Power Bracelet Exposed as a Scam

Power Balance bracelets exposed as a sham

Georgina Robinson

December 23, 2010 - 9:20AM

Comments 96

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Power band? Try a rubber band

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel pours scorn on claims made for the Power Balance bracelet and warns retailers they could be breaking the law.

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A bracelet worn by high profile sports stars that claims to improve athletic performance has been exposed as a sham by the consumer watchdog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ordered Power Balance Australia to refund all customers who feel they were misled by the supposed benefits of Power Balance bracelets.

The wristbands were touted as providing better balance, strength and flexibility by working with the wearer's "natural energy field".

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Illustration: Matt Golding.

English cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss, AFL bad boy Brendan Fevola, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt and NRL star Benji Marshall have all been known to wear the bracelets.

But ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said in a statement: “Power Balance has admitted that there is no credible scientific basis for the claims and therefore no reasonable grounds for making representations about the benefits of the product.

“Its conduct may have contravened the misleading and deceptive conduction section of the Trade Practices Act 1974," Mr Samuel said.

"When a product is heavily promoted, sold at major sporting stores and worn by celebrities, consumers tend to give a certain legitimacy to the product and the representations being made."

The bracelets sell for $60 on the company's website.

Mr Samuel also warned that retailers that continue to sell the products with misleading advertising or packaging would be open to action from the ACCC.

Last month an independent review panel that deals with complaints about breaches of the therapeutic goods advertising code found that powerbalance.com.au violated the code.

Power Balance acknowledged it had breached the code and said the relevant claims had been removed from its website.

The company was also named in this year's Shonky awards.

Consumer advocate group Choice found the bracelets were just rubber bands with plastic holograms.

"The band was tested at CHOICE under controlled lab conditions which showed it did little else than empty purchasers' wallets," Choice said in October.

Follow this reporter on Twitter @geerob

Comments

96 comments so far

It's a pity that Choice wasted my subscricption money on proving what we already knew!

Romi | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 8:02AM

just what i thought they use celebrities to give it a fake credibility and rake in the money whoever bought these things though must question there own gullibility,i suppose those people also still believe in the tooth fairy...lol

alf | melmac - December 23, 2010, 8:01AM

The ACCC have become a total joke, The Chairman gets in the media and spins failures into success, they fail to act on complaints until they have thousands of complaints and in the mean time Australian's are ripped off. If they had reacted when they first get complaints instead of sending a standard e-mail response these issues we never get as big. Is this the best they can do, time for the Govt to disband the ACCC and lower taxes it just is not working!

dolbet1 - December 23, 2010, 8:05AM

It is fair to expose charlatans who take people's money by exploiting peoples credulity. This sort of thing has gotten out of hand with all the New Age soothsayers and believers.

Given that it is Christmas can we also expose the churches and religions that do the do exactly the same thing? Hmm?

Rob | ACT - December 23, 2010, 7:59AM

One of many scams off the shelves... good, but don't stop here... get onto the "magnetic healing" scams next. Looking at the picture I thought this was going to be about a bracelet with a magnet in it... a hologram is even more tacky but my heart sank a bit when I found out it wasn't a magnet. I'm all for the placebo effect, but there's cheaper and more effective ways to do a placebo than blankets and various apparel with embedded magnets.

Seb - December 23, 2010, 8:03AM

Oh no!! You mean rubber bracelets don't actually give you super- powers, and we needed to test these claims under lab conditions to conclude that it's all a bunch of nonsense? Maybe these bracelets are good for something... the proper identification of fools.

gullible's travels | melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:05AM

If you were stupid enough to pay $60 for this thinking it would enhance balance, strength and flexibility by working with the wearer's "natural energy field", then you dont deserve your money back.

This was such an obvious scam from the beginning

Matt | Newcastle - December 23, 2010, 7:59AM

Yes, they've taken the information off their Australian website (well at the moment the link to the Aus website just seems to have been taken off their site altogther, but you can still find it). Meanwhile the same rubbish is there on the US and UK websites where no doubt Australians can go and continue to be misled.

I hope this is picked up by the media around the world and these guys are exposed.

James | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 7:59AM

Is it only Power Balance Australia that is required to give refunds, or other brands such as Eken?

BD | VIC - December 23, 2010, 7:58AM

Shocking.. Bogan betterment bands... FAKE! Now if the ACCC could go after banks and petrol companies... That would be something...

McTavish | Malvern - December 23, 2010, 7:57AM

Yeah, and we needed a study / the ACCC to tell us the bands were shonky ...

... next ACCC will investigate whether Santa's claims to deliver presents to every good child are true

Abaddon - December 23, 2010, 7:57AM

Gee how gullible do you have to be!!! Hey guess what I have these great socks that will increase your walking ability, and only for $99.95....you must get them!

Geesh!

Jas | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 7:51AM

That's because they don't wear them where they're needed most.In Pietersen and Favolas case,they should be wearing it around their foreheads to focus the power directly into the brain.

Dave | Melb - December 23, 2010, 7:51AM

Did anyone seriously believe them anyway?? Looks like something you get free with Coco Pops. Here's a tip for improving athletic performance - put the cake down and go for a run.

Jack | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 7:49AM

And we needed the ACCC to tell us that there is no ground for such claims? Same as sitting under a pyramid or whatever else can generate money..

ka707 | melbourne - December 23, 2010, 7:48AM

I thnk anyone stupid enough to have bought one in the first place doesn't deserve a refund. I never got a refund for the x-ray glasses I bought years ago.

braddg - December 23, 2010, 7:49AM

Their mistake was to sell it as a sports product not a religious one. A fool and their money are soon on a Televangelist's mailing list.

Alex_Qld | Toowoomba - December 23, 2010, 8:08AM

I'm not sure...

I'm not sure why we required such august bodies as the ACCC and Choice to tell us that a rubber band around your wrist would not do anything at all for any system of your body. Blood circulation in that hand possibly excepted.

Anyone with the common sense of a stick, which is apparently higher than an AFL player should have known from the start that it was just a massive con.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Jim | Bacchus Marsh - December 23, 2010, 8:08AM

Appreciate the ACCC doing it's job here, but it really says more about the insane gullibility of some people (sport "stars" and the rest of us alike) that they would believe such ridiculous claims in the first place. The urge to believe is as strong in the human mind as ever.

Andrew McIntosh | Glenroy - December 23, 2010, 7:44AM

Well, duh. How gullible are these people? These fools and their money have been parted. Anyone stupid enough to believe that 80c worth of plastic worn on the wrist can improve balance and stamina deserves to have their money taken from them.

H | The Real World - December 23, 2010, 7:44AM

Really?? This gimic yet again proves you can never under estimate the power of advertising and that there is a sucker born every minute

Mel B | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 7:45AM

Huh? What are they talking about they work, not as claimed but they do work as idiot detectors. . .anyone wearing one is clearly an idiot.

Procor | Q - December 23, 2010, 7:42AM

And to all the believers out there , I have a couple of polarizers from Brockie's Commodores I can sell you to make your cars go better too !!

Steve625 | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 7:43AM

LOL those people who bought this deserve to have their wallets emptied!

aazar | melbourne - December 23, 2010, 7:43AM

Oh no..I am shocked!.. I guess I will just have to train harder! Now they should name and shame the athletes that peddled the rubbish.

AG - December 23, 2010, 8:10AM

I am amazed that seemingly intelligent people can be sucked in by something like these bands.

What about checking out the magnet bed things also!

sme | wollongong - December 23, 2010, 7:42AM

I think even the people wearing power bracelets knew deep down that they were a fraud. For some reason it became fashionable to advertise that you had been sucked in.

It would be interesting if the ACCC had some sort of power to issue a "please explain" to the high profile athletes who were paid to wear and promote the products.

Tim | Beerburrum - December 23, 2010, 7:42AM

This was a tax on the stupid. Getting their money back seems unjust.

Mark | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 8:11AM

This is very good news, but one day, hopefully, decent scientific education in this country will mean that people will not fall for such nonsense, one can always hope!

Stoob - December 23, 2010, 8:11AM

...so what's the story here?

Professional sportsmen are gullible idiots?

People in general are gullible idiots?

News at 11.

Anders | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:15AM

Well... duh!

tim | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 8:15AM

Pity the joke's over. Those bands made it easy to play spot the idiot. Maybe I could market a "Magic Energy Tattoo" based on feng shui? Applied to the forehead it would "increase your strength and protect you from teenage girls with cameras". You could make a fortune!

Greybeard | Scurvy Dog Tavern - December 23, 2010, 8:16AM

The wrist band is obviously a load of crap however it does do one good thing - It gives a rather accurate indication of the level of intelligence of the wearers.

skeptic | melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:14AM

Slow news day? No kittens being rescued by the Fire Brigade? No UFO sightings? This is it? Good luck to the people who came up with this stuff - separating fools from their money is a worthy pursuit, social Darwinism at its best.

Shillard | Newcastle - December 23, 2010, 8:14AM

The ACCC is a waste of space when it comes to this sort of thing. You need months of investigations for an obvious scam like this?? If you can't take something as obvious as this off the shelf immediately how on earth are you going to deal with the more complicated scams?

Also, another triumph for the integrity of our sporting "heroes" who took money to promote this scam.

Matt - December 23, 2010, 8:18AM

Yer I bought wolverine claws from a toy shop and they couldnt even break through walls/glass/concrete/steel ect. When I went to return them the shop assistant explained that adamantium is not real....... I got over it though... hehehehahahah

dumbdumb | brisvegas - December 23, 2010, 8:19AM

This was simpler than a Ponzi scheme - shows you how many suckers there are out there!

Stuart | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:20AM

truly amazing that in this modern age we need to have an authority to explain to people that holographic resonance blah sold in a sports shop for $60 is BS.

what an amazing age.

lol | brisbane - December 23, 2010, 8:23AM

I am concerned the ACCC is making this company pay back money to consumers. How will those who believe in the "natural energy field" or the power of a piece of rubber with a hologram sticker going to learn if they tom follery doesn't affect their hip pockets?

If we don't put a stop to the ACCC they will be shutting down the stalls at the mind/body/spirit exhibition !

And then it is only a small step to the churches !

dean | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 8:25AM

Really, how dumb are some people??? The funniest thing about this is that there are google ads for these things under the article. Someone will keep buying them. In the words of that great Statesman Edina Monsoon - we should tax the stupid people...

Scott | melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:25AM

'A fool and his money are easily parted." Amen

JGirl - December 23, 2010, 8:25AM

Their must be something to them.Elvis Presley was apparently spotted wearing one recently at the McDonalds franchise where he's now working.

Bob - December 23, 2010, 8:26AM

But Andy Maher and the Ox said they worked!

Mojo - December 23, 2010, 8:28AM

i have just watched as all my friends have continued to purchase this product, knowing all along that something placed on the wrist cannot increase balance and skill etc.

dazza | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:32AM

@Bob: everyone (except you) knows that Elvis doesn't work at McDonalds, he works at the 7-Eleven store across the street

The ProFAT. | Bogan-ville - December 23, 2010, 8:37AM

This is very good news, but one day, hopefully, decent scientific education in this country will mean that people will not fall for such nonsense, one can always hope!

Stoob - December 23, 2010, 8:40AM

I am shocked these bracelets don't work. It's really thrown me off balance.

Olaf | Wonderland - December 23, 2010, 8:48AM

"English cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss, AFL bad boy Brendan Fevola, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt and NRL star Benji Marshall have all been known to wear the bracelets."

Why is "Bad Boy" used as an adjective for Brendan Fevola? Shouldn't it also have "Nude Boy" for Nick Riewoldt?

oz | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:50AM

So tell me what is real out there ? besides the fuel price increase for Christmas.

Consumers are always being ripped off. Can anyone explain to me why Woolworths charge 2.18 for a litre of milk and IGA charge 1.89 (same brand)?

allwarsrfutile | MB FNQ - December 23, 2010, 8:51AM

I'm sorry, but anyone who actually bought one of these deserves to have all their money taken away and should also be removed from society.

steph | sydney - December 23, 2010, 8:54AM

The reason the ACCC have made the ruling is so that the gullible people who fell for this can now believe what all their mates have been telling them - without this they would continue to say "They must work - Fev wears one!". And don't blame the sports stars either - I'd wear one if they paid me $1000 a week (and so would most people here I bet).

Don't blame the ACCC - December 23, 2010, 8:53AM

Is this one of the funniest stories of the year?

It might be except for the fact the ACCC consumes a big river of our money and delivers what, exactly? Lower inflation? Nope. Less deception in retailing? Nope. Better quality products? Definitely not. More true competition? Pfffft, I refer you to the banking, telecommunications and energy oligarchies. So, um, Colonel Samuels, what are we paying you obscene heaps of dosh for again, remind us? Oh, of course, you figured out some junk jewellry worn by boneheads was, oh my goodness, junk jewellry worn by boneheads!

Perk Cartel | Westgarth - December 23, 2010, 8:48AM

Wonder if Julian Assange was preparing to expose all this as well ?

justthinkin - December 23, 2010, 8:43AM

Im considering selling special crystals that cleanses the spirit. They cost $500 a pop but I can get away with it because there is no market for it and who can put a price on cleansing your spirit from haneous crimes.

Let me know if you want some guys...... first 5 get 10% discount!

dumbdumb | brisvegas - December 23, 2010, 8:45AM

Of course they are fake! Still there is a greater danger in inviting the government to adjudicate on such trivia than there is in the ripping off of a few gullible bogans. 'Let the buyer beware' is much safer than more government meddling. If we expect the government to protect usfrom every little $30 scam, no matter how obvious, we are telling them we want them running all aspects of our lives.

Ben | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 8:45AM

Duh! Of course this is a sham. Why anyone would believe this garbage is beyond me. It's obviously just an ugly wristband.

percyF | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 8:56AM

dolbet1 - December 23, 2010, 11:05AM

Disband the ACCC? Wow. Late entry for post of the year.

While the ACCC isn't immune from governmental woes that are across the board, I hardly think the failure of the ACCC to act earlier on a product like powerbands justifies getting rid of it.

As stated above, we are one of the first countries to take these steps to put the consumer back in their original position. Stuff like this takes time homey, but that in itself isn't a reason to justify what is comparably a well functioning gov't organisation.

Anyway, the time taken to refund the customers should serve them a lesson! Holograms haven't served any purpose in society since RD-D2 and Princess Leia used it to speek of impending doom!

gurny | Darlo - December 23, 2010, 9:01AM

Surely the English cricket captain should feel deeply deeply embarrassed about the fact he wears one of these worthless pieces of junk.

Guy Curtis | Perth - December 23, 2010, 8:59AM

When is the ACCC going to out man made climate change as a scam?

Just have a look at the snow in England and the USA. Some people will believe anything.

Chris | Brisbane - December 23, 2010, 9:12AM

So . . . this clearly shows that the ACCC do not respect people's faith in something, but want evidence to show that something does or does not work.

Suggest the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Mohammad and Jesus - and any other mythical imaginings that has an interest in getting us to part from our cash - all should watch out for the ACCC.

Jack High | Newcastle - December 23, 2010, 9:12AM

Good to see some diligent reporting on scams and fakes of this kind for once, I hope it means there will be more. After all there's no shortage of fake products on the market at any given time, so this would be a very good habit for a paper to get into.

You could even get to work on your own practice of publishing horoscopes, for example. After all, they're presented as factual, which is blatantly misleading. And people make real, personal, relationship and financial decisions based on them. Because they're treated as serious by a newspaper - and folk respect that authority. And it's being abused.

Just a suggestion.

Fuller | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 9:13AM

I feel for every one of those members of the public who were so shockingly hoodwinked and ripped off by this masterful marketing ploy.

If you'd like to get your money back, I invite you to join me in and a 100% scientifically proven investment program...

Donald | Brisbane - December 23, 2010, 9:13AM

How heroic of the ACCC to tackle Powerbands! Now that this issue is sorted hopefully they will focus on petrol and the coles and woolworths dualopoly...

Luke | Drummoyne - December 23, 2010, 9:14AM

OK so ACCC have dealt with Power Bands-now are they going to go after the charlatans that sold me my Pet Rock? 35 years now I've been trying to train it to roll over, and nothing, just sits there looking at me-bloody rock!

matt | northern beaches-syd - December 23, 2010, 9:18AM

Hats off to the power balance people. This idea has made someone very very rich.

I wish I had thought of it | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 9:19AM

A placebo can be just as effective as the real thing. ACCC should have better things to do like investigating gouging at the petrol pump..... Oh silly me that would be real work.

snah | melb - December 23, 2010, 9:20AM

Typical example of how religions and churches get special treatment. People and the ACCC are horrified that companies sell phoney products to fools, but religions do it with the blessing of government and community ... and charitable, tax-free status, as well as unfettered access to brainwash our kids in the education system. If magic rubber bands are such an issue ... let's first get rid of all the hocus-pocus religious dogma and grow up, finally. Sheesh.

dogmaphobe - December 23, 2010, 9:21AM

The Power Bands work very well to identify gullible nongs!

Elsternwick Eric - December 23, 2010, 9:23AM

What's really shocking is the level of ignorance of basic science allowed for high school graduates.

lorikeet | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 9:23AM

How js this different to homeopathy?

Matt | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 9:24AM

I totally agree with Matt. Some people are just too gullible for their own good, and the only way they will learn is to kiss goodbye to their money. Who in their right minds would have believed that a plastic holgram has magical powers?

The other Matt | Randwick - December 23, 2010, 9:28AM

Well Durrrrrrrrr, anyone with an IQ higher than 80 would have known this. Am curious to know how much the pros were paid to pass this scam off onto the general public.

Wizard | Ellen Grove - December 23, 2010, 9:31AM

For athletes with peak physical condition the difference between success and failure is all mental. If they think a rubber band is going to improve their performance it has done its job. As for the rest of us, making our wallet lighter would be its only effect.

Stevo | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 9:32AM

Oh gee, you think! Surely if someone talks about "natural energy" it MUST be true - it sounds so convincing and new age and everything.

Use your brains when you shop people! - if there is no scientific proof that something works, it probably doesn't.

Citizen of the World | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 9:35AM

As a scientist, it'd be such a simple thing for me (or almost anyone) to come up with a sham like this, dress it up with some 'sciencey' sounding words, and flog it to the public for a fortune. I could literally be contemplating my lack of moral character on a large yacht in the Whitsundays right this very moment, beer in hand, surrounded by hotties in a spa. *Sigh* - shame I couldn't live with myself for contributing to the already shambolic levels of anti-science woo-boogey-boogey already out there in the world.

This is a spectacularly unscientific age in which we live... Science should be a compulsory subject from kindergarten to year 12.

Craig | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 9:36AM

Well blow me down.

The ACCC has (finally) had a win.

More power to them.

Just imagine the high flying low lifes they will nab.

(Every pun intended!)

nolongerconfused | Sydney - December 23, 2010, 9:37AM

Those Power Bands make me think of those old parody ads for non-existent products they had in Mad Magazine.

Keats | Melbs - December 23, 2010, 9:53AM

Powerbands are fake ... no s*** sherlock ...

Perhaps now they'll switch to the other big scamsters namely the banks and petrol companies ... it's nearly Christmas and what a surprise, petrol prices go up ...

CeePee - December 23, 2010, 9:49AM

The only thing USELESS HERE is the ACCC.!!!!!!

fuddy duddy ruddy | parliament house - December 23, 2010, 9:48AM

Great news! My missus asked me if there could be anything to these silly wrist-bands ages ago, there were a lot of people in a chat forum she belonged to talking about them. I told her they were a scam as well as the stupid magnetic "therapeutic" products that were around - magnetic fields when strong enough disrupt cellular function. Copper bracelets are also a dumb idea as copper is poisonous and related toa host of disorders including liver and kidney damage and Alzheimer's. At least this stupid hologram idea isn't dangerous, except to your bank balance.

By the way, the "athletes" who endorsed this stupid product should be chastised every time they raise their heads in future, and any other product they endorse should be viewed with great scepticism. Are they still wearing them? Do they have any comments?

icurhuman2 | Noraville - December 23, 2010, 9:46AM

I wonder what amount of ACCC resources went on this pathetic investigation? They should be embarassed. Hey ACCC, how about getting to the bottom of food prices - dont see farmers getting rich? Or how about investigating how 'green' green electricity really is seeings elec co charges an extra for 'green' power?

Witch_Doctor | Melb - December 23, 2010, 9:46AM

These should not be banned. They are better and cheaper than a bar code to signify stupidity.

cockatoo - December 23, 2010, 9:57AM

Two quick points:

1. There is undoubtedly a high correlation between those who bought Power Balance bracelets and those who enjoy UFC. There is no other reason why both articles would appear in the same day's news.

2. The 'penalty' of providing a refund to those who claim they were misled is the biggest waste of time. Statistically, only 10% or so of people ever return anything for a refund. Take into account that people here would need to admit they were, effectively, gullible, the percentage will quickly approach zero. So, the charlatans who sold Power Balance will walk away with their profits in their pockets with no retribution.

If you think point two is a stretch, consider why companies offer cash back offers rather than price discounts - cash back offers require the customer to act, which they inevitably are too lazy to do.

But still, gotta love my link between Power Balance, boganism and UFC. Pretty neat, eh?

Public Joe - December 23, 2010, 9:59AM

I left Australia due this mentality. There are so many real products, I haven't tried this one but I use similar. I use the highest end of magnetic technology which I now import into Europe.

I have helped so many people and saved so many lives (including my own) with things are are meant to be fake and I assure you they are not placebo.

I read about how it actually works and the info is real, I use the exact same methods which achieve results that doctors and ill people dream of.

Mary - December 23, 2010, 10:01AM

In no way defending the power balance thing, but it feels like a lot of misplaced nastiness is being aimed at the people who've bought 'em. I bet almost all of us have given ourselves permission at one time or another to believe something a bit silly. Cast the first stone if you must. But perhaps the stones would be better cast at the sellers and marketers who've cynically exploited a very human trait, rather than at their prey, or at the organisations who've taken the time to expose the nonsense for what it is.

Nick Carroll - December 23, 2010, 10:12AM

@ Mary - December 23, 2010, 1:01PM

I'm surprised. Europe has far better consumer laws than Australia. When it comes to magic science, you can get away with a lot more in Australia. You can even get a genuine degree for it here! Not that the rest of the world will recognise it.

KillerPython - December 23, 2010, 10:12AM

Who cares! If these things provide comfort to idiots then so be it. There is a plethora of other crap products out there that the ACCC takes no notice of that are actually supposed to be performing a function!

Jaded - December 23, 2010, 10:17AM

Power Balance bracelets a sham!

Wow. Thanks for telling us; who would have thought otherwise?

( Okay, just a few professional footballers and some other equally gullible dullards.)

The ACCC would be better allocating its time and resources tackling those unchallenged masters of false promotion - the cosmetic companies.

Christopher Lynch | Kilsyth - December 23, 2010, 10:19AM

Yo, @Mary 1.01pm, are you THE Mary, Mother of ol' JC? Thought so!

dogmaphobe - December 23, 2010, 10:20AM

Gosh when I read this I nearly lost balance and fell off my chair . Fortunately my superstar endorsed mega balance correcter kicked in and saved me from the embarrassment of falling from my perch . I wonder what would happen if I attach it to my old fella ? Dickileaks ?

Castro | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 10:20AM

Thank goodness, hopefully people will go and get their money back and shut down these crooks.

As for the person who mentioned the magnets - there has been some really good studies done on magnetic insoles and they found, you guessed it, no benifit at all :)

BecMelb | Melb - December 23, 2010, 10:21AM

How are people going to school for 12 years and coming out less intelligent than they went in? A five year old would be skeptical about this.

rl | sydney - December 23, 2010, 10:27AM

So the bogan band has been exposed as a fake, I'm shocked. These things make me cringe everytime I see some wanna be wearing one. If your willing to pay 60 bucks for a rubberband with a hologram attached to it, you really are a clown. Hats off to the manufacturers however, best scam I have seen in a long time.

fitter - December 23, 2010, 10:27AM

No kidding, a sham, eh ?

Who would have thought.....

Actually, hows about everyone visit their Facebook page and online forums and make the news known!

JohnB | Melbourne - December 23, 2010, 10:32AM

@Public Joe: your "correlation" between UFC fans and Power Balance is as unfounded as the arguments used to sell the bands. Are you sure you're any less a bogan than either the fans or the PB wearers?

While we all scoff at this, I'm reminded of the Firepower scam of a few years ago. A truckload of celebrities and supposedly intelligent people did a lot more money than ever got spent on these, on something as equally dodgy in its claims.

UFC Fan | SYD - December 23, 2010, 10:33AM

I feel sorry for those people who bought counterfeit power bands. They got ripped off twice.

Troy - December 23, 2010, 10:34AM

Show Me the Money

By: Veronai Vanijaka (Bangkok Post)

The government is planning a 5% pay increase across the board for civil servants, and between 14.7% and 14.9% for members of parliament and senators, totalling 1.3 billion baht annually of taxpayers' money. In addition, chiefs of local administrative offices are demanding a 100% pay hike.

According to Suan Dusit Poll, 86.4% of Thai people disagree with the pay increase for MPs and senators, saying they don't do any work. Instead, they just bicker and make fools of themselves. They don't deserve it!

Bah humbug, I say! Bunch of Scrooges, I say! Where's the Christmas spirit, I ask.

Do politicians and civil servants deserve the pay rise? Of course they do. Just look at their job performance.

On Dec 30, 2008, the Abhisit government made four promises to the people of Thailand.

1. To protect and uphold the royal institution. While hundreds of thousands of websites have been banned, the government has many times alleged that movements are afoot to topple the monarchy. But no one has been arrested on that charge. No one.

2. To achieve national reconciliation based on justice and accepted by all factions. Just look at how the red, the yellow and the government get along so merrily. Why, it's just like Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

3. To fix the economy. The economy is picking up, even if the private sector says the government has little to do with it. But if Thaksin Shinawatra can take credit for an already healthy economy, Abhisit Vejjajiva can also take credit for an improving economy.

4. To develop Thai democracy with good governance and equal justice in ways acceptable to the international community. Just look at how the Constitution Court treated the Democrat Party with one single, just standard in two dissolution cases. Oops, the deadline has passed, throw the cases out _ both of them!

Do politicians and civil servants deserve the pay increase? Of course they do. See how hard they work on behalf of the 67.7 million Thai people.

In one year, an astounding 10 laws were passed. They have tirelessly, with strength, resolve and conviction, passed almost one law per month. Almost one! How many of us ever pass a law in our entire lives? Shame on us!

Last year, parliament was cancelled 11 times, because not enough MPs showed up for work. Why? Real work is in the streets, not in meeting rooms. They are so exhausted from walking the Earth and helping the people (like Caine in Kung Fu), that the few times a parliamentary meeting is actually held, many of them fall asleep, waking only to scream insults at each other. Why insults? Because they are passionate about work. Passion is good!

Do politicians and civil servants deserve their pay increases? Of course they do. Take a look at their noble and self-sacrificing actions during and after the recent floods in Thailand that led to 203 deaths, affected 1.4 million people in 30 provinces and ravaged 6.3 million rai of paddy fields.

There were reports of MPs claiming aid given by the private sector and private citizens as their own. Officials were reported to have stolen aid packages for their own use, or in some cases even selling them and making up fake receipts for reimbursement.

A total of 900 aid packages were given for flood victims in Sakon Nakhon Province. According to the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), of 150 cases investigated at random, corruption was suspected in 100.

In Roi Et province, the PACC randomly selected 21 flood aid programmes and detected irregularities in all of them. Local authorities have allegedly fabricated damage reports and issued false recommendations for the use of funds.

In one case, repairs to a bridge would have only cost 20,000 baht, but the district office put the price at 200,000 baht. 10 times higher than it should have been.

Blame the calculator!

Do politicians and civil servants deserve their pay increases? Of course they do. If they believe they deserve our money so much that they contemplate ransom tactics, how can we, the taxpayers of Thailand, refuse?

Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul has given his approval for a 100% pay increase for local administrative office chiefs.

The chiefs have already threatened to protest in Bangkok if the prime minister doesn't also approve their pay rise. The office in Uttaradit province warns that it will persuade people to vote against the Democrats in the next general election if they don't get the 100% rise that they so richly deserve.

Do politicians and civil servants deserve their pay increases? Of course they do. Just look at how transparent and incorruptible they are.

According to the PACC, its investigations into more than 400 cases of corruption are stuck with the National Anti-Corruption Commission, with little progress made. So instead, they'll work with the Anti-Money Laundering Office.

An Abac survey in November conducted in 17 provinces compared people's attitudes towards corruption from before the 2006 military coup with the present day. The results show 90.1% believe that there's been an increase in corruption under the present government.

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Thailand 78th in the world (with first being the least corrupt).

Do politicians and civil servants deserve their pay increases? Of course they do. An MP or a senator lives on only about 3,000 baht per day. That's an abysmal sum unfit for even the sorriest of paupers. My shoelaces cost more than 3,000 baht!

Civil servants' pay is in general quite low, with a starting salary of approximately 7,000 baht for those with a bachelor's degree.

And while MPs and senators _ who already make comfortable six-figure salaries _ will enjoy an almost 15% pay increase, the minimum wage in the country is likely to be increased by only eight to 17 baht per day.

The minimum wage is currently set at 151 to 206 baht per day, depending on the cost of living in the province a worker lives in.

So, it won't be anywhere near the 250 baht the prime minister had promised.

Opposing the pay hike, Senator Ruangkrai Leekitwattana said, ''As a senator, I now earn 62,000 baht a month, plus 42,000 baht in monthly allowance. This is a total of 104,000 baht a month. After tax is paid, I am left with about 80,000 baht a month, or 3,000 baht a day. Is that not enough?''

There are families that live on 151 baht per day and there are families that live on 3,000 baht per day. The latter are set to get quite a bit more while the former will get a pittance.

Put all of these pieces of information together and it's no wonder we have reporters asking Mr Abhisit how officials and politicians _ especially the corrupt ones, or those who barely do any work _ deserve a pay increase?

To which the prime minister replies, ''It just had to be done, so deal with the realities,'' and ''if you don't like a certain politician, just don't vote for them.''

There you go! Do politicians and civil servants deserve their pay increases? Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

Finally Proof that one of Australia's Bank Almost Went Belly Up in 2008!

By Kris Sayce (Money Morning)

If you haven't found the time to read the transcripts from the Senate economics select committee I suggest you find the time.

Simply because comments from two National Australia Bank [ASX: NAB] executives confirm - that's right, confirm - everything we've written about NAB's secret bailouts in 2008 and 2009.

You can download the transcript by clicking here.

We told you the banks need the loans because they faced a massive liquidity and solvency problem.

Our critics said we were talking rubbish. That we had finally lost our marbles.

They tried to say NAB was just being cheeky. That is was snaffling Federal Reserve loans on the cheap. They said NAB did what any back should do, take the opportunity to borrow low and lend high.

We countered the argument by explaining how bank borrowing works. How banks have to roll over debt on a regular basis. If there's a problem with rolling the debt over, then, well, it can leave a bank in the lurch.

We showed you how NAB and Westpac [ASX: WBC] had stood hunched shoulder to hunched shoulder with other troubled banks. Banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland, LloydsTSB, Citibank and ABN Amro.

Believe me, the admission I'll show you in a moment is dynamite. It's an admission straight from the horses' mouths. That the Australian banking system was in dire trouble in late 2008.

Yet where is the Australian mainstream press on this story?

Good question. Nowhere. The mainstream press conspired with the banks and regulators to sweep the secret loans scandal under the carpet. And now they've done the same with the Senate committee statements.

To be honest, the incompetence of the mainstream press doesn't surprise us. We'd waited a couple of days for the transcripts to be posted to the Hansard website (Hansard is the official record of parliamentary debate).

Until then, like you, we had to rely on what the mainstream press had reported. And what did they focus on? Of course, they focused on the easy stuff… banks' interest margins, bank fees, executive pay levels… the sort of stuff that's easy for the journalism cadets to get their teeth into.

I mean, the bombshell I'll reveal to you today isn't the sort of thing the seasoned finance hack would touch with a bargepole. Why? Because the seasoned finance hack doesn't want to ruin his chances of an invite to the next banking dinner party.

Or the chance to interview a top banking executive. That's more important to them than uncovering a story that proves the fragility of the banking system.

Although to be fair, even if they did want to report on it, chances are their editor would exercise a veto and cut out all the juicy stuff.

So, when we read the transcript, guess the first thing your editor did. Go on, guess.

What's that, you can't? Think harder. Think how annoying we can be… that's right, we fired off another email to our pals at the ASX. I won't reprint it here, instead I'll expand on what I wrote to them.

Remember some of the previous banter we had with the ASX folks. They told us the ASX didn't have the power to request information from a company. Not unless there was an unexplained price movement.

We told them their version of ASX Rule 3.1 was wrong. The ASX did have the power to request additional information from the banks. Not only did they have the power, but that they should do so immediately.

Funnily enough, two weeks since the US Federal Reserve released the extraordinary details of NAB and Westpac's secret loans and the ASX is still sitting on it.

The ASX continues to conspire with NAB and Westpac to keep the market uninformed about secret loans that prevented two of Australia's banks from going bust. I don't know about you but I'd think that was something the ASX would want an explanation on.

Yes, I've been criticised for my comments on the seriousness of these loans. I've been told on more than four occasions (five I think… maybe six) that Australia's banks were nowhere near going bust.

Well, it turns out your editor was right. But don't just take my word for it. In a moment I'll show you what two top execs at NAB - one of them the top dog - told the Senate committee about the financial condition of the banks in 2008 and 2009.

But first, Money Morning reader Paul sent us this timely reminder of the spin put out by the banking industries puppet mouthpiece, the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) in October 2008:

"The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) is concerned that recent announcements by the Federal Government to guarantee deposits and wholesale funding are being characterised as the Australian banks having been ‘bailed out'.

"This is false

"No bank deposits have been at risk. Bank deposits are safe - with or without the government's guarantee.

"Australian banks and the regulatory framework have been successful. Unlike in the UK, Europe and the USA, no taxpayer's money has been allocated to support an Australian bank. Australian banks are very strongly capitalised and continue to hold assets that are of good credit quality."

It's interesting the ABA would say that, because one year prior to that statement Westpac had grovelled to the US Federal Reserve for USD$1 billion. And one month later NAB would need to raise billions of dollars on the Australian Securities Exchange.

As NAB director of finance Mark Joiner told the Senate committee:

"There were two periods during the crisis when our credit rating was on negative watch. If we dropped out of the AA status, then the cost of funds and our access to funds internationally would have been severely altered."

Despite that, the ABA claimed Australia's banks were "strongly capitalised". So "strongly capitalised" that the NAB had to raise $6 billion on the market plus another USD$4.5 billion in secret from the US Fed.

That doesn't sound very strong to me.

But right there, in Mr. Joiner's statement is the precise reason why the NAB grabbed the secret loan money from the US Federal Reserve. Not because it was trying to make a few extra bucks, but because the bank was on a negative credit watch.

The bank execs knew that if the market knew just how tight the bank's balance sheet was, the bank would have lost its AA credit rating. Here are Mr. Joiner's comments to the Senate committee:

"There were two periods during the crisis when our credit rating was on negative watch. If we dropped out of the AA status, then the cost of funds and our access to funds internationally would have been severely altered. Then our ability to support the economy in the ways we described before—staying open for business and predictable for customers—would also have gone. We would have had to freeze our balance sheet growth and the like. While you probably do not want obscene amounts of profitability out of your banking system, it is good for everybody to have a strong banking system that supports a degree of economic self-determination and flexibility."

See, without these bailouts Mr. Joiner admits it would have been hard for the bank to stay open for business.

Yet just like the secret loans, you didn't hear about this statement in the mainstream press. They didn't seem to think it was important enough.

But that wasn't all, NAB CEO Cameron Clyne backed up his finance director. Here's what Mr. Clyne told the committee:

"As we went to the crisis, we were in a situation where obviously, quite appropriately, investors and prudential regulators were seeking us to hold greater capital. We had to go to the markets. We went to the markets in November 2008 and in July 2009 and raised about $6 billion in equity. We effectively had to absorb that and suffer the drop in return on equity. Had we tried to maintain the same return on equity on the additional $6 billion in capital, prices would have been substantially higher. I do contest the fact that we maintained return on equity. We most certainly did not."

There you have it. Australia's banks were on the edge. It needed the capital raised on the market, plus US Federal Reserve secret loans in order to make it.

Think about it. Think about the other bailouts the banks received - the first homebuyers grants, the wholesale guarantee, the deposit guarantee… but still it wasn't enough to prop up NAB and Westpac.

They needed more. These two "strongly capitalised" banks needed the secret Fed loans. Plus top-up loans from the Reserve Bank of Australian (RBA), which itself received USD$53.5 billion from the US Fed.

Yet all the while the ABA yapped that "Australian banks are very strongly capitalised and continue to hold assets that are of good credit quality."

We now know that to be false. A strongly capitalised banking system doesn't need a raft of government and central bank bailouts. It certainly doesn't need secret loans from a foreign central bank.

But even now, the regulators are spinning the same yarn. We printed this comment on Wednesday by RBA assistant governor Guy Debelle:

"The RBA participated in the swap line [with the US Federal Reserve] to help distribute US dollars into this time zone… It did not reflect any issue with the Australian banking system's own need for US dollars. The funds provided under the swap line were cheaper than the extremely wide market price at the time. As a result, Australian based banks availed themselves of this and in a number of cases on-lent the funds to banks in other jurisdictions."

We thought about his statement some more after we sent it to you. The way Debelle carries on he's making out that America and Australia were playing doctor and nurse to the sick global banking system…

That Australia was fine. Our banks were simply being good doctors by helping out others.

He's making the RBA and the banks out to be the Dr. John Forrest and Matron Grace Scott of the banking world. In reality they're no more than the Dennis Jamieson and Ada Simmons of banking.

But considering the magnitude of the admission, how did the good Senators' respond?

Following Mr. Clyne's reply, Senator Hurley continued:

"All right. Let us talk about the most recent rate rise above the RBA cash rate."

What?! Handed on a plate an admission that Australia's banks were in dire trouble in 2008 and 2009, and the hapless Senator blabs on about the latest interest rate decision.

That's another reason we didn't take up the offer to put questions to government ministers. If members of the Senate economics can't recognise a bombshell when they see one, there's not much point in us wasting our time giving them more ammo… they'd probably only blow themselves up with it anyway!

But all this aside, two weeks after the secret loans were revealed, Australia's regulators refuse to inform investors of the banks' deception.

As far as the RBA, APRA and ASX are concerned it's a non-issue. We can only draw the conclusion they don't want to ask NAB or Westpac any questions. That's because they know the answers will be embarrassing.

Not only that but they're clearly embarrassed at having talked up the stability of the Australian banking system while behind closed doors the banks were secretly receiving multi-billion dollar bailouts.

Based on everything we've read so far, it's clear that Australia's banks were much closer to going bust than even we thought. And that if it wasn't for secret loans from the RBA and the US Federal Reserve the Australian banking system would have collapsed.

We've got a lot more digging to do on this issue. It wouldn't surprise us if the Aussie banks had further secrets they'd prefer locked away in the closet.

The FIFA World Cup Fiasco

FIFA has once again been exposed as the most corrupt, morally depraved, contaminated organization wielding massive global power to determine the fate of countries by being the sole decision maker on which country gets to host the world cup. In the recent fiasco where Russia and Qatar received the most votes securing them the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, many including Australia are crying foul over the failure of FIFA to follow its own guidelines in awarding the rights to host the World Cup.

There has also been endless speculation of massive endemic corruption within the FIFA organization leading up to Vice President Jack Warner whose history of corruption and nepotism precedes him. FIFA's president, Sepp Blatter however, has dismissed some of the claims as “trivial”. In one instance when Jack Warner was investigated by FIFA to have sold some 80,000 World Cup tickets profiting by millions of dollars, he was asked to “pay back” one million to charity. Nothing more came from that although the instruction that FIFA demanded Mr Warner to pay back one million dollars would in anyone’s sound judgement amount to some sort of declaration of Mr. Warner’s guilt, but Mr Warner still holds the position of Vice President of FIFA, next in line to be the most powerful man in football.

In the voting for the 2022 World Cup, Australia who was promised at least 6-7 votes by various voting members to make it through the first round could only garner one pathetic vote. Australia’s lead bid manager Frank Lowe said Australia lost because “we played fair”. That’s where they went wrong. Australia has always been known as a nation free of corruption and the politics and corruption that FIFA envelopes itself in was obviously too high an obstacle for the “fair” bidders to compete with.

Similarly, for the 2018 World Cup bid, the USA and UK who many agreed had a far more superior bid than Russia lost out to the former Soviet state. When anyone mentions ethical, integral, free of corruption, Russia and Qatar could not be furthest from the mind and unfortunately, this has fuelled even further speculation that there was something serously wrong with the integrity of the whole process.

Look, maybe FIFA did vote according to their own guidelines. Maybe they did want to further the sport by introducing it to the biggest country in the world (land size) in Russia and they wanted to further the sport in the Middle East by giving it to Qatar. Maybe all that is true and they had good intentions which were misconstrued by so many people. Maybe all that is true, however what is also facts is that FIFA has had a history of corruption amongst its ranks and a history of sweeping all the allegations under the carpet. From the former President Jacques Havalanche to Jack Warner to many others in the committee, allegations upon allegations of misconduct have been alleged and FIFA hasn’t done much to bring forth proper independent investigations. For some unknown reason, FIFA President Sep Blatter prefers to sweep all these allegations under the carpet. As the president, Mr Blatter must be involved at a higher level possibly, otherwise why not do a proper investigation? Even if he is completely void of corruption himself, his running of the organization by closing one eye and always brushing off suggestions that FIFA needs to explain the allegations is itself as damaging to the organization as the allegations themselves. If you want to find out more about the endemic corruption in FIFA, check out the BBC program “Panorama” who have been following up on the corruption allegations against FIFA for almost a decade. Just type in “BBC Panorama FIFA” in You Tube and you’re more than like to get the program in two parts.

In this day and age where even the perception of corruption can bring an organization down, FIFA’s high and mighty attitude that they answer to no one and any allegation of corruption can just be brushed aside is astonishing. In awarding the World Cup, FIFA has the audacity to make the host country agree to many ridiculous conditions like making the income generated by FIFA be tax exempted and because of the power it yields, many countries have no choice but to agree with the conditions for fear that their bid become unsuccessful.

Listen, FIFA needs to clean up its act because football is too big to fail. The stench after the recent voting has unfortunately brought football to its knees and left a very nasty taste to those bidding nations that believe they have been hard done by. Football will be the ultimate loser if FIFA does not clean up its act and the suggestion by some politicians to have a full and independent investigation like a Royal Commission with clear terms of reference to investigate FIFA to its core with the legal powers to launch criminal proceedings against anyone who has broken the law I think is a good suggestion.

In Support of Wikileaks

Everywhere you turn, go, see or hear in the last couple of weeks, there is no escaping the Julian Assange/ Wikileaks saga, accused by various governments especially the US of exposing classified documents which they claim could "cost innocent lives". Assange has voluntarily given himself up to UK police and is now sitting in a UK jail awaiting his hearing, fighting for his life to stay off extradition charges to the US where it is more than certain he would face the US government hell bent on building a case based on trumped up charges against him to silence off his Wikileaks organization and stem the tide that have caused them so much irreparable damage. Secret cables released expose the US governments of criticizing other countries presidents, prime ministers, ministers, ambassadors and what not and this has embarassed the US considerably and put a strain in their foreign relations.

Lets face it, it has never been about endangering anyones lives but more about the embarassment that it has brought the US government. It has exposed their lies in Iraq and Afghanistan and it has exposed their political conversations and provided the public some inside into what the US really thinks about the rest of the world. If anything the cables have reinforced what we knew that the US is the one and only remaining super power and there is no point in being a citizen of any other country as Julian Assange is finding out at the moment. =

Politicians don't like openess and scrutiny and Asssange has exposed the US in an unprecedented manner and obviously unsure of a suitable response apart from shooting the messenger by building up trumped up charges and some even calling for him to be executed/ assassinated etc. While there is a low chance that the US government will actually assassinate Assange, you'll never really know with its poor record in the past of abiding its own laws and standards it sets others. What about these irresponsible people who are calling for the head of Assange that really concerns me is that some lunatic, maybe the Israeli Mossad who will actually see some value in following the suggestions made by these influential people and do the deed.

What Julian Assange has done here is that he has exposed government incompetence, lies and secret political conversations. He has not put anyone's life at risk. When a senior counter intelligence office who had just come back from Afghanistan was asked by Kerry O'Brien on the 7:30 Report whether there was any evidence of lives lost because of the Wikileaks cables, he answered "No", and this coming from a guy who currently works for the intelligence department who went on the program to "shoot down" Julian Assange. When asked what repurcussions there was, he said mainly "political repurcussions". There you have it from a senior intelligence officer who just came back from Afghanistan saying that there is no evidence that the Wikileaks cables were used by the Taliban to hunt and kill people. It gets even better, he praised Wikileaks for concealing some of the names which had the potential to be used by the Taliban for retribution, mainly against locals. From his statement you can actually suggest that Wikileaks are aware that free speech have boundaries and are focused on exposing the government's lies without endangering the lives of innocent people. So much for shooting Wikileaks down!

The only reason Assange is in the situation he is in is because the cables have made the US government "uncomfortable" and "embarassed". The silence by other governments is defeaning to the stage of causing a disgusting feel of nausea. As Assange is an Australian citizen, his plight has the potential to be the Labor party's David Hicks in which the most Australians formed the opinion that the Australian government (at the time John Howard's Liberal party) did not do enough to ensure sufficient representation to one of it's citizens against what people viewed as the harsh treatment he received while in US custody, and the Assange case has the potential to be just like th Hicks case. On the one hand Prime Minister Gillard had already concluded that Assange had broken the law and on the other hand the Attorney General stated that Assange will be accorded full access to consular assistance while in custody. That's going to be difficult providing someone who you believe is guilty full consular assistance.

What laws have Assange broken? No one seems to know. When the US Assistance Attorney General was asked by Kerry O'Brien tonight, he said he is no law expert. Reading between the lines I would say no laws were broken and the US are finding something on him. Most apolitcical commentators, respected law professors from ANU, Oxford and so forth have said that they can't find that Assange has broken any laws. So far there is no evidence that he took any of the documents in question but he merely published it. There are a host of other more mainstream larger media organizations that did the same, so why target the little guy? To make an example of him? If the US really wanted to prosecute someone, it should be the person who stole the documents but that would be too difficult and Assange would be an easier target to make an example for any future "offenders".

The charge that finally led to his arrest has got nothing to do with Wikileaks. It's about the rape of a couple of Swedish women where the case when it initially went to court was thrown out by the judge for insufficient evidence. So what happened from then until now? His lawyer said that Assange waited for forty days and forty nights in Sweden to assist police and the prosecutor but they never called him in. What happened after that? Was there political pressure push these trumped up charges, get Assange out of action and finally extradited to the US and charged with some sort of outdate draconian law like the Espionage Act which by the way has never been used since 1918? Sure smells like a rat!

Assange voluntarily gave himself up to authorities, so for the judge to deny him bail seems somewhat unjust. You can only conlcude that the reason to keep him locked up is to deny him the ability to further publish more embarassing documents but just today his lawyer said that the Wikileaks organization is going strong despite being hacked and abandoned by it's former partners and today was only cable number 301 and they can't wait to publish a further 250,000 cables more. Good on ya I say, can't wait myself to see what further government lies, embarassing truths and incompetence is revealed!

It's a David vs. Golliath scenario where the sling shot is a $2,000 computer. There is no point being an Australian citizen when under the slightest pressure from the US whom apparently don't really like Australia anyway (according to the leaked cables) you get abandoned by the very government that has a duty of care to ensure your well being. All Assange wants according to his biographer is more transparent government and for them to stop lying to the people like the war on Iraq and you can't really argue with that. When a Danish cartoonist drew unflattering pictures of the prophet Mohammed most governments stood on the side of "freedom of expression" even though that case had the potential to explode into more severe violence that this case could ever be but now when they themselves are exposed, they have strangely gone numb on the subject of "freedom of information".

A New Bubble

by Shae Smith (Money Morning)

Forget about the supposed gold bubble. Ignore the growing property bubble, and don’t worry yourself about the potential commodity bubble if Dr. B.S. Bernanke – yes, those are his initials – gets his way.

There’s a bigger bubble brewing. This one is in bulbs. But not light bulbs. And not tulip bulbs either…

Because this one’s not in the Netherlands, it’s in China. In fact, talk of this bubble began long ago.

"Garlic prices have increased fifteen fold in China in under a year because Chinese investors are said to be attempting to create an artificial shortage and drive up prices."

That was written over twelve months ago. But it’s truer now that it was back then.

How did the Chinese end up buying garlic as a speculative investment?

By the way, I’m serious. This isn’t some kind of elaborate analogy… China has created an asset bubble in garlic!

Well, first you have to go back a bit as the 2008 planting season was about to begin.

Farmers, sick of the increasingly low prices for garlic – about 1 Yuan (AUD$0.15) a kilo – decided to ditch the garlic crops for something that had a more attractive price, like corn or rice, which is also ‘price controlled’ by the government.

To the farmer, this made a commodity like corn, much more attractive, knowing that he would always get the same price for his crop, and not risk out on losing money on garlic plantations that attracted very little return. At one point, the price of garlic fell as low as 0.08 Yuan (AUD$0.012) per kilo.

Then along came Swine flu in 2009, and that changed everything.

You see, traditional Chinese medicine believes that garlic has medicinal use, and when Swine flu was invading our vocabulary this started to boost the demand for garlic. But because of the small crops that were planted in 2008, there wasn’t a lot of stuff to go around.

Which is partly to blame for the shortage today.

At first, officials had blamed the shortage on bad weather and farmers hoarding what little supply they had, but as the swine flu scare worsened, the price started to sky rocket.

By the end of 2009 the price for a kilo of garlic was 60% higher than the year before.

In fact, during this period, you’d find many articles like this one, stating how ‘Garlic beats gold as an investment’.

Because many food commodities are price controlled in China, garlic, which isn’t, started to attract speculators into the market.

But all this did was drive the price higher.

Right now, China is the world’s largest exporter of garlic. They export more than 1.5 million tonnes each year.

However, it greatly depends on who you listen to as to whether the price of garlic is sustainable at these new highs of about 14 Yuan (AUD$2.13) per kilo.

Firstly, you have mostly market speculators taking advantage of farmers without access to a wide range of information. Most farmers are still only receiving 1 – 1.5 Yuan per kilo for garlic, as speculators hoard the supply and release only small quantities to the market at a time, keeping the price elevated and demand high.

That being said, the farmers are still averaging three times more income from garlic this year than last year.

But the problem is, even though there’s a shortage of available garlic, many farmers are reluctant to plant bigger crops. The reason? They simply can’t afford the higher price of the seeds, and they don’t want to be left with goods they can’t sell.

Then you have Yi Xianrong, a researcher for the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who has said that the garlic market ‘...is cyclical. Price are short term, and they will fall again before long.’ He estimates that this is just part of a three year cycle and prices will return to 1.5 – 2 Yuan per kilo soon.

However, one of the biggest problems facing the garlic market isn’t the speculators, but the Chinese government.

Many commodities, including agricultural ones are price controlled by the government.
Talk has already begun about the government stepping in and developing a ceiling limit that garlic can attract per kilo.

There’s two reasons here, being the world’s largest exporter of garlic, they don’t want the price to become too high and lose their best customers to Argentina or Spain as they also export large volumes of the stinky stuff.

But more importantly, China’s ever rising consumer price index (CPI) has caused the central bank to want to curb inflation. And any time an abnormal economic number comes out from China global markets get a bit rattled...

When the food component of China’s latest CPI was over 10% higher for the most recent quarter, you can bet that the Chinese government is going to step in and take control of the garlic market before any more of its economic numbers are skewed.

Aussie Banks "Unique System to Keep Dwelling Prices High"

by Kris Sayce (Money Morning)

Well reader, I have to say it, today your editor read the most ridiculous article we've ever read on Australia's now-popped house price bubble.And believe me, that takes some doing. There's been a heck of a lot of rubbish written over the years, but the article we read today trumps the lot.What makes it worse is that it wasn't written by some half-baked real estate agent or a rabid property spruiker. No, it was written by someone who many believe is one of the most respected financial journalists in Australia - Robert Gottliebsen.

As his biography on the Business Spectator website points out:"When it comes to Australian business media, one name is synonymous with trust, integrity and depth of knowledge that surpasses all others, that name is Robert Gottliebsen. Robert Gottliebsen is an Associate editor for Business Spectator and was the original AFR Chanticleer and founder of Business Review Weekly (BRW) Magazine."He's a commentator that many in the mainstream respect. Although based on the article he wrote yesterday, he looks to be past his sell-by date.

In his article Mr. Gottliebsen expressed sympathy for a view put forward by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank chairman Rob Johanson. Mr. Johanson was commenting on proposals by the socialist Green Party to prevent Australia's banks from raising rates any higher than rate moves by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Mr. Johanson said:"None of us... who can remember trying to buy a house in the 1970s would want to have to go through or go back to that situation for funding."With my wife I bought my first house in 1967 and I remember vividly what it was like in the 1970s. Getting a housing loan from the bank was extremely difficult and as a result house prices were very low because you had to assemble deposits many times current requirements."Mr. Gottliebsen then offers his opinion on what makes the current Australian housing market so special:"It might not be intentional, but in Australia banks have developed a unique system to keep dwelling prices high. They are liberal in granting housing loans, so there is a strong consumer demand for houses.

"We're dumbfounded, but we'll continue:"By restricting the supply and boosting the demand, banks keep dwelling prices high. If the Greens' proposal were enacted and we had further increases in the cost of funds overseas - which many are predicting - then the current high house price arrangement would be blown apart..."I am delighted that neither the government nor opposition are going down that path."

At least we should be grateful for one thing from Mr. Gottliebsen's truly mind-blowingly dumb article, and that's the admission from a mainstream insider that the current housing and banking relationship would be "blown apart" if it wasn't for house price manipulation by the banks and government.But of course, it's too late to worry about that.

As I wrote earlier this week, the house price bubble has already popped and it'll be blown apart regardless of whether the Greens' policy gets up or not.But quite frankly we find it extraordinary that not only would a banking executive claim it was terrible that people had to "assemble deposits" to buy a house, but it's equally bizarre that a so-called respected journalist would cheer the fact that Aussie banks have "a unique system to keep dwelling prices high."

Clearly they prefer how the market is rigged right now. Where those - we'll assume - such as Mr. Johanson and Mr. Gottliebson who bought their homes in the 1960s and 1970s and who have benefited from two decades of loose bank lending and cheap credit feel weak at the knees at the thought of house prices returning back to their pre-boom levels.

Much better for house prices to remain high, for banks to be "liberal in granting housing loans", and for current homebuyers to be paying 60% or 70% of their income in interest to the banks... banks such as Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.I mean think about it. Think about the difference. In the 1960s or 1970s buyers would have saved a deposit. They would have had money sitting in a bank account accumulating interest. Importantly, they would have been debt free. And, they would have had savings set aside for a rainy day or to put down as a deposit for a house.

Today, buyers are bribed and suckered in to the market by banks such as Bendigo and Adelaide Bank thanks to artificially low interest rates and taxpayer funded giveaways such as the first home buyers bribe.And rather than having a healthy bank balance of savings for a rainy day or for a deposit, well, they've already got a house so they don't need a deposit, and with 60% or 70% of their income going on mortgage repayments they don't have a bean left to put towards savings anyway.They're living the life of a pauper, but at least they're doing it in style... if that's possible!But don't worry guys, because apparently in Australia "banks have developed a unique system to keep dwelling prices high."Don't you believe it.

The market has cracked and the baby-boomers who thought they could profit at the expense of youngsters going deeply into debt will soon find the smile wiped off their faces.Perhaps Gottliebsen's name used to be synonymous with trust, integrity and depth of knowledge, but not after that article. We thinks it's time for Gottliebsen to hang his head in shame and hang up his boots to let someone with a bit of common sense take over.