kernow43 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 M&S are closing some of their food only stores. The important thing to remember about M&S food is that they have always catered for the upper/affluent end of the market, buying M&S food has always been seen as a feelgood 'luxury', and when times are tight doing your shopping at Waitrose rather than M&S is an easy compromise to make. In short this is saying that there is a lot less disposable income where it counts. And the M&S store in China is a complete flop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackboots Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 did you know wedgewood are closing ... thats a bit of brit history going as well sad times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 So much doom and gloom and maybe these things will happen but there is no point in being negative about life. Its the negativity that will stop recovery. What we need is a lot of optimism from people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brightons Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Before someone jumps on me for incorrect information I just want to clarify a point in my previous post which can read slightly misleading When a mentioned Marks and Spencer closing their doors, I should have stated that they have laid a large number of staff off. I'm not sure if this will lead to closures. Hope that's a bit clearer folks. Sorry. m&s have only closed 27 of its simply food stores out of over 500 stores all of which have a bigger store very close by. its a way of the company trying to protect themselves for the rough ride ahead. they still made a massive amount of profit this year but need to ensure they can cope with current problems and took these measures only to tighten there belts as we all are. they are still managing to hold the own at such hard times! so dont rule them out just yet as most stores are still buzzing. that is one store i will really miss when we leave the uk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 did you know wedgewood are closing ... thats a bit of brit history going as well sad times. The recession is hitting hard in Stoke (the Potteries) home of many major potbanks. Some of my colleaugues OH are being put on short time/3 or 4 day weeks, as is my best friends mum. This is nothing new in my area, I can remember job losses/redundancies going back years! A big worry for families and couples. Good luck to all hit by the latest round of job losses.x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 We all know the world turns in cycles - my grandparents wondered if the world would ever be the same again after the great depression. This is a difficult downturn, yes, and for all countries, but there is no choice but to ride it through. And with all things, there are opportunities, and also surely some of the absolute greed has been pulled back (both corporate and individual) and that can't be a bad thing to reflect on. I guess I must be optimistic, and right now I am enjoying cheaper petrol prices, and if you are looking for a house there are also some bargains around (okay the banks are being careful about lending in some circumstances). A report in the Herald Sun newspaper in Victoria seems to say that Victoria, for the moment, is growing population wise, and while the retail and housing sector is down a bit has been okay over xmas. People are out there with the first homebuyers grant it seems? Who knows where all this will go, but like generations before us, we have just somehow got to get on with it. We are probably more resilient than we think. Let's hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Things will hit Oz and I think to a degree they are already! Just something I noted yesterday walking round Myers in Indooroopilly. All the CHristmas sale stuff, last few years would have been gone pretty instantly after Christmas and now there is still loads of sale stuff left. People arent spending the money here now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treesea Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I hope Australia doesn't go into a recession. The 1991/92 recession in Melbourne was terrible. 10% unemployed. Westpac almost went under during that recession. I can't imagine the banks in Australia this time around are in as bad a position as they were in 91/92. Also, Australia is continuing to import migrants at a rate of knots, which should keep housing prices relatively stable compared to over here in the UK. Housing prices being important because they underpin the huge amount of personal debt that most Australians (just like the UK) have. Against that though, look at the corporate casualties so far: Octaviar, ABC learning centres, HIH insurance, Ansett, One Tel, to name but a few. Pasminco is in administration. With Myers laying people off, GM Holden closing it's factories for 25 days, Volvo laying people off up in Queensland....it sounds quite similar on the jobs front to what is happening over here in the UK. Australia is not such a good place, relatively speaking, to be unemployed. It's fine when times are good, but if I had to choose between being unemployed in Australia or unemployed in the UK, I'd rather be in the UK. And for those who have got a good job, whether they be in Australia or the UK, maybe this is not such a good time (unless you are a nurse, in which case both places have plenty of well paid work) to be upping sticks and moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Treesea, Your post is a very well balanced one and makes good reading but I should point out that three of the companies you mentioned,Ansett,OneTel and HIH all went to the wall because of poor management and inadequate financial regulation.therefore the state of the economy was not really a factor in their going under,and in two cases,HIH and OneTel charges have been laid against former directors for offenses under the companies act. Ansett collapsed because it wasn't ready for the challenges of deregulation and it's fleet was old and somewhat poorly maintained,it would have collapsed anyway.in fact,and I'm sorry to say this because I feel for those who lost jobs because of it,the Ansett collapse was the best thing to happen to aviation in Australia for years,it was a dinosaur and needed killing off. they should have sold it to Air New Zealand when they had the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treesea Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 NigelinOz, Well, they are saying the same thing over here about Woolies (poor stock selection; couldn't manage the challenges from some of it's competitors like Poundland, Poundstretcher, Primark (for kids clothes) etc. And sure, these companies may have failed anyway, but the recession probably has helped them on their way. Ansett was in trouble some years ago, so has probably been hanging on by a thread ever since. And finally charges have been laid re HIH - about time considering they collapsed some years back. There do seem to be a lot of job losses over in Oz at the moment though. Telstra, NAB, Fairfax, BHP, Consolidated Metals, HP - though that is takeover restructuring, Optus,... Also, now that the financing arm for General Motors has had to pull out of Australia, goodness knows what will happen to the dealerships that rely indirectly on that financing, via the customer, for their cash flow. It mystifies me why the government is carrying on encouraging migrants to flock to Australia's shores in droves while both the private and public sectors (the NSW government recently announced it was cutting thousands of jobs) are shedding jobs like there's no tomorrow. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is a bit cynical on the part of the Australian government, because visa fees are quite expensive, so presumably a good source of revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smc01 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Against that though, look at the corporate casualties so far: Octaviar, ABC learning centres, HIH insurance, Ansett, One Tel, to name but a few. Pasminco is in administration. With Myers laying people off, GM Holden closing it's factories for 25 days, Volvo laying people off up in Queensland....it sounds quite similar on the jobs front to what is happening over here in the UK. quote] Ok, so I'm bored at work again and looking through old posts, but really don't get the above statement - are you seriously saying that companies like Ansett, Onetel, Pasminco & HIH, who all closed in 2001, are casualties of the current recession?! So, in your reasoning, Australia has been in recession for 8 years now?! You should write for the Sun or Daily Mail. :err: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smc01 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 off topic but are you a Siamese twin? Yes I am. It makes life hard sometimes but you've got to make the most of what you've got, and I've found a man who doesn't care that there's 2 of us, double pleasure for him! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 0405delboy Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Yes I am. It makes life hard sometimes but you've got to make the most of what you've got, and I've found a man who doesn't care that there's 2 of us, double pleasure for him! :laugh: Poor git had to gnaw off both his arms to get away! :hug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boomerangpommie Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Like Earls, I have not - touch wood - been directly affected by the recession (fuel bills have been higher but I think this winter has been colder and we've had the heating on more) but I can feel it all around and the closure of such established companies such as Woolies, Adams etc is alarming and I do sort of feel like there's a timebomb, like it's all going to catch up with us but that might be because we're planning to leave and I can't see beyond this year here in the UK. Just wondered if there has been that sense of disbelief and shock in Australia, will it come? We're hoping to go end of this year/early next - just hope things are on the up then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest earlswood Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Like Earls, I have not - touch wood - been directly affected by the recession (fuel bills have been higher but I think this winter has been colder and we've had the heating on more) but I can feel it all around and the closure of such established companies such as Woolies, Adams etc is alarming and I do sort of feel like there's a timebomb, like it's all going to catch up with us but that might be because we're planning to leave and I can't see beyond this year here in the UK. Just wondered if there has been that sense of disbelief and shock in Australia, will it come? We're hoping to go end of this year/early next - just hope things are on the up then. The closing of shops is going to be big...and the major force behind this is the strength of online buying…Dixons was struggling with its stores and now is booming on the internet as it can sell with little overheads…all the bargains are on the net be in electricals or cloths…more shops will close because of this and not the recession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treesea Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Against that though, look at the corporate casualties so far: Octaviar, ABC learning centres, HIH insurance, Ansett, One Tel, to name but a few. Pasminco is in administration. With Myers laying people off, GM Holden closing it's factories for 25 days, Volvo laying people off up in Queensland....it sounds quite similar on the jobs front to what is happening over here in the UK. quote] Ok, so I'm bored at work again and looking through old posts, but really don't get the above statement - are you seriously saying that companies like Ansett, Onetel, Pasminco & HIH, who all closed in 2001, are casualties of the current recession?! So, in your reasoning, Australia has been in recession for 8 years now?! You should write for the Sun or Daily Mail. :err: Well, the last recession was merely a blip compared to this one (the one in 2001, not 1990-92) and look who fell by the wayside then. These same companies though, with the exception of HiH whose liquidation drags on and on, have all been resurrected in the meantime. Well, more accurately their assets were passed onto other companies who seem to have mismanaged the opportunity. Pasminco was recast way back then into Zinifex, which merged with Oxiana to become OZ Minerals - and lo and behold, zip forward to the current recession and who is in trouble? - none other than Oz Minerals, who couldn't refinance its debt a couple of months or so ago and are in the process of being taken over by Minmetals - a Chinese company, for fire sale prices. Yes, Pasminco was a casualty of the last recession and is once again a casualty of this one - same assets, different name. Seems it is possible to die twice, lol. Not so funny is their Rosebery mine down in West Tasmania who have announced 156 layoffs. It doesn't sound much but the effect on the regional economy down there of losing that many jobs will be pretty significant. Ansett's subsidiaries are alive and well, in spite of the parent going under (Kendall Airlines and Hazelton, not sure about Skywest). But here we are again, yet another recession, and they are facing "challenging cash flow" issues. Still they may be okay, - it's not as if the places they go to have viable alternative public transport options, like a decent train service. Qantas, meanwhile, has announced 1500 job losses. Virgin Blue is looking at axing 400 jobs. Just like the last recession, will we see an airline casualty in this one? With OneTel, their network was taken over by Hutchison - fast forward to this recession and who is in merger discussions with Vodafone? Non other than Hutchison. Pity the long suffering shareholders, with a once relatively healthy stock now bottom feeding at AUD$0.09 a share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxste Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Like Earls, I have not - touch wood - been directly affected by the recession (fuel bills have been higher but I think this winter has been colder and we've had the heating on more) but I can feel it all around and the closure of such established companies such as Woolies, Adams etc is alarming and I do sort of feel like there's a timebomb, like it's all going to catch up with us but that might be because we're planning to leave and I can't see beyond this year here in the UK. Just wondered if there has been that sense of disbelief and shock in Australia, will it come? We're hoping to go end of this year/early next - just hope things are on the up then. I got a big shock this year, after leaving the UK in September 08 to the promise of "loads of work" and "work on the books until 2015", I now find the future unsettled. I work for one of the largest construction companies in Australia on a 457visa, before xmas we were all told of the future work for us and that we would leave our current working site on completion and move to another site and so on and so on. Less than 2 months later we have now been told that the next project has been shelved and that whilst tenders are in place for work, there is nothing on the order book. This is worrying after uplifting my family and moving 12000 miles across the globe. The future for myself and others I work with is that we may have to face the fact of having to return to the UK later this year. As for finding another job? Nobody is willing to sponsor at the moment and the salaries have dropped with companies that have work for perm residents......not good.:mad: On the plus side for me personally there is plenty of work in the UK for me, however, we left the UK for a reason, but at the moment it looks a better option !! Ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Ste have you not looked into gaining permanent residency ? This would enable you to find work easier and possibly in a different trade should the need arise? Might be worth looking into if work is the only reason you are thinking of returning to the UK. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life on easy street Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Well said phoenix ,for to long we in the U.S and U.k have been fooled by the smoke and mirrors policy of the money men.As regards the U.S ....THEY ARE BROKE .......they consume 40% of the worlds products ,but they dont make anything. They are a house built on shifting sand , and Obama is going to take them further down. Let me ask the question ,where are Gordon Brown and Barack Obama going to fund this multi billion dollar recovery from ? For all intelligent people reading this post - go to youtube and type in Peter Schiff. Ans Quantitative easing (printing money ) Quantitative easing how does it work? Ans. Ask the Governor of the Central Bank of Zimbabwe. I had hoped that Gordon Brown would not be so Corrupt / incompetent as to use Quantitative Easing. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow43 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Ans Quantitative easing (printing money ) Quantitative easing how does it work? Ans. Ask the Governor of the Central Bank of Zimbabwe. I had hoped that Gordon Brown would not be so Corrupt / incompetent as to use Quantitative Easing. :no: Quantitative easing Larry Elliott, economics editor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 January 2009 12.10 GMT Article history Quantitative easing is what non-economists call 'turning on the printing press'. In extreme circumstances, governments flood the financial system with money, easing pressure on banks by giving them extra capital. Under this policy, the authorities buy up bonds either from banks or from the commercial sector. There are two potential benefits. The first is that the banks get cash in exchange for the gilts they sell back to the government and the increase in the money supply leads to an increased volume of lending. The second is that decreasing the supply of gilts pushes up their price. When gilt prices go up, gilt yields go down and it is gilt yields that determine long-term interest rates for overdrafts, some fixed-rate mortgage products and most business lending. This policy was first tried in the 1930s and has been dusted off by the Federal Reserve, America's central bank, in an attempt to get the US economy moving again. Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Fed, won the nickname 'helicopter Ben' when he floated just such an idea earlier this decade. US economist Milton Friedman had originally said it would be theoretically possible for governments to drop large amounts of cash out of helicopters for the public to pick up and spend. Sounds a bit scary to me, but then all the people that are packing the shops and supermarkets and the busy pubs that Earlswood carries on about will have plenty of money to spend. Look out for that helicopter Earlswood, just hope it;s not a big eagle that might s**t all over you! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smc01 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Well, the last recession was merely a blip compared to this one (the one in 2001, not 1990-92) and look who fell by the wayside then. These same companies though, with the exception of HiH whose liquidation drags on and on, have all been resurrected in the meantime. Well, more accurately their assets were passed onto other companies who seem to have mismanaged the opportunity. Pasminco was recast way back then into Zinifex, which merged with Oxiana to become OZ Minerals - and lo and behold, zip forward to the current recession and who is in trouble? - none other than Oz Minerals, who couldn't refinance its debt a couple of months or so ago and are in the process of being taken over by Minmetals - a Chinese company, for fire sale prices. Yes, Pasminco was a casualty of the last recession and is once again a casualty of this one - same assets, different name. Seems it is possible to die twice, lol. Not so funny is their Rosebery mine down in West Tasmania who have announced 156 layoffs. It doesn't sound much but the effect on the regional economy down there of losing that many jobs will be pretty significant. Ansett's subsidiaries are alive and well, in spite of the parent going under (Kendall Airlines and Hazelton, not sure about Skywest). But here we are again, yet another recession, and they are facing "challenging cash flow" issues. Still they may be okay, - it's not as if the places they go to have viable alternative public transport options, like a decent train service. Qantas, meanwhile, has announced 1500 job losses. Virgin Blue is looking at axing 400 jobs. Just like the last recession, will we see an airline casualty in this one? With OneTel, their network was taken over by Hutchison - fast forward to this recession and who is in merger discussions with Vodafone? Non other than Hutchison. Pity the long suffering shareholders, with a once relatively healthy stock now bottom feeding at AUD$0.09 a share. My point was simply that you sensationalised your original post - by saying - look at the corporate casualties so far: Octaviar, ABC learning centres, HIH insurance, Ansett, One Tel, to name but a few. Pasminco is in administration. when in reality, most of those mentioned had already gone into administration 8 years ago. To say that Ansett has gone into administration for example, rather than some little subsiduary that I've never even heard of, is just trying to scare people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow43 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Ans Quantitative easing (printing money ) Quantitative easing how does it work? Ans. Ask the Governor of the Central Bank of Zimbabwe. I had hoped that Gordon Brown would not be so Corrupt / incompetent as to use Quantitative Easing. :no: And this is the latest! BBC NEWS | Business | Bank to use 'newly created' money The children in the UK will have a big burden on their shoulders in the future, Very sad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treesea Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 My point was simply that you sensationalised your original post - by saying - look at the corporate casualties so far: Octaviar, ABC learning centres, HIH insurance, Ansett, One Tel, to name but a few. Pasminco is in administration. when in reality, most of those mentioned had already gone into administration 8 years ago. To say that Ansett has gone into administration for example, rather than some little subsiduary that I've never even heard of, is just trying to scare people. I suppose I didn't make my point very clearly. Those names maybe gone but their assets lived on, and here we are again, seeing the same assets, owned by different companies, going down the gurgler. It reminds me of Virgin Megastores. Virgin jumped ship and sold off most of its stores to Zavvi, and not even a couple of years later, Zavvi goes under. Sure, they were supplied by Woolworths wholesale music arm, but weren't able to secure another supplier. I would suggest though that there are too many high street music shops/ mines/ airlines to start with, and those shops / mines/airlines will continue to fail at the next downturn whoever takes them over. As to scaring people, I agree, it can be scary to work for a company that folds, but worrying about losing one's job is probably a waste. At the end of the day, even in a recession, at least 90% of people who want work will be able to get it or stay in the jobs they have got, and that is even in the UK. Surely Australia, with its vast mineral wealth,is much better placed to see out the recession than Britain, with its equally vast reliance on the now crumbling, discredited, financial sector? What amazes me is how the government is quick to run in and rescue the banks and the car industry but won't contribute a brass razzoo to the housing industry. At the moment the government over here is debating whether or not to buy into GM. GM is not even a British company. Even their own government won't save them in their foreign markets. Why should our taxpayers foot the bill for their waste and negligence when there are teachers on £30K a year who can't afford to buy even a flat, let alone a house? And never mind the vast majority that earn even less than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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