We've been quite lucky in Australia to have missed the brunt of it. Our employment took a small dip, consumer spending dipped (still is down), our savings have increased & our stock exchange took a few batterings thus lowering our super funds.
We tried to recover, stimulus packages were put together, interest rates were dropped & families started eating more at home.
It's been 2 years and we think it's all in the past ... but is it?
America is still having issues and worse than them is Greece. Their economic woes continue, jobs being cut, wages being lowered and now there is strong speculation that they will default on their loan.
With the prospect of the loan defaulting, it's going to greatly impact upon the markets within the EU. Stocks and markets will be volatile and thus repercussions will be felt everywhere, including Australia. We are not immune, it is not over.
My take on things?
The leadership under Papendreou is strong, however, it's not enough. More needs to be done to get people working and producing cash flow within society. With interest rates already near 0%, the incentive you give to taxpayers is more stimulus payments in conjunction with investment in staples such as infrastructure & education. Tourism is where things could get interesting, so the Greek government should think of incentives to let the foreigners flood in.
From our side of things, I think the RBA have been very cautious (rightly so) while we sit and wait and see what is happening in the rest of the world. If they increased interest rates prematurely, we could have had some unnecessary early bumps. Our stock market will continue to suffer while other regions are suffering and our currency against others will also faulter.
The whole world is still in such a precarious place right now, added to the GFC woes are environmental issues that have affected Japan, New Zealand and ourselves. The impact on these countries affects the world, especially compounding its affect on us.
There's still some way to go before we're out of the woods.
Sources:
http://ceoworld.biz/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/George-A-Papandreou.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/business/sneeze-in-europe-can-give-a-a-cold-20110620-1gbuo.html
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