Interest rates: will they or won't they rise

Posted to The Age (31/7/2011) on 31/7/2011 at 1:25 PM
Commenting on "Interest rates: will they or won't they rise?"
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/interest-rates-will-they-or-wont-they-rise-20110729-1i3qu.html

CPI index used to determine inflation rate is incorrect and deceptive. I even go to extent to condemn such impractical approach, whether it is based on standard or weighted index calculation, as unethical and immoral.

Under normal circumstances, without the influence of new taxes being imposed / introduced, adverse climatic and unforseen disastrous conditions, if supply and demand are played fairly in a market, increase in prices due to shortage is a legitimate parameter for the index calculation.

It is nonsensical to increase interest rate because the CPI index and hence the inflation rate shows an increase. The increase in prices for banana, tobacco, alcohol, utility charges, etc. is not due to demand driven. It is bad enough for the consumers to cop with price increases, but to rub salt to the wound to increase interest rate will lead to a new round of vicious whirlpool of increases in mortgage payment, wage, fares, property price, etc. Some of the items which are affected abnormally should be removed from the basket of items until normality is resumed. A weight factor (index) should be introduced and incorporated to items which are affected by new taxes.

If RBA is going to increase interest rate on Tuesday 2/8/2011, the wealth gap in Australia will widen, more small businesses will face closure and many families go further below poverty line. Many Australians are facing utility cut-off, and stress related illnesses are on the increase. For those who are still in the workforce, spare a thought for those who suffer through no fault of theirs. By the way, $16 million just to go to a particular person is an obscene amount. It is a lot of dough to feed many hungry Australians!

First boatload to be sent to Malaysia

Posted to The Age (31/7/2011) on 31/7/2011 at 12:14 PM
Commenting on "First boatload to be sent to Malaysia"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/first-boatload-to-be-sent-to-malaysia-20110731-1i612.html

Posted to Herald Sun (31/7/2011) on 31/7/2011 at 12:28 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Asylum seeker boat intercepted in first test of Malaysia swap deal"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/first-boat-intercepted-since-swap-deal/story-fn7x8me2-1226105360824

Let's look at this hypothetical situation. The country-you-know-where puts on a boat some so called illegal asylum seekers who are in fact paid dummies to have a free boat ride (holiday) to Australia. Upon arrival, they get a dream-come-true free plane ride back to the country-you-know-where, courtesy of Australia taxpayers. What does Julia Gillard do to reward the ingenious crooks who thought of the scheme? With Australian taxpayers' money of course! The process is repeated until Australia has reached a quota of accepting 4000 bona fide refugees. What's next? The genuine illegal asylum seekers will be on the way to Australia.

Melbourne homes cheaper but still out of reach

Posted to The Age (28/7/2011) on 28/7/2011 at 11:10 AM
Commenting on "Melbourne homes cheaper but still out of reach: reports"
http://www.theage.com.au/business/melbourne-homes-cheaper-but-still-out-of-reach-reports-20110728-1i11b.html

It is not a matter how cheap or expensive a property is; it is a matter of what your budget is. Many people keep looking at property not within their earning or repayment capacity. If you do not have a budget, make one or get someone to help you to prepare one. Stick within the budget!

You dream of buying a house, even in poor condition, renovate it and make it liveable or increase in value. Instead of dreaming, The wasted time should be spent on up-skilling home renovation and applying such skill to earn extra income to boost the deposit towards the "dream home". Stop wasting time looking at property when you are not ready financially.

You people want to live close to public transport or school even though you don't use the system or have children going to school. You want alfresco dining or barbeque backyard, but you should be mowing someone's lawn now to earn that extra dollar. You want 3 bedrooms, but you can survive having just 1.

Why move out from the present place whether it is a rental property or you are staying with parents or friends? Just tough it out and in the meantime save the additional dollars. It's character building time - learn to share accommodation to reduce expense.

Don't take RBA and ABS statistic at gospel truth. They are many underlying reasons not explained. The time is not right yet to buy for most people. Go earn more money for the deposit!

For more advice, read my blogs: SinFongChanRealEstate.blogspot.com

Real estate slowdown forces 'massively reduced prices' at Newport Quays

Posted to Adelaide Now (27/7/2011) on 27/7/2011 at 1:52 PM
Commenting on "Real estate slowdown forces 'massively reduced prices' at Newport Quays"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/property/news/real-estate-slowdown-forces-massively-rediced-prices-at-newport-quays/story-e6frefgc-1226102335738

Many people will go to great extent to shop for cheap gadget and yet do not spend enough time to check out details before spending hundreds of thousands of hard earned dollars in properties.

Several friends have asked me for opinion and advice after they have signed the purchase contracts. My standard response is "I cannot comment on what you have told me, and hope that you've made the right decision". A contract is a legal document, and trying to void one is beyond my scope. It is advisable to seek professional advice before commiting, and no point to do so after.

Land appreciates but building depreciates. Everyday, land gets more and more scarce, but building becomes older and older. Buying property with no or little land is spending money on buying "thin air". Unless money is a dirty word and you have plenty to give away to the property developer or real estate agent, DO NOT get yourself that volume of thin air! Make sure that land near waterfront is not newly reclaimed or experiencing movement.

PS. Sin Fong is a qualified licensed estate agent and real estate trainer. Feel free to read my blogs on SinFongChanRealEstate.blogspot.com


Posted to Adelaide Now (27/7/2011) on 27/7/2011 at 2:12 PM

@Goodness to the World, IT (or now known as ICC) industry ranks before real estate and used car. How many IT projects complete on time and on budget? How many IT professionals deliver what they promised? How much more on-going maintenance and upgrade costs are involved after the completion of a project?


Posted to Adelaide Now (27/7/2011) on 27/7/2011 at 3:43 PM

Thank for publishing my comment. Many readers have visited my blog site. I hope that my advice is valuable, and they will be more careful in making property investment decision in future. It is also important not to take RBA and ABS statistics as gospel. Many underlying trends are not explained and can be interpreted by many incorrectly. Just keep in mind that "No one should live beyond his/her means".

Australia is the 'dumbest continent' according to Indian call centres

Posted to Adelaide Now (24/7/2011) on 24/7/2011 at 11:02 AM
Commenting on "Australia is the 'dumbest continent' according to Indian call centres"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/aussies-called-dumb-racist-drinkers/story-fn6bqvxz-1226100480352

The call centre operators are just doing their job, just like you turning up to work in the employment prison called the office (if you are lucky enough to have one). I used to get upset by the calls, but later I realised that they were putting in genuine effort to make a living, much better than those who can work but don't want to and rely on welfare. Indians who work in call centres and speak English can operate computers, too. They are not dumb to believe in everything they were told, because they can get information from Internet and books to learn about the real Australia. Ignorant Australians who believe that Indians are gullible and racists should have a good look at themselves in the mirror. BTW, a dumb PM does not mean that all Australians are dumb! Undeniably, the Government did make many dumb policies and turned off the $18 billion international education tap last year. The negative flow on economic impact is immense and yet most Australians know little about this. Want to know more? Get the newspapers or TV stations to investigate this.

Beijing bans swimmers from tweeting

Posted to Adelaide Now (19/7/2011) on 19/7/2011 at 4:06 PM
Commenting on "Beijing bans swimmers from tweeting"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/beijing-bans-swimmers-from-tweeting/story-fn6bqpju-1226097204662

"Freedom of speech", what's that? Many people in Australia from very young to very old in the name of freedom of speech use foul language to swear at other people, showing no respect to anyone and everyone, destroying public property with graffiti (cum freedom of expression), public whinging, etc. Then there are posting of naked pictures on Facebook, confidential and private information from Government sources reviewed without permission. We can do with some striction here. PS Get a life swimmers, your half naked photos aren't very attractive to my liking!

Australian Workers Union backs Prime Minister Julia Gillard's carbon tax

Posted to Adelaide Now (18/7/2011) on 18/7/2011 at 11:27 PM
Commenting on "Australian Workers Union backs Prime Minister Julia Gillard's carbon tax"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/australian-workers-union-backs-prime-minister-julia-gillards-carbon-tax/story-e6frea83-1226096977868

I don't understand what the Union is trying to say about "... illegal dumping by overseas competitors". It is more than likely that by stopping the use of brown coal for power generation, the coal will either lay buried in the ground thus causing loss of jobs, or continue to be mined thus retaining the miners' ability to earn their daily bread. The second option means exporting or dumping the brown coal to other countries, which probably operate dirtier and more polluting plants than what we have currently. Supporting the Gillard government carbon tax and ETS policies only highlights one's selfishness and moral corruption. Unionists be wise - don't support something that goes against your conscience, whether the Government of the day is Labor or Liberal. The moral behind the Labor Government's story is: Thou shalt not dirty your own backyard.

Oprah has done her part; Australia has to come up with the goods!

Posted to msn Travel (18/7/2011) on 18/7/2011 at 6:07 PM (not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Oprah's Aussie visit 'not worth it'? "
Title Oprah has done her part; Australia has to come up with the goods!
http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/Blog.aspx?blogentryid=848436&showcomments=true

This is an example showing that many Australians just like to knock. How is $5 million compare with the potential gain with the $25 million Gillard's government spends on promoting the carbon tax which is objectionable by 85% of the population? Oprah did her utmost in all her Down Under shows to promote Australia. Good promotion requires good marketable products to achieve sale. It's up to Australia to come up with the goods to attract the Americans to come over. Have the airlines, tour companies and hotels come up with packages so tempting that the Americans cannot refuse? I recently returned from a cruise with a lot of Americans onboard. Many I have spoken to love to visit Australia. These are in the sixties and older. They do have plenty of money - they don't come for beaches, ecotourism or adventure. They come here to be pampered and relax. They will shop for things they can't get in America. The crux of the matter is, what are we going to sell to these Americans who can afford?

Government denies CPSU warning of job cuts in education department

Posted to Herald Sun (18/7/2011) on 18/7/2011 at 4:01 PM (Not yet published)
Commenting on "Government denies CPSU warning of job cuts in education department"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/cpsu-warns-job-cuts-likely-in-the-education-department/story-fn7x8me2-1226096633731

Many sessional teachers have already lost their jobs since the downturn of international education sector. TAFE's are not getting the students/trainees because they cannot compete with the private colleges due to TAFE's higher fees and more stringent assessment.

Many private colleges provide government funded courses and print off certificates for Diploma and other qualifications without assessing the students/trainees properly. Since many assessors are paid by the number of assessments they assess, and quality is inversely proportionate to quantity. Many students/trainees complete their courses by RPL or RCC (recognised prior learning or recognised current competence). Colleges still receive full funding from the government even though the students/trainees have little or no face-to-face interaction with a human trainer.

The current VET system is based on competency-base-training. Many graduates do not make the grades at all. Plagiarism is a disastrous phenomenon, and the quality of some submissions are worst than a Year-10 student's.

Trainers are pressured to "pass" the "clients". After all, education IS a business!

Price war drives up supermarket sales

Posted to Adelaide Now (18/7/2011) on 18/7/2011 at 1:51 PM
Commenting on "Price war drives up supermarket sales"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/price-war-drives-up-supermarket-sales/story-e6frea6u-1226096438411

For the last few years, I have been travelling to Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Egypt, USA, Canada, UK, Russia and several European countries. In the end, I still call Melbourne, Australia home. Eating out is cheaper in many places, but life is more than just food. GST or similar taxes in many of these countries are much higher, and wages are lower.

Farmers and suppliers to large supermarkets must unite to negotiate a better deal. Their long term survival is also an interest to the supermarkets. Gone are the days when farmers just grow produce, they must learn to grow their bottom line now!

Supermarkets make more money from shoppers spending their savings on other more expensive items. No wonder these shoppers always cry poor, and accept and embrace a PM who can't manage taxpayer's money readily! Think about using the savings to reduce mortgage stress or spend on other essential items!

As for Michael Schneider, what sort of accommodation is he getting for that price in SE Asia? Once he steps out of his living compound, very likely he sees congested, noisy and dirty streets. Soon he probably seeks shelter in the Australian embassy due to political uprising.

Carbon tax $25 million promotion is a waste of taxpayer's money

Posted to Herald Sun (17/7/2011) on 17/7/2011 at 1:57 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Former prime minister John Howard warns of lonely emissions trading path for Australia"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/prime-minister-julia-gillard-defends-carbon-tax-ad-spend/story-fn7x8me2-1226096117237

Posted to Adelaide Now (17/7/2011) on 17/7/2011 at 3:00 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Prime Minister Julia Gillard defends carbon tax ad spend on visit to Adelaide today"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/in-depth/prime-minister-julia-gillard-defends-carbon-tax-ad-spend/story-fn9ar0ql-1226096180708

If Julia Gillard can't convince the majority of Australians the idea of carbon tax for the last few weeks on television, radio, print media, YouTube, etc., probably worth more than $25 million of virtual promotion without costing the public a cent, how can $25 million of real money change the public opinion? This is another example of Labor / Gillard's Government of mismanaging taxpayers' money. $25 million can be used to feed many hungry stomaches and fund another public housing project! The world economy is getting from bad to worse, and Australia good time cannot last indefinitely. It does not need Nostradamus to tell us that weakness in property market, car sales, retail business, and low consumer confidence are not sure signs of economic collapse. The way Labor / Gillard's Government pouring money down the drain is despicable; Gillard and her team MUST go; if the Liberal is not going to do anything more positive to bring about the political scenario change, Australians MUST rise to get rid of this incompetent government before the death of this lucky country!