Sunday 11 November 2012

Canary in the coal mine ...


The last time we saw the 2 Years government bond reaching the same historical low,was in 2 August.

It clearly shows that investors are looking for safety, ready to pay for keeping their money (albeit a low amount). Basically the government is playing the role of a safety box...

For some who are interested in the french market, a market that also behaved in the same way as in Finland (i.e. was not affected by the current crisis), You can find a report genereated by one branch of the french government. It has very good and credible argument, and actually I like the idea shown in the page 79: www.cgedd.developpement-durable.gouv.fr

9 comments:

Andrew said...

I was surprised to see the respected calculatedrisk blog reporting that Californian economic conditions have improved and they are expected a balanced budget there quite shortly.

Doom seems to have been delayed - perhaps for another economic cycle. I am 57. Perhaps i am not going to live to see doom?

I am already thinking about getting an alternative, slightly more healthy hobby, of working on a type of Kakluuni as a home build.

Andrew said...

now i see a story in bloomberg that the miami housing scene is having an almost unbelievable boom when in only 2010 miami was being written off.

I wonder how long the current monetary policy will remain in place if these stories are any kind of indicator of the overall US economy??

HousingFinland said...

@Andrew

Kakluuni or kalkkuuna? being the turkey to be rosted :-)

I do not believe we are out of the wood.
let's look at some indicator :
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?id=RECPROUSM156N

It shows that potentially we have put one foot inthe recession... well, it could be ugly if so, as central bankers have used quite heavy ammunition in the past few years.

Also I like this article :

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-19/commodities-super-cycle-is-over-citigroup-s-morse-says-1-.html

Andrew said...

We are wanting an efficient wood fire or charging fireplace so we can enjoy the flames without losing all of our newly installed district heat up the chimney. Using an open fire noticeably cools the house down. We bought a fireplace insert but i did not like using it - I want bigger flames and less hassle. Perhaps it is just not possible with a wood fire.

For sure things are economically quite bad at the moment but it could be worse.

Anonymous said...

There was a report out today that banks are tightening the loan standards and raising the margin rate of interest (which could still go higher):

http://yle.fi/uutiset/banks_tighten_belts_on_housing_loans/6386470

Will this have a gentle breaking effect on housing prices or is is slamming the breaks on?

"Island Crow"

ps. Andrew, there are some nice wood burning stoves on the market with large glass fronts - and the double burning of the gasses gives good flames. I hope you find something good.

Anonymous said...

This report is based on a survey from May, but it gives a good background of how the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority see the situation of housing loans, with both positive (less very long term loans) and negative (banks were ignoring recommendations) aspects.

http://www.finanssivalvonta.fi/en/publications/Press_releases/pages/15_2012.aspx

"Island Crow"

Andrew said...

Island Crow

Taken together those changes sound fairly significant. It must have an impact on the market. There have been more houses on the market in the Helsinki area in the last 6 months. Some friends were selling in eastern helsinki and have given up until the spring. Only a few people came nobody offered.

On the topic of wood burning stoves have you got any personal experience of a particular stove?

Are you anywhere near Olunkyla Helsinki?

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Andrew - sorry I do not live near you - rather out on the Ã…bolands Archipelego.

I don't have the type of stove that you want, but the following reference is to the type of thing that I think you want. It is from our 'local' dealer who installed a wood-burning kitchen stove for us [this model: http://www.tulitalo.fi/produkt.php?l=smalands1896&lang=fin]

http://www.tulitalo.fi/produkt.php?l=takkasydamethandol&lang=fin

I think the one I have seen in action is a Jotul S17, it is impressive and fun to watch but it is not an inset to a fire place.

You might find a dealer closer to you who could give better advise

"Island Crow"

HousingFinland said...

Thanks IslandCrow for the link to the FSA...I will create a post based on those very interesting information.

I used to ignore the FSA since I have been thinking that not only they were not in control but also had no influence whatsoever. :-) . More later...

@andrew

Would be good to go a drink or two and discuss about anything related to housing...anybody interested could join.