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You know, there really is a BIG difference in fuel usage between a big 4WD and a Prius. If we have a major shift from 4WDs (SUV sales are falling in the US), that will give us a bit more time to develop other stuff. Alex

Which makes a lot of sense in terms of human psychology. People tend to assume the current situation will continue. So having been through the high interest rates of the late 80s, they assumed the 90s rate falls were just temporary. Similarly, people who only experienced low rates in the late...

For what it's worth, I don't think we're near peak oil. I have no scientific reasons for this, but I simply don't believe the Saudis, South Americans, have been seriously exploring for oil, and there are other (though expensive) sources like oil sands. However, structure and political issues...

You do have to ask, though, during the oil crisis of the 70s and the high interest rates of the late 80s, did people think we would never get cheap oil or low interest rates again? Alex

I don't have the stats for it. But I know that there are plenty of 10% yielding properties in Tokyo. However, Japan has a very different market to us: in particular, their buildings are not designed to last a long time. A brick apartment building in Oz can last decades and still look good with a...

At least I'm honest about it. I think a lot of people think like that most of the time but aren't willing to admit it. Or they don't WANT to think like that, but they do, and feel guilty about it. I don't really have a sense of guilt: if I do something that I'll feel guilty about, I wouldn't do...

I don't represent all the views on Somersoft, and I don't think investment by itself has a moral or immoral element. I just happen to be way I am. Most investors on somersoft are nicer than I am. As a Mod I help monitor posts according to the rules of the forum: I certainly don't impose my...

Admittedly I don't expect Australia to have a recession and stay there for 20 years like Japan. However, I believe I know enough about the Japanese recession to say that it is unlikely to happen here (or in the US). i.e. we will have a recession, but it's unlikely to last as long as the Japanese...

The above being your view. I don't see the RBA as being a bunch of fat cats: their pay isn't all that great. Any of those analysts could make much better money working for a bank or hedge fund. To be fair, given the price of my PPOR, it probably equals about 2-3 of my usual IPs. I don't see...

Bought my PPOR a few months ago (much more expensive than my usual IPs), and I'm planning to buy again son. Yes, there was a gap between Dec 04 and Dec 2007 when I didn't buy anything. As I've also said in other posts, that's because I have the luxury to sit out temporarily, because I'm already...

Pessimistic about the short term, optimistic about the long term. I'm still going to buy. Having stayed out of the market from about the end of 04 to the end of 07, I have plenty of equity saved up to survive the recession I expect. I'll still be buying even in the short term. Why? I don't...