Business News Australia.com.au

Greens leader Bob Brown has urged Australians to restore the balance of power in the senate to the Greens as Australia goes to the ballot November 24th

In his address to the National Press Club as part of the 2007 election Australian Greens Party leader Bob Brown reminded Australians that this election should be about restoring a strong independent senate that can and will hold that government to account.
“This election is all about the senate and restoring it to its proper role as house of review and backstop for the people,” he said.

The Balance of power may very well determine the outcome of the very issue that divides the nation; Work Choices.

“Our vote will only matter when the major parties disagree. For instance if a Rudd government brings in strong climate change policy and the coalition opposes it, the Greens and the balance of power will determine the result”.

“Alternatively if Labor and the Coalition support further tax cuts for the rich instead of a pay rise for pensioners, we have to grin and bear it. Our vote would be irrelevant. It’s important to note therefore that the Greens would not be able to prevent any legislation being passed, or insist that any legislation be passed, unless we were supporting either Labor or the Coalition”

Mr Brown said that the Greens would “use the balance of power responsibly, just as we have in the West Australian senate in 2001 during the resources boom”.

The Australian dollar hit new record highs of 90 US cents this week, after the domestic jobless rate fell to a fresh 33 year low.

The fall to 4.2 per cent in September - the lowest level since November 1974 - from 4.3 per cent in August, stoked speculation of another interest rate rise next month, pushing the unit higher. 

When the Australian dollar is doing well against the US dollar, this obviously means that the greenback is feeling, well, rather green. Texas Republican congressman and Presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul is running on a policy that more people in America and here in Australia should be listening to and talking about. 

For once an aspiring leader of the free-world is actually leading by example and not by force and sees the U.S’s foreign policy as being one of the major sources of their economic woes. He has been voicing loudly that the Greenback’s value has been gutted because the U.S doesn’t have an export market anymore, instead it exports dollars to the world, which devalues the currency, and the world accepts it hand over fist. 

During the October 9^th Republican GOP Debate on MSNBC, Dr. Paul exemplified why he is gathering a groundswell of grassroots support all across America, raising more money on-line than any other Republican candidate, topping $5 million, as well as more donations from members of the armed forces than any of his fellow candidates, not surprising when he is the only anti-war Republican candidate. When asked about his feelings and questions on the bonanza that is the hedge funds market Paul said,”I think this is not a consequence of free markets. What is happening is a transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy. This comes about because of the monetary system that we have when you inflate a currency or destroy a currency, the middle class gets wiped out so the people who get to use the money first, which is created by the Federal Reserve System, benefit. So the money gravitates towards the banks and to Wall Street. You see that’s why we have more billionaires today than ever before. Today this country is in a recession for a lot of people. Michigan knows about it, poor people know about it, the middle class know about it, Wall Street doesn’t know about it, Washington D.C doesn’t know about it, but it is because of the monetary system and the excess of spending. As long as we live beyond our means we are destined to live beneath our means, and we have lived beyond our means because we are financing a foreign policy that is so extravagant and beyond what we can control, as well as the spending here at home, and we are depending on the creation of money out of thin air, and it is nothing more than the debasement of currency. It’s counterfeit, and it is a natural, predictable consequence that you’re going to have people benefit from it and you’re going to have people suffer when you print money. So if you want a healthy economy you have to study monetary theory and work out why it is we are suffering, and everybody doesn’t suffer equally or this wouldn’t be so bad. It is always the poor people, people on retired incomes, that suffer the most, but the politicians and those who get to use the money first, like the military industrial complex, make a lot of money and they benefit from it”.  

So what happens here in Australia when someone gets hold of the economic reigns in the White House again? The horse may have bolted but Dr Paul seems to know how to get it back in the yard and locking the gate, by returning to a gold and silver standard. Something that Kennedy had put officially back on the books upon his discovery of the corrupt world federal reserve banking system and his refusal to no longer stand by idle, and something that no President since has been game to enact or overturn.

Investors in financial institution Rams face low discounted shares as Rams stock dropped 81% since listing in July.

Westpac have made an offer of $140 million for Rams name and home loan business.

The Company still has $15billion in partly unfunded mortgages, which are left in hands of shareholders, and also needs to refinance $4billion in loans.

Upon speculation that Westpac’s offer would be the best shareholders could hope for Stuart Wilson of the Australian shareholders association said that ,“One would hope that over the next few weeks other banks would take an interest in those assets to and force the price up”

The Australian Shareholders Association is claiming that Rams shareholders prospection did not properly specify that Rams were relying on the US credit market for funds. It started becoming known in August that Rams were a of victim the global credit crunch, a result of the US mortgage crisis. Shareholders are seeking legal advice.

The Business Consultation website is now asking for businesses to provide comments on a consultation regarding unsolicited commercial fax messaging. The consultation includes a discussion paper and questions for comment. Businesses are able to submit their answers online.

The closing date for comments and submissions is 17 September 2007. Find more information, download the discussion paper and submit your questions online through the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts website.

You can also visit the Business Consultation website to view other current public consultations, register your interest to be consulted on government policy or sign up to be notified of consultations by email.

There has been a lot of news coverage on the sub – prime mortgage market crisis in the USA over the last week or so and recently how it is starting to affect things here is AUS.

Is this just media hype?  How will it affect things here in AUS, especially for those running their businesses with a Low Doc Loan?

The flow on affect here is AUS it seems could affect the interest rates on some low doc loans, not by the reserve bank but from the lenders themselves.

Seeing the non conforming lenders are also looking to tighten their belts over loan applications how might this affect someone wanting to finance a new business venture?

We welcome your comments on this topic so please feel free to post a word or two