Australian Job Market According to a recent report published by News.com.au, the Australian job market, albeit relatively secure for the time being, does have its sore spots. There are numerous types of employment, which, due to the altering economic landscape and shifts caused by the global recession, globalization and the spread of outsourcing and offshoring, are simply not safe anymore. Read on to learn what those unsafe job sectors are, to figure out what recruiters are looking for, in these trying times and to find out about possible strategies employed by companies which are recruiting on a tight budget. Travel. Travel has come to be regarded as a luxury, during a time when the … [Read more...]
Australia- How to Beat the Health Cover Cut
Health fund members have discovered that the best way to avoid means-testing of the nation’s $5 billion private health insurance rebate is to prepay their premiums. After the means test on private health fund subsidies was approved by the Senate, almost 2 and a half million health fund members will start paying up to $1300 more each year for health cover starting July 1. Health insurers all across Australia braced for a huge increase of members choosing to prepay premiums after the Australian Taxation Office sent out letters warning consumers about the changes. … [Read more...]
How Inflation Can Reduce Your Annuity Income (and what you can do about it)
Even though this is written from a UK perspective, it holds true for the rest of the world, too. ~ editor Annuity Income and Inflation Inflation as defined by Wikipedia is "an average index used to measure the rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time" which in layman's terms means the average amount by which goods and services are increasing. Monetarism an as economic theory identifies keeping inflation low as the main goal in achieving sustained economic growth, as opposed to reducing unemployment. The reason for this is that whilst unemployment is a burden on the people without jobs, high inflation (it is argued) impacts the entire … [Read more...]
Housing Prices and Inflation
Average Housing Prices- By Jared Diamond The great recession of 2008 has been a source of enormous anxiety in the financial world. The American economy survived a total meltdown, but just barely. As American society struggles to recover, a major beast looms on the horizon: inflation. There are already increases at the gas station and the possibility of a poor harvest could result in skyrocketing food prices. The housing industry has been buffeted by the financial whirlwinds and is only now beginning to recover from years of deflated prices. Even though average housing prices have dropped along with sales, there still is a question about whether or not housing will experience a near … [Read more...]
The Effects of Inflation on Life Insurance
How Life Insurance Works Premiums on term life insurance are usually paid (monthly, quarterly or annually) for between 10 and 30 years, depending on the particular policy you've chosen. One of the ways that life insurance works is that you pay a fixed rate for the length of the policy and the value of the insurance does not change. Whether you die tomorrow or 20 years from now, your beneficiaries would still receive the same dollar amount of insurance settlement. Therefore, if you have a $500,000 term life insurance policy, as long as the premiums are paid it provides $500,000 worth of coverage from the day you buy it until the day the term ends or it is paid out. The Effects of Inflation … [Read more...]
What Is Fiat Currency?
Fiat currency is a term that is used to describe a currency which is created by "fiat" or "arbitrary order or decree" of the government. It is not created by the free market or backed by anything like gold, silver or real estate. It is essentially an "IOU- nothing". A lot of people do not realize that every currency in the world today is considered to be a fiat currency. (Although the Chinese may be working on creating a gold backed currency and several OPEC countries have considered it as well). The US dollar, the euro, the Great Britain pound, the Japanese Yen, and the Australian dollar are all fiat currencies, to name a few. Since everyone uses this type of currency, why is it such a big … [Read more...]
What is Demand Pull Inflation?
There are many different theories that aim to determine exactly what causes inflation. One of the more commonly used arguments by Keynsian's is known as demand pull inflation. What exactly is demand pull inflation and why is it important? Demand Pull Inflation The term "demand pull inflation" is a Keynesian economics term. According to Wikipedia, "Keynesian economics advocates a mixed economy — predominantly private sector, but with a significant role of government and public sector — and served as the economic model during the later part of the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war economic expansion (1945–1973), though it lost some influence following the tax surcharge … [Read more...]
Effects of Inflation on Savings
Inflation Effects Everyday we hear of commodity prices going up and the value of money going down. We've also heard of inflation and the global economic crisis having a far-reaching effects on the world economy. But have you ever stopped to think how inflation is affecting your everyday financial matters? How is it affecting your savings account? If you haven't given it much thought, perhaps it is time to do so. Below are few ways inflation affects your savings. By giving it a bit of thought, you can work out an alternate plan or be prepared, so you can keep more of your savings. Take a close look: Inflation Reduces the Value of Money: Initially you may have been able to buy … [Read more...]
Inflation and Commodity Prices
It is critical to understand the correlation between inflation and commodity prices and the effects of inflation on commodity prices themselves. In recent years, the global financial markets have been in flux as they've gone up and down repeatedly. The commodities market has been especially volatile with items like gold and oil going up significantly. While a number of different factors contribute to the prices of commodities, inflation is one aspect that has a direct impact on the price of commodities. Inflation and Commodity Prices Inflation is a process that occurs when the purchasing value of a currency is lowered. This is usually determined by comparing the prices of a good or … [Read more...]
Using Forex to Hedge against Inflation
Forex Hedge According to Wikipedia-A foreign exchange hedge (FOREX hedge) is typically used by companies to eliminate or hedge foreign exchange risk resulting from transactions in foreign currencies. In other words, if a company in based in one country most of its expenses are denominated in the currency of that country. So if a company is based in the U.S. most of its expenses are in dollars. But if it sells a significant portion of its products in another country like Mexico then a portion of its income will be in Pesos. If the Peso depreciates against the Dollar the value of their income could cause them to lose significantly even though they thought they were selling at a profit. This … [Read more...]
