Philip Saal - January 9, 2013

Just when you thought it was safe to come out into the economy after the GFC, we now have the “Fiscal Cliff”. Do you think economists make up terminology for events that they cannot fully explain? In recent history we have had the Asian currency crisis, US Subprime crisis, European sovereign debt crisis, and now the Fiscal Cliff. What happened to simple terms like “Banana Republic” and “Stock Market crash”, things we could relate to?

The “Fiscal Cliff” in simple terms describes the change to government policy, affecting taxes and spending, that will be implemented at the end of the year. It is very political and creates uncertainty that investors do not like. This makes markets and economies around the world volatile and decisions regarding future investment difficult. We need economies to continue to grow in order to fund current debt levels.

We are entering the festive season, indulging in office parties, family get-togethers and generally a period of over-indulgence. We celebrated our office party “Vegas Style” with Stanthorpe, Roma and Warwick offices travelling to Toowoomba. We were entertained by a Cabaret show and participation on the gambling tables, armed with our fake money.

The festive season is also a time for giving and, if my wife’s spending is any indication, it is going to be a good time for the retailers. Our staff are very active this time of year, participating as volunteers for the Toowoomba Christmas Wonderland held in Queens Park, Adopting a Family through the Toowoomba Chronicle appeal, and I am happy to announce that we will be gifting $6,500 to the Starlight Foundation from the Wealth Experience Charitable trust. We would like to open up the opportunity to donate to the Charitable Trust to our clients and hope to launch this early next year.

On the behalf of all the staff and directors, I wish you all a very safe and Merry Christmas.