S and others.

Australia has the lowest ranking in the region (61st!) for retirement income security, coming behind Afghanistan (by 20 places) for that category.

For overall well being Afghanistan ranks last.

Statisticians and financial gurus can and do skew surveys to suit their own needs. We only have to scan the reports of how "well "the West is performing in its fight against ISIS or governmental press releases and spin on their performance to feel not so much reassured but a little uncomfortable.

Nevertheless , in my bones, I have an uneasy feeling that all is not well in Cloud Cuckoo land. Retirement is not the time to find this out for certain.

"Happy New Year, Bill!

It's all Greek

In July 2012, the European Central Bank's president, Mario Draghi promised to do "whatever it takes" to stabilise the Euro. Since then the fears of a Euro break up have receded into the background. That is until now.


For some reason the current Greek government under Mr Samaros decided to bring forward the presidential election to later this month. The Presidency is a largely ceremonial role but if Samaros cannot get enough votes for his candidate Stavros Dimas, a general election will follow. It seems likely, fingers crossed for the Euro, that Mr Dimas will win the vote. However the uncertainty  ( and investors hate surprises unless they pop , buck naked , out of cakes ) has roiled the Euro .

In case there is  general election ,polls suggest that Alexis Tsipras, the populist party leader would win. Although he professes to he would like to remain in the Eurozone , Tsipras  is making promises on public spending and austerity measures that would make it hard for him to keep his aims intact.

The potential and political fall out from the GFC in 2007, made any alternatives to the Euro "scary biscuits"and most preferred to stick with austerity rather than risking meeting the devil they didn't know. Now that the world has not ended and the affected economies appear to be stable, although painfully slow and sluggish, the political risks seem less perilous. The inertia of Europe, economically, is a problem that is current and perhaps more urgent.

There are disgruntled murmurings within EU ranks over still  current austerity measures and apart from the discontent within the  PIGS (Portugal,Italy,Greece and Spain) there are also signs of ferment in France and Germany while the Anglo Saxon Press take pot shots at the "smudgy amalgam of European Politics" to quote Churchill.

It would seem that the nightmarish thrills that turn on business tycoons before they go to sleep is still around but being optimistic, the jitters

does present traders with "opportunities" to earn some extra moolah.

ΏΠΑ!

Unsolicited calls....

Too good to be true

As we drift from 2014 into 2015 , it would be a wonder if most of us managed to avoid the ubiquitous salesman. They catch is by phone, by email, spam or simply cold calling.

A number of years ago , it was possible to put your name down on an official "Do not contact"list and be assured that your days would be carefree without having to make excuses as to why you couldn't buy the newest roof tiles for a mere $30000.00 or the latest computer driven investment program that would guarantee $10000.00 per moth..no worries.With the latter, of course, it begs the question that if this magic program were so good , why is the person trying to sell it? This list however, seems to have dropped off into cybersphere.

Charities are of course the hardest as they make you feel mean, curmudgeonly and thoroughly miserable in not wanting to fork out another load of shekels. If you do happen to agree and subscribe to one of the million raffles going around in the name of charity, the word seems to get round and for months afterwards you are plagued with dinner time phone calls asking for your help in solving the world's problems.

The sales people listed above are really just trying to do their job and earn a few bucks commission so they in turn can feed their fledgling families. No?

The most sneaky callers are those that tend to came from overseas. You can tell who they are, as there is a pause while they rush from veranda where they have been having a quick cheroot to get to the phone.Once answered there is the unmistakable sound of a murder of crows cawing and carrying on as they hang onto ancient telegraph wires in the 115 degree heat (Fahrenheit of course).
With names like Johnny, Debra or Bill they will endeavour to gain control of your computer under the guise of Microsoft or Telstra technicians.  Do not engage with these people , even as they try to curry favour with you! I don't even bother.At the telltale sign of the initial pause, I hang up. Some are more aggressive than others, one even calling me back demanding to know why I had hung up.

Anyway. Happy New Year and as they say, if it sounds too good to be true...it usually is a lie.

"......and add it to your feet!"

Fun together

Narendra Modi's wishes come true or

the joy of doing things together

America the "unchangeable principal enemy" of North Korea

Wrong 'un Kim

North Korea experienced sweeping and progressively worse Internet outages extending into Monday, with one computer expert saying the country's online access is "totally down." 
Newsmax Friday 26th December 2014


Extract from North Korean General Ding Dong's diary smuggled out of the country  before his mysterious disappearance two days ago

"Our supreme leader in response to America's act if war by backing the Sony film has heroically taken matters into his powerful hands and attempted to uncover the evil hackers himself. 

The effort was worthwhile. All communications between North Korea and the world have been effectively cut. Our supreme leader has again saved us from the ravages of American rumour mongers. "