Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

It is every mother’s worse nightmare . A knock on the door late at night. The police are at standing on the outside. Their purpose is to inform the resident that their loved one was involved in a fatal crash. Such an accident happened in the late hours of Saturday night, 20 March 2010, on the normally sleepy streets of Canberra, Australia’s capital. But unlike the many accidents that happen across this nation each year, this particular one gained national prominence. Why? A stolen Mazda 626, travelling at high speed to flee from the police, ran through a red light and sliced through another Mazda. Within moments an entire family of father, mother, and infant child were killed instantly. The other driver died soon thereafter and his girlfriend lay clinging to life in the hospital. Even more tragic was that the deceased family was only 200 metres from their final destination, the home of their father. In an even more bazaar twist, the occupants of both cars knew each other. NSW Police Co...

Do you want the good news first or the bad news?  If you live in Australia, the ‘good news’ is that we have ‘beaten’ the GFC (global financial crisis, which began 2007/2008). This is according to our Reserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens. Now, the bad news. Stevens is raising our interest rates! During the GFC, Australia apparently received ‘tropical rain’ while America and elsewhere experienced cyclones. With Australia looking good and China, our good customer, rising higher and higher in the global economy, perhaps we can take a breather. Loosen our belts alittle and enjoy life. Not so fast...  Before people ‘pop the champagne cork’ there are a few things to bear in mind: In Australia, the economy has held up reasonably well, especially in the area of unemployment (5.3% in February 2010). The Reserve Bank raised interest rates a quarter of a percent to 4%. The 10 year average on a basic variable rate was 6.6%, so things are still under control. But it is not cause for ce...