Potential Big GFC Discussion Thread

[trippytaka]

Originally Posted by AMGC63

BINGO!!!!!!! Give the man a prize.


The highlighted bit is what ive been saying all along, talk up the doom and gloom and its far more likely to happen (self forfilling) than if we promote as positive an environment as we can.
Consumer confidence and consumer spending (retail, housing etc) here holds the key to OUR economic situation and outlook far more than what mess the US is in....

OUR situation and climate is totally DIFFERENT to the US's....

While I agree in part, I don't think the doom and gloom talk has caused the consumer confidence levels to drop. Yes, the panic selling in the market, but not on the street. It's been with us too long - retail and housing has been slowing progressively for some time now.

Low consumer confidence has been caused, IMO, by the fact that Australians are leveraged to the eyeballs with personal debt and have realise they need to pay it off. They see the rest of the world in trouble and think - "holy bjsus, we're really up to the eyeballs here. We better pay some of that down, just in case."

This retail slow down has been happening for a while... the housing market in Perth turned around a few years ago, Gold Coast, Central Coast NSW etc all started a few years ago.

There have been cracks already appearing. I think that the recent events have just amplified it, more than casued it.