Conspiracy theory - the Democrats did it

I think we’re all sick and tired of reading about the latest round of retrenchments from around the traps. Give us a break. We’ve had enough. Yes, it’s the recession we had to have etc etc, but let’s put it behind us, learn from it and move on.

But just before we do...
Here’s a final round up of the latest Australian stats, before Obama wins the elections, a miraculous overnight turnaround happens and the conspiracy theory guys start to suggest that the economic slump was perpetrated by the Democrats.

Data from ANZ suggests that the number of job advertisements – newspapers and internet – dropped by 5.9% in October. Compared to October 2007, the total number of advertisements was 9.8% lower.

A special survey by the Australian Industry Group asked 303 companies their views:

The bad:
60% of companies said the crisis had negatively affected their business
55% saying they expected production to fall as a result
53% claim employment prospects have worsened.
60% said sales had fallen as a result of the crisis
64% said new orders had been hit
56% said their capital investment plans have been negatively affected by the crisis

The really bad:
40% are planning to reduce employment
40% are revising their business plans
38% are planning to cut costs
28% are planning to reduce investment
25% are planning to reduce production
10% are cutting back on R&D spending

So that’s enough of that. Things are now getting better. Our troubles are over. Markets are improving. So we can all go out and buy that new car that’s been hanging around on the docks for the past few months and make that cheeky offer on the repossessed holiday home on Avoca Beach.

Oh and more importantly, before you do any of this, of utmost importance is that you call Heywood Innovation and get your brand strengthened and ready for the good times ahead. Will branding be on Obama’s agenda I wonder? Kevin take note.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au

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