Australia
2009 begins
Friday, February 13th, 2009 | Economy | 1 Comment
For all intents and purposes the business year in Australia has now started – the inevitable increase in peak hour traffic with the majority returning from summer holidays is testament to this. January does tend to be slow for those who aren’t away, and this year even more so for the slowdown in the economy happening around us. Although having said this, many industries in Australia appear unaffected; earlier in the week I ate out, for example, and no one seemed to have told the busy restaurant nor its diners of the world recession. Surely one could be forgiven for thinking that if we had less negative sentiment from the media etc we might be able to get through this more quickly and with less severity. Self fulfilling prophecies and reduced spending, but I’ll leave that topic for university professors. Certainly in some sectors – especially finance and banking, and more recently mining which must be seen as a particular concern – there have been job cuts and even companies becoming insolvent, but to a large extent Australia seems to have been somewhat sheltered. At least so far. And so with little optimism and cash payments for all on the way from the Australian Government, 2009 begins.