Economics around the world

Thread Starter

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
with many global members at this site, I'm interested to hear how your local economies are fairing amoungst all the talk of crisis. I keep close tabs on the job markets as a key indicator, and am wondering if you consider your position secure, if there is growth or decline, and what areas are you seeing growth, if any.

Here in Canada, we appear to be climbing a very steep hill of growth. Trades are in very short supply, wages are ratcheting upward (Construction Electricians $35-45 CDN/hr), virtually all sectors on fire. The only slow thing at the time is residential housing, but that is typically a year behind.
 

Georacer

Joined Nov 25, 2009
5,182
Meh, Greece here reporting. Us being the European guinea pig of the future of capitalism, things are rather grim here.

The country was never out of debt since its foundation, but now that the credit crisis has got out of control, they put us in the first line of stabilization measures.
Basically, major capital holders are looking how tax and cut back measures can prevent a country from crumbling under its fiscal (?) debt. It's a mess here.

Gov. employers are practically firing, unemployment will soon reach 30%, salaries are dropping. Watch the Debtocracy video on youtube to get a taste, it's available with English subs too.

The funny part is that even if we 're test subjects, the financial bonds between countries are too strong and complex to be simply cut. That said, the reaction of the other European countries when the referendum was announced was hilarious.
 

Thread Starter

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
live in Calgary, but work in western Canada. Just back from a trip to Dawson Creek, next week off to Saskatchewan. I do have a property for sale in the Kootenays and it doesn't look that good as the interior is cronically depressed. My sister has a business in Whistler and they have been struggling for years. I moved to Vancouver in 86' and watched that city blossum onto the international stage. Moved out in 96', just as the economy was taking a down turn. Moved to Calgary where no one had a clue about the explosion that was on thier doorstep. I do notice the jobboards are slow in the lower mainland, but there is lots of activity north. In Alberta / Saskatchewan it's a mad house. We've enjoyed the labour immigration from Ontario in the 70's, then the east coasterners in early 2000, but we are very concerned as to where we are going to find our labour this time around, simply because there's plenty of work to reduce the need to travel.

I think in Vancouver, your paying a price for highly localized immigration.
 

justtrying

Joined Mar 9, 2011
439
Sounds about right, last year's grads from my program ended up mostly in Ontario or Sask. Not too many people want to go Alberta, doesn't look like BC and Alberta get along ;)
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
Here in Canada, we appear to be climbing a very steep hill of growth. Trades are in very short supply, wages are ratcheting upward (Construction Electricians $35-45 CDN/hr), virtually all sectors on fire.

In Alberta / Saskatchewan it's a mad house.
In Alberta, it is all oil money... make it dirty oil money.
In Saskatchewan, it's all about potash.
In Ontario, it is 39000 lost jobs in October.
 

Thread Starter

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
Canada's breadbasket has been enjoying some pretty good times, and that would include Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba. Saskatchewan's current boom is all about oil and it's not 'dirty', unless you consider water consumption a problem (which it is). Uranium has been thier 'gold mine' for years. I had always thought that the Ontario's southern manufacturing belt will migrate west, but last I heard Brampton was a happening thing. Maybe those Hamiltonions should head out and make some real money.

When we talk 'dirty' oil, are we talking oil from the ground, or oil from the sea bed? Any chance those emulisfiers are causing a problem out in the big water?
 

justtrying

Joined Mar 9, 2011
439
is there clean oil? I think i know, cold pressed olive oil :)

in BC tankers are a concern. It is not an easy passage. BC itself boasts clean power (hydro), but it is anything but with the destruction of the eco-systems. Eventually something will happen to make us change the way we live since we are not doing it voluntarily... I remember doing some research on "vegetable cars" and running into a story where some island had no access to black gold so they switched to coconut oil of which they had plenty. Before, cow dung was used for fuel, we probably have plenty of that still... I mean look at the history of diesel engine, as far as I know it was designed to run on hemp.

Necessity is the mother of invention. But now we are in the consumer economy which must always grow. Shiny things are attractive. Reminds me of bugs attracted to the light at night, and we all know what happens to them.
 

loosewire

Joined Apr 25, 2008
1,686
Green energy,first they had you trade your old car that had to be
crushed,then the appliances,so the old ones could be recycled.
Now that has created a market for stolen copper steel and iron water
mains.Nothing is off limits,pushing the metals market. In the 90's
I saw mountians of metal shipside,not thinking of the China thing
or Japan.We do not have any raw materials any more.Watch the T.V.
show how its made,look at all the machinery that it takes to make
simple things.Give us two years of metal selling and see where we
are. Canada has not been mentioned in the bad economy,they
must be holding there own.

P.S. Canadians like the cold weather,are they taking jobs in the Dakota's.
Any problems crossing border to work.
They claim to have a lot of unfilled jobs.
 
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Thread Starter

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
Haven't seen any Brazilian members here, but my understanding is that thier economy is lifting many upwards in the social ranks.
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
The country was never out of debt since its foundation, but now that the credit crisis has got out of control, they put us in the first line of stabilization measures.
Greece isn't the only country that has been in debt since it's founding. The U.S. has never been out of debt. There have been a few years where the annual budget was in surplus, but the debt was never at zero or in a surplus. If there were a penny in surplus, there are 535 people in the legislature who think that their constituents deserve that penny.
 
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