# The Positives



## KFB123 (23 Jan 2009)

I know we are in the middle of possibly the worst recession in history with uncertainity as regards the immediate future.
However I am asking all of you if you can think of positives/ action that can be taken in order to get us out of this?
Interest rates are coming down, fuel prices are coming down and overall the cost of living has decreased.

Does anybody have any other positives to add, as we are all well aware of the negatives?


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## j26 (23 Jan 2009)

Here are some positives;

EURIBOR (the inter bank rate) is falling.  That means that tracker rates are no longer costing the bank money and the banks will have access to easier credit, which should in time feed into more stability in the stock market.

Great deals to be had on cars.

Some of the arrogance has been knocked off people.


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## Padraigb (23 Jan 2009)

j26 said:


> Some of the arrogance has been knocked off people.



Sorry to rain on your parade, but the space vacated by arrogance has been filled with other unappealing characteristics -- just look at all the unpleasant stuff people have been throwing at one another here.

Good things:
- I got a plumber to come today.
- I have a home renovation project in mind, and the first estimate I got was way below what I expected.
- I am less embarrassed about driving an old car (to be more honest, I was never embarrassed, but I'm extrapolating for the sake of others).


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## Sunny (23 Jan 2009)

j26 said:


> Here are some positives;
> 
> EURIBOR (the inter bank rate) is falling. That means that tracker rates are no longer costing the bank money and the banks will have access to easier credit, which should in time feed into more stability in the stock market.
> 
> .


 
Good news is everyone knows what a tracker mortgage is now..


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## KFB123 (23 Jan 2009)

Thanks for that. People are less inclined to keep up with the Jones' now and saying you can't afford something to your friends now is nothing to be ashamed of.
Another positive is that many ordinary people lost the run of themselves and thought they were something they were definitely not!! 
They were brought back down to earth.
Houses are becoming more affordable everyday for first time buyers and things are starting to sell slowly


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## D8Lady (23 Jan 2009)

Finally, new ideas for job generation are being explored, e.g. Pat Kenny's show this morning.

Broadband rollout will actually happen.


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## carrielou (23 Jan 2009)

A bit of light heartiness.

If the kids look for something and I say, 'sorry, can't afford it' 

There answer is, 'ok, we're in a recession' 

Its great, no more pleading or begging or sulking, etc


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## doberden (23 Jan 2009)

Prices/Inflation coming down

Pensioners are much better off - Same weekly amounts but lower costs for petrol, food, clothes etc.

House prices cheaper for first time buyers, they won't need to earn as much going forward.

Everybody will learn a lot about investing (e.g. stock prices and houses can go down).  This will be a great benefit for future investments.

The best business ideas comes in times of recession

The longer the recession is put off the worse it would get. We're much better off having a shorter less sharp recession every few years rather than a big bad one!!


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## Mixednuts (23 Jan 2009)

carrielou said:


> A bit of light heartiness.
> 
> If the kids look for something and I say, 'sorry, can't afford it'
> 
> ...





Love it ...must start that myself


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## KFB123 (23 Jan 2009)

doberden said:


> Prices/Inflation coming down
> 
> Pensioners are much better off - Same weekly amounts but lower costs for petrol, food, clothes etc.
> 
> ...


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## KFB123 (23 Jan 2009)

Yeah, deinitely best businesses come about in times of recession. People get better educated, they travel and bring back ideas to Ireland. All the cowboys in every job, trade and profession are wiped out, with the strong ones left.
A stronger goverment, stronger systems in place. Less money wastage in public and private sector.


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## DeeFox (23 Jan 2009)

Petrol prices are dropping - funny the way the media won't put that on the front page and yet they get very excited about rising petrol prices.


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## WILLY NILLY (23 Jan 2009)

carrielou said:


> A bit of light heartiness.
> 
> If the kids look for something and I say, 'sorry, can't afford it'
> 
> ...


 
My eleven year old daughter came home from school in late 2007 and announced that she was the only one in her class that hadnt been to New York.  

She made a strong but unsuccessful pitch for the familt to go to NY 

She is making her confirmation next month and bemoans the fact that hers is happening in a recession while her siblings make a fortune in the good times.


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## smiley (23 Jan 2009)

Thank God! A positive post. Well done Kfb.

Positives:

interest rates low again...in the 80's remember people were paying +15% on their mortgages and loans!
oil prices and commodity prices low again
inflation down
house prices more affordable......first time buyers are salivating.
theres still plenty of wealth in this Country
Will make businesses more efficient and the Country as a whole.
Equities are at bargain basement levels...sale of the century!

The media rarely mentions positives as bad news sells.

Sheila O'Flanagan as a good article in todays times:[broken link removed]


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## smiley (27 Jan 2009)

Interesting bit of research from an irish stocbroker today...the last few paragraphs are the most interesting...you will never hear the media mention that our debt to gdp ratio is lower than the eurozone average!

Since the Irish Government issued a new 5-year bond a number
of weeks ago, investor sentiment towards Ireland has weakened.
Following the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank, Irish sovereign
credit default swap (CDS) spreads (an indicator of credit risk)
have risen to 278bps compared to 184bps on the 12th of January,
but off the high of 297bps. The reasons for the rise have been
attributed to recent speculation with regard to the stability of the
single currency project, weakness of the Irish banks and falling tax
revenues.
• Over the last number of months yields of Euro-Zone countries
such as Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy and Ireland have increased
compared to equivalent German Government bonds. These countries
will have current account deficits of between 8-12% in 2009
compared to the average for the Euro-Zone of 6.5%. It is this larger
current account deficit that is forcing investors to demand a
premium over German Government bonds for holding these countries'
debt.
• Historically, countries such as Italy and Greece devalued their
currencies to support their economies, but their participation in the
Euro prevents this. The other alternatives facing these countries
are to decrease salaries to increase competitiveness and/or increase
taxes to support government spending. Neither of these
alternatives is attractive to voters or politicians. This adds to concerns
that larger deficits will be run by the weaker Euro-zone
economies.
• For Ireland, the current account deficit will be close to 10% of
GDP this year, at the higher end of the Euro-Zone average, but
our Debt:GDP ratio will be much lower than average. The average
Debt:GDP ratio in the Euro-Zone is 66% and the Irish ratio is currently
38%. While this ratio will increase, it will remain well below
the Euro-Zone average once the Irish Government takes control
of spending. The discussions with the social partners are currently
underway to begin this process and some announcement on reducing
spending is expected within the next week.
• While international investors have been negative in their commentary
on Ireland, the economic fundamentals of the country are
sound as we have a young, well educated population and the actions
that must be taken to ensure the stability of the country’s
finances are within our own control. Once public expenditure is
reduced in line with lower tax revenues, and the re-capitalisation
of the Irish financial system is begun, Irish Government yields will
fall from their current elevated levels.
• The recent Irish Treasury issue maturing in 2014 is trading at
95.70, achieving a yield to maturity of 5.00%. This issue provides
an attractive return in the current low interest environment, especially
with interest rates available for monies on deposit in the
large Irish banks continuing to fall.


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## Sunny (27 Jan 2009)

Usual drival from a Stockbroker who is axed to sell Irish Government Bonds.


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## SteveW9 (27 Jan 2009)

j26 said:


> Some of the arrogance has been knocked off people.


 Totally agree some people were getting way to big for their boots .....great to see an end to that.


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## D8Lady (27 Jan 2009)

There'll be an increased interest in growing-your-own veg. A friend who works in DCC says that the requests for vegetable allotments has shot up.


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## Mpsox (27 Jan 2009)

theres a lot less traffic on the road which has knocked 10 minutes off my commute home
Far fewer "white van drivers" as well which means less loonies to watch out for
The mood of fear and doom and gloom makes me spend less which means I'm saving more


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## Curious81 (27 Jan 2009)

- Inflation is lowering, thus increasing our competitiveness.
- Less traffic on the roads.
- Less crowded pubs (hopefully the more overpriced ones will suffer the most).
- People are throwing great recession session parties.
- House prices are returning to more realistic levels.
- The sales are great


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## kramer2006 (28 Jan 2009)

Padraigb said:


> Sorry to rain on your parade, but the space vacated by arrogance has been filled with other unappealing characteristics -- just look at all the unpleasant stuff people have been throwing at one another here.



Interesting. What specifically have people been throwing at each other?


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## dub_nerd (28 Jan 2009)

The country is haemorrhaging money through every border as our uncompetitive pricing discourages domestic spending. Jobs are being lost as our uncompetitive wages discourage foreign direct investment. Soon there will be far fewer jobs and far less money. Those who manage to hang on the their jobs and some money will be relatively much better off.


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