asprilla

10min drive to work?! sounds pretty sweet.

bcworld

Maybe that's what someone paid $783k for!

jad n rich

I guess in that particular area you have pretty good public transport options that take the pressure off

One of my nightmares is the north coast to bris run, once you hit the massive suburban estates on the fringe of bris in peak, cars just continue to pour out into 2 lanes and one blown tyre let alone an accident puts you in a crawl, we actually moved at 3klm an hour last trip to bris. The previous week it was like that for about half an hour.

Usually I can avoid peak however those trips had me swearing

Steve1977

1.63

Get down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Get down deeper and down

I want all the world to see
To see youre laughing
And youre laughing at me
I can take it all from you
Again again again again again again again
Deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Get down deeper and down

77hil

I'm not sure I agree with this. Today against the AU$ the pound slid a massive 1.12%. Yet against the Euro and US$ it only went down 0.18-0.35%. I would argue that it is the strength of the AU$ that is particularly killing the £/AU$ exchange rate at the moment. There has been suggestion of an October recovery for the £ but we're looking at at least 6 - 12 months I reckon.

DownUnderPaddy

Correct. The Aus economy continues to operate at polar opposites to the UK economy.

Australian Dollar Outlook Mar 10
http://ibtimes.com.au/articles/20100...ar-outlook.htm

"Australia's NAB business survey for February indicated genuine confidence in the business sector but the big result, the huge result, the truly stunning result was the ANZ job ads which rose an incredible 19% in February, which was an incredible follow up from January's 8.1% decline."

"These levels are amazing considering what is happening in the US and Europe, and with full employment at anywhere near 5%, places Australia in a strong position."

bcworld

That is perhaps a slightly unfair assessment...there have been some good numbers coming out of the UK too.

UK retail sales rebound in February

Retail sales bounced back in February after a tough January on the High Street, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed.

Like-for-like sales were up 2.2%, the BRC said, compared the 0.7% fall seen in January, when snow put off shoppers.

Service sector growth hits 'three-year high'

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) index rose to 58.4 from 54.5 the previous month, its highest since January 2007.

"It's a staggering rise which suggests the services sector in the UK is in rude health," said David Page at Investec.

DownUnderPaddy

That's a fair comment.
'polar opposites' may have been a bit overdramatising - mea culpa !

I guess the issue, and specifically for anyone looking for a better GBP/AUD rate, is that however the figures are improving in the UK, they just seem to be overshadowed and outstripped by what is going on here.
Before the rate between the 2 countries can be realistically be expected to signifigantly change, the AUS economy will have to take a big jump backwards and the UK economy a big jump forwards.

There simply is not much out there to indicate that will happen anytime in the coming year.

Recent articles like this one coming out of the UK as an example...
Trade deficit soars to £8bn highest level since July 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...ince-july-2006

"Economists agreed that there is so far little evidence that the decline in the pound is helping the UK to compete. Colin Ellis, of Daiwa Capital Markets, said, "there is still no sign of the UK transforming into an export-led economy any time soon… in terms of GDP during 2010, it is increasingly looking like net trade may not provide that much impetus to growth after all."

fromdownunder

Looks like its dropping like a stone!!

http://www.hifx.com.au/marketwatch/c...ical_data.aspx

DownUnderPaddy

It surely appears to be nudging inexorably all the time towards 1.60.
Last October, just under 6 months ago, in the "1.76" thread, we were jokingly taking predictions as to where to next.

Although the freefall at the time seemed to have reached stability at about the 1.80 level, quite a few felt that the bottom would be at the 1.60 mark.

At 1.635, it's certainly getting close now. Volatile days ahead for sure.

Hino

To quote a former Labour prime minister....

"It does not mean that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket or purse or in your bank, has been devalued."

Prime Minister Harold Wilson 19th Nov 1967

This was said after his government had to devalue the Pound by 14% after spending 200 Million GBP in a failed effort to support it.

The present Labour government has poured over 200 Billion Pounds of 'support' into the UK economy, and despite their best efforts, the GBP has still devalued by almost 25% in the last year.

How low can it go ?

I Predicted 1.5, but with almost all the worlds money markets selling the GBP short, I just don't see any bottom to the Pounds market.

How long before the UK has to call in the IMF and the party really starts ?

MartinLuther

Stop being tight and take the toll road

koalakim

What and spend even more time in the Monash car park getting to the toll section?!

Pommie Granite

I'm calling a bottom at $1.63 and have bought a load of pounds. It's time for the Aussie chooks to come home to roost.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chi...ary-2010-03-09

Amazulu

These are interesting times.

Selling my house here in Perth now would realise a lot of GBP in hand (no mortgage)@1.63. Doing some sums, I could buy a nice house with half and have enough left over to sem-retire - in my mid-40's.

How often do these opportunities arise in life?

Very interesting times indeed.