The state of the economy at the street level

[divs4ever]

It's a special pass from Trump to avoid Cunnings rip off by around 5% discount, aka, a trade discount card.
One can apply for credit on it also or just present it at POS for a discount.
Apparently the "Handy Man" choice category gives the widest range of discounts.

I'm here for this. I haven't bought a pair of jeans in 25 years at least...

Clothing retailer Jeanswest collapses, hundreds of jobs to go

Clothing retailer Jeanswest has collapsed, with more than 90 stores set to close within months and hundreds of employees set to lose their jobs.

www.abc.net.au

yes the local Rivers store is now selling the shop fittings as well as the last of the stock they have

( sadly i hold MOZ )

 

[sptrawler]

It's a special pass from Trump to avoid Cunnings rip off by around 5% discount, aka, a trade discount card.
One can apply for credit on it also or just present it at POS for a discount.
Apparently the "Handy Man" choice category gives the widest range of discounts.

I'm here for this. I haven't bought a pair of jeans in 25 years at least...

Clothing retailer Jeanswest collapses, hundreds of jobs to go

Clothing retailer Jeanswest has collapsed, with more than 90 stores set to close within months and hundreds of employees set to lose their jobs.

www.abc.net.au

How do you qualify for it, what are the conditions? minimum spend, promise you first born etc

If it isn't a con I'm in, my missus spends stupid amounts of money on plants at Bunnings, we can't even sit down in our patio now.

 

[frugal.rock]

It's a con,

https://trade.bunnings.com.au/powerpass

 

[sptrawler]

It's a con,

https://trade.bunnings.com.au/powerpass

F#ck you had me excited.

 

[qldfrog]

WTF's that?

Bunnings trade discount card, got it years ago, gives you 5% discount on real tradies supplies..just needed ABN when applying at the time.Saved thousands since

 

[qldfrog]

How do you qualify for it, what are the conditions? minimum spend, promise you first born etc

If it isn't a con I'm in, my missus spends stupid amounts of money on plants at Bunnings, we can't even sit down in our patio now.

Some garden supplies got the discount, others do not..not always obvious why.
Does not apply to discounted items

 

[TimeISmoney]

Exactly, i needed heavy concrete drilling a few years ago : bought ozito drill cheapie, burnt one and exchanged it within weeks, completed the job and still have #2 for the odd job around.
My expensive Makita would have suffered, and i would have sent it to repair, spend money there and still need a cheapie during repairs.
Ultimately gave up with it
Ryobi and Ozito is as high i go now, got Stihl tool set and just repairing one broken would be more expensive than a Ryobi

The last few electric hand tools (work light, 1/2" rattle gun, 3/8 hand ratchet, brushless motor hand chainsaw ) I've bought have been straight from aliexpress via china, all working well at a fraction of the price of what you would pay in Bunnings. More hobby type tools
like the Ozito brand, but they get the job done.

I could buy 3 or 4 of them for the price of 1 in Australia and still have change left over. The best thing is that you can buy spare parts for them, for less than the cost of the original purchase, rather than having to throw them away.

Also, I don't need different batteries and chargers for every device, because they all run on the Makita batteries. The batteries I have are over 3 years old and are still working fine. I had a tree fall on one of the battery packs, it cracked the casing, and I just bought a replacement casing from Aliexpress. It's a $150 battery at Trade Tools, it cost me $26 in the first place.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

milk and two sugars, please

 

[mullokintyre]

View attachment 196210
milk and two sugars, please

That'll go over a few heads.
Mick

 

[moXJO]

I bought some ebay Makita copies and a charger, batteries seem to work well but the charger was suspect. I dropped it on the ground, and it used to make a loud musical sound once the battery was charged, but only faint beeps now.

So I dismantled it and found half of the circuitry was missing, where the diode for the overheating light was meant to be, it wasn't there. When I bought the genuine charger, it also came with an internal fan that the copy didn't have.

Yeah I won't buy plug into wall tools or electronics. Mainly hand tools and that's only after I suss them out a bit. Brought plenty of handy bits and pieces that you just can't get in Australia.

 

[qldfrog]

That'll go over a few heads.
Mick

Indeed no clue: cultural or age or both

 

[Bellcose]

I got all fancy an' **** and bought an AEG angle grinder (plug in to run off my big 240v li battery. Burnt it out in 3 months.

Pretty sad buying from a group (Electrolux) which makes washing machines.

Where is Electrolux made?​

Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer Electrolux also owns a number of other brands, including AEG, Chef, Dishlex, Kelvinator, Simpson, Westinghouse, and Zanussi. You’ll find some of the company’s products, including washers, and dryers made in Thailand. Electrolux refrigerators are built in Mexico. It’s not clear whether or not any appliances from these brands are still made in Europe or not.

Ozito was sold to Einhell over five years ago. Another OZ manufacture bit the dust.

 

[wayneL]

Pretty sad buying from a group (Electrolux) which makes washing machines.

Where is Electrolux made?​

View attachment 196221


Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer Electrolux also owns a number of other brands, including AEG, Chef, Dishlex, Kelvinator, Simpson, Westinghouse, and Zanussi. You’ll find some of the company’s products, including washers, and dryers made in Thailand. Electrolux refrigerators are built in Mexico. It’s not clear whether or not any appliances from these brands are still made in Europe or not.

Ozito was sold to Einhell over five years ago. Another OZ manufacture bit the dust.

The AEG proved to be a poor purchase for sure.

Would appreciate a suggestion for when the Ozito eventually claps out.

 

[sptrawler]

The cautionary tale of the man who borrowed $120m with interest rates of up to 72 per cent

Peter Crown’s property play for one of the largest land holdings in the Southern Highlands offers a lesson in what can go right, and wrong, amid a boom in private credit.

www.smh.com.au

If locals were left wondering how Peter Crown could afford the 1300-hectare land holding, a high-stakes legal battle recently settled in the Supreme Court reveals he did so care of $120 million in loans from three lenders, and on interest rates that began at 12 per cent a year and rose to a default rate of 72 per cent on one loan.
If that didn’t keep Crown up at night, there is also a Camden quarry redevelopment with rich-lister Robert Whyte that has gone sour, and a legal stoush looming over $3.3 million worth of real estate agent commissions.

But for those outside the various courtrooms in which Crown’s affairs are being laid bare, his loan arrangements act as a cautionary tale amid a boom in the private credit market.

The boom in debt​

Private debt has been one of the finance world’s bull markets of the past decade. According to the International Monetary Fund, globally the market quadrupled in the 10 years to 2023 to $US2.1 trillion.
In Australia, the Reserve Bank estimates it at about $40 billion, though consulting giant EY gives a much higher estimate of $213 billion, up from $35 billion in 2014.
The wildly diversified market ranges from the superannuation and funds management sector to smaller, private investors, with the whole spectrum of investment classes set to gain more attention from the corporate regulator.

 

[Smurf1976]

Where is Electrolux made?

Ovens and freestanding cookers are manufactured in Adelaide for the Australian market as well as export.

Westinghouse, Chef, AEG and Electrolux branded ovens and cookers all come out of the SA factory.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

The cautionary tale of the man who borrowed $120m with interest rates of up to 72 per cent

Peter Crown’s property play for one of the largest land holdings in the Southern Highlands offers a lesson in what can go right, and wrong, amid a boom in private credit.

www.smh.com.au

If locals were left wondering how Peter Crown could afford the 1300-hectare land holding, a high-stakes legal battle recently settled in the Supreme Court reveals he did so care of $120 million in loans from three lenders, and on interest rates that began at 12 per cent a year and rose to a default rate of 72 per cent on one loan.
If that didn’t keep Crown up at night, there is also a Camden quarry redevelopment with rich-lister Robert Whyte that has gone sour, and a legal stoush looming over $3.3 million worth of real estate agent commissions.

But for those outside the various courtrooms in which Crown’s affairs are being laid bare, his loan arrangements act as a cautionary tale amid a boom in the private credit market.

The boom in debt​

Private debt has been one of the finance world’s bull markets of the past decade. According to the International Monetary Fund, globally the market quadrupled in the 10 years to 2023 to $US2.1 trillion.
In Australia, the Reserve Bank estimates it at about $40 billion, though consulting giant EY gives a much higher estimate of $213 billion, up from $35 billion in 2014.
The wildly diversified market ranges from the superannuation and funds management sector to smaller, private investors, with the whole spectrum of investment classes set to gain more attention from the corporate regulator.

they used to be called mezzanine loans

.... though I was never sure if there was anything of substance either above or below.

 

[TimeISmoney]

Yeah, Crown's a land flipper; he sold less than half of that property for 50 mil.

 

[qldfrog]

Ovens and freestanding cookers are manufactured in Adelaide for the Australian market as well as export.

Westinghouse, Chef, AEG and Electrolux branded ovens and cookers all come out of the SA factory.

Still in 2025? Surprising but nice

 

[Bellcose]

Still in 2025? Surprising but nice

Could be a bit of a worry if a large component of that export aspect is/was to America.