News: 2008 a year in review

2008 was a big year in news.

In politics Prime Minister Rudd apologized to the nations Indigenous people, kept some election promises and broke a few too, moved to control the credit crisis and did a lot of travelling.  Overshadowing all of that was the election of the first African-American to the president of the United States.

Globally there was the death of Indonesian president Suharto, the continuing war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the election and ongoing troubles in Zimbabwe, a major earthquake in China killing over 70,000 people, terrorist attacks in India and the year drew to a close with Israel and Palestine at it again.

It was a big year in sport with the Beijing Olympics being the highlight and back at home "our" Rugby League world cup was surrender to New Zealand as well as the rugby union tri-nations and more recently the Springbocks have proven that the Australian cricket team can actually be beaten.

Over shadowing all this is the collapse of the world’s economy. 

The 2007 "credit crunch" moved into a full scale economic disaster with the Australian ASX200 index opening in January at 6,336 and closing in December at 3,474 a drop of just over 45%.  Add to this some of the world leading financial and insurance institutions collapsing over the year and there was nothing but bad news for anything money.  Or was there?

With interest rates down to the lowest level in over 30 years and massive cash stimulus packages from the worlds governments some people may find themselves in the best personal financial position they have been over the last decade, providing they still have a job.

Good news, bad news and conflicting news can be a bit too much to take at times.  Understanding what news is important and what is not, what affects you and what doesn't and most importantly what action should you take now is something we can help you with. 

Your Southern Cross Financial Planning adviser can talk you through all the issues that affect your individual circumstances.  If you are have any questions or concerns about your finances feel free to contact us and make an appointment to see your adviser.

Most importantly for those of you of aged pension age should immediately review your Centrelink entitlements to ensure you are not missing out on any Government assistance