The AUD will continue to diverge from the NZD

We can see from the following chart that the NZD is in a long term decline against the AUD. We might ask why, and what prospects are there that this trend could turn around. The NZD:AUD decline since 2005 marks the start of huge capital investments in Australia, which has resulted in Australia's national income and savings surging whilst NZ's has gone backwards. This of course mostly arises due to mining and energy investment in Australia. See chart in Google Finance.

The significant rallies in the NZD that you see in that period relate to rises in NZ interest rates, and the NZ Treasuries efforts to quash NZ domestic spending....which was mostly on the rural batch, as well as the ancillary jet ski, motor bike, fishing boat and jacuzzi which went with it. Today the batch is perceived as a waste of money, courtesy of a change in government policy, which has ceased to reward such lifestyle decisions. Now, a great many NZ'ers are selling their 'sections' they use for trout fishing, or their holiday house by the sea. The market will probably resume however, and the strong Australian dollar might just be the impetus.

Australians have to be asking themselves whether anything is going to change. The answer is Yes, but not for probably another 5-10 years. Why do I say that? Well, NZ has to absorb a great deal of housing debt, so there is not going to be any significant spike in interest rates yet. Australia has even more debt, but far better prospects for paying it off. There will also be a stronger Aust economy, with the prospect of stronger interest rates making it even easier for the AUD to outpace the NZD.

It might not be so evident yet, but I see NZ having its own resource boom in a few years. Why? Well, NZ is a relatively small, unmineralised country. Its rocks simply have not been around long enough, and the mineralised core from the current mountain building will not be exposed for another 10 million years. The country does however have large tracts of maritime territory. In fact its the size of the EC. This maritime territory is known to possess vast resources of methane hydrates. In addition, these offshore sedimentary basins may contain vast oil & gas resources. They have not been significantly tested. Even NZ's sole producing basin - the on & offshore Taranaki Basin has hardly been explored, particularly at depth.

It was only last year that the country commissioned a relatively small oil & gas field called the Tui field. The impact of the field on NZ's terms of trade were significant, despite its small size. The Chinese, Indians and others are going to be looking for cheap energy inventories in future years. With access to such resources tied up by major oil & gas producers, extorting high prices for their products and resources, its probable that places like NZ are going to attract a greater share of the exploration dollars, and some of this will lead to success. A significant find is probable, and for a 4.3mil population, its probable that it will make a big difference, not only in pushing up the currency, but by stimulating interest in NZ's offshore basins, which will attract even more interest.

This will take 10-20 years to unfold of course. The implication however might be significant if you perceive NZ as a nice place to retire, or to buy a holiday house. In the short term, the NZD is certain to continue its fall, but it might be a good idea to consider these factors when considering retirement in NZ. In the short term however:

1. NZ immigration is mostly outwards to Australia - that is - Australia's is growing faster

2. Australian export volumes and prices are fairing better - even though NZ milk and timber is doing well

3. Australian business investment is phenomenable, NZ lacklustre

4. Australian savings are far higher

5. AUD will out-perform the NZD for the next 5-10 years, so expect the NZD and AUD gap to continue its divergence

6. Thereafter (say 15-20years off) you might expect the NZD to recover, and do rather well based on my expectations for the recovery of methane hydrates and conventional oil & gas offshore, as well as the mining of coastal titanomagnetite (titanium-rich iron ore), which will by that time be far more strategically important. Currently Ti-Fe is hard to separate and use, and the appeal of high strength steel alloys is only just starting to take off. NZ deposits are relatively remote, so early mining will be of Chinese, PNG and Russian deposits.

The other important factor when you make these Aust-NZ comparisons is to consider the extent to which NZ will benefit from integration with Australia. The issue of course is that NZ is a lovely place, but nothing happens here. If we want to look at what difference greater integration is going to make, then we only need look at South Australia. Does it benefit from being part of Australia? Not significantly, because like NZ, its a small population remote from the rest of Australia. And NZ is split into two islands, so its like two Sth Australia's. Australia is very much concentrated on NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA. The other states are really mere appendages to the demand created by these states, whether its in existing population or population growth-related demand.

The appeal of NZ integrating further with Australia is mixed. It will make a marginal difference to NZ's competitiveness, but at the same time it will make it easier for NZ'ers to go overseas to capture some of that income disparity. Of course they can always come back to NZ in around 12 years time (to retire) when the currency bottoms against the AUD. The big difference for NZ will come from access to Australia's capital markets. Already the countries are talking about integrating their respective legal systems. This will make it easier for the countries to jointly regulate and administer business. This will make it easier for Australians to buy property in NZ, and it will make it easier for NZ'ers to invest in Australia, giving them access to a broader variety of investment opportunities. The appealing aspect of this is access to mining investment opportunities, and probably technology investments, as well as helping NZ technologists to finance their developments given the lack of savings in this country. This will of course aid NZ financial literacy....which has already been favourably impacted in Australia by compulsory superannuation, and most particularly a plethora of privatisations there. In NZ, the bulk of the funding for privatised assets was offshore.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Political transformation could aid property in Japan

The spectre of a political revolution in Japan might occur sooner than you think. Political crises have always been a strong factor driving reform. Most often change occurs because of crises. Things get to a point when something has to give. Maybe it was the national debt – currently in excess of 200% of GDP. Yes, I know, its owed to Japanese people, but it either has to be paid by taxation, immigrants or currency debasement.

In recent times, we have also pointed to the prospect of political change driving political reform. We see evidence that this is already happening.

Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto has established a new party One Osaka comprising 82 candidates, among them 40 former LDP members, who will contest the local elections next spring 2011. The Japan Times is comparing the development with the “Meiji Restoration's abolition of the feudal clan system and the establishment of the prefectural system”, and rightly so. It conveys a mass realignment of political interests.

The Osaka LDP chapter has taken steps to expel the 40 LDP members from the party in a bid to stem the tide of party defections. The reality is that any sign of popularity for this party is going to result in even more defections. We might ask however – is Hashimoto such an inspiring leader? What can he do if he becomes PM, given that his supporters might comprise the old members of the LDP? Isn’t it just the same? Perhaps the difference will be the amalgamation of all pro-reform members in the parliament. So what will unite them other than rhetoric? Is there any basis for consensus? It’s hard to say. But change can’t hurt. We will have to watch to see whether there are further defections on a national-scale. Already there is talk of a coalition between Hashimoto’s One Osaka Party and Your Party, which holds 10 seats in the Upper House and shares a number of policies. Expanding the coalition prior to next spring's local elections and the 2013 Lower House election is likely envisaged.

Hashimoto established One Osaka to unite support for his fiscal and bureaucratic reform plans to integrate Osaka City with Osaka Prefecture to form a ‘united’ Kansai state. Unfortunately the party’s plans seem to focus upon public works projects in order to facilitate more trade. This policy platform strikes one as more of the same.

The question is whether these former LDP members will form a national government in the future with the LDP, or will they end up forming a coalition with the DPJ? Probably the former with new, hopefully inspiring leadership, but I see no evidence of that. It looks like change for change's sake.

Of course these developments are important because they could give support for Japanese property investments.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate GuideForeclosed Japan GuideAuthorAndrew SheldonApplied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Earthquakes - Lessons for property buyers

In our latest Japanese foreclosed property report we have added a great deal of information to assist you to avoid the damages caused by earthquakes. Japan is amongst the most unstable or active in the world, alongside places like Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. We also have a NZ property report, and since there was a recent serious earthquake in NZ, we thought we would offer some general public information to assist property buyers. I have some understanding on this issue since I studied geology and geophysics at university in Sydney.

There are some basic issues to understand:

1. Earthquake risks are not always understood because fault lines are not always know. This is because modern human records cover a far shorter period of time than geological processes. Active or previously 'inactive' fault zones can be concealed by recent sediment cover. This is true of the Kanto plain, as well as the Canterbury Plains of NZ.

2. Earthquakes can be zones of weakness, and perhaps not just a single plane of weakness. It might be better to consider them 'crimple zones'. They comprise jagged lines of weakness with zones of intense distortion as well as zones of dilation, where stresses vary from weak to intense depending on the competency of the rocks involved.

3. Earthquake risks are not equal for different regions. Competent basement or foundation rock provides greater security than loosely consolidated sediments. For this reason, thick piles of sediment pose greater risk

4. Unconsolidated sediments pose particular concerns where they are water-saturated, i.e. In areas of high rainfall or low-lying areas. In these cases, sentiments in the 'crimple zones' can undergo liquefaction, in which case they lose all strength and behave like a liquid. This can result in the foundations of your house sinking into the soil in the earthquake zone.

5. An earthquake zone can be a broadly-defined, as is required to relieve the stress. i.e. It is common for a transform fault like in NZ to involve multiple faults, with the outer faults defining the fault zone.

6. Those regions which were historically active for earthquakes might not adequately define zones of future vulnerability. For the reasons already mentioned, old zones of faulting might be concealed by extensive flood plains, as was the case with the Christchurch earthquakes in Sept 2010.

7. A serious earthquake can result in a large number of houses being heaved off their foundations, which are contorted by the ground movement. The houses can sink into the soil, and its common for any brittle structures to crack and fall into the house, i.e. In Christchurch, most brick houses in the fault zone were destroyed as they crack up. Chimneys made of brick often toppled into the structure, posing a risk to residents. Most of these houses need to be demolished and newly built, even if they look fine from the outside. The door hinges might not work properly because of the distortion, just as your car hinges can be poorly aligned after a car crash.

8. Different countries have differing levels of preparedness for coping with earthquakes. Japan is far better in this respect than NZ. Avoid brick homes in NZ, even though they have increased in popularity. The old weatherboard and modern galvanised sheet homes probably make the most sense. Houses on concrete pilings (i.e. posts) rather than concrete slabs make the most sense, though that ultimately depends on the thickness of the foundation, the size of the slab, the competency of the host rock, and the saturation of any unconsolidated sediments. Avoid low-lying areas with unconsolidated sediment foundation.

In the Japan report, I offer a map showing regions of vulnerability to earthquakes based on the Japanese governments analysis. For NZ, there is a transform fault going up the centre of the South Island, and up through Wellington to Hawkes Bay on the North Island. The Taupo Volcanic Zone has not historically been an area of intense earthquake activity, though it is active as well, since that zone is spreading apart at 10cm per year. There is a fault going down to Wanganui City (population 40,000). This region experienced a 5.1 earthquake in Aug 2010.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Foreclosed Japan Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Table of contents for 2010 property reports

For interested persons, we have moved our table of contents for our 3 latest eBooks pertaining to:

1. Japanese foreclosed properties - looking at the court-administered foreclosed market primarily as this is where the big opportunities can be found at huge discounts to private sales.

2. Philippines property - foreclosed and more typical counterparty deals

3. New Zealand Property - normal industry trade sales. Foreclosed properties are handled through the normal market mechanisms.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate GuideForeclosed Japan GuideAuthorAndrew SheldonApplied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Advice for Japanese savers

The Japanese Yen is close to a record high point. This is not likely to be sustained because of the need to maintain Japan's export competitiveness as well as the need for the Japanese government to finance its current domestic debt. I therefore advice Japanese investors to place some of the Japanese savings in foreign assets in order to protect themselves from a future currency debasement.

The question is where?

I would suggest several attractive destinations:

1. High yielding Philippine property. It offers yields of 8%, it is close enough to enjoy as a holiday house, its a booming economy with strong population growth. We have a report in English.

2. United State foreclosed property for future capital and yield growth, but also immediate currency protection, and the prospect of holidaying.

3. Mining stocks in the USA - such as gold and copper stocks. See gold price

Please excuse my Japanese (Google) translation:

日本の円は過去最高点に近いです。これは、必要が日本の輸出競争力を維持するためにのために持続する可能性はない。私はそのためのアドバイス日本の投資家は、将来の通貨変造から身を守るためにいくつかの外国資産の日本の貯蓄を配置する。

問題はどこですか

私はいくつか魅力的な目的地をお勧め：

1。高降伏フィリピンプロパティです。これは、8％の利回りを提供し、それは十分に近い別荘として楽しむためには、強力な人口増加との好景気。私たちは英語でレポートしています。

2。将来の資本と歩留まりの成長のための米国国家抵当流れプロパティだけでなく、即時通貨保護、および休暇の見通し。

3。アメリカの鉱業株 - 金と銅の株式など。See gold price

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate GuideForeclosed Japan GuideAuthorAndrew SheldonApplied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Property investment - USA or Japan?

Anyone noticed how the Japanese Yen is close to its previous highs. I am sure I have wrote about this before, however it kind of defeats the idea of foreigners who are non-residents investing in Japan. Anyway you can check out the price action on Google Finance. There are few currencies which are performing as well as the yen. In fact I could not find one. I was expecting the AUD to hold its own, but its about where it was 5 years ago.

The implication is that it only makes sense to buy property in Japan if you are planning to live here for a while, and you will otherwise be paying high rental yields. Even then, I think if I was a US citizen living in Japan, I would be sending my money to the USA and buying foreclosed properties or gold/copper/tantalum stocks, and perhaps a few other strategic metals. There are two reasons:

1. The very low USD compared to the yen

2. The depressed property market, which must be close to a bottom.

3. Metals are denominated in USD so benefit as the USD falls

4. The US will benefit from immigration and recover quickly, whereas Japan will be a slow process

5. The Yen is destined for the same debasement as the Euro and USD. Why? Because the govt has to repay a lot of debt to the people. It does not have the courage to raise taxes when demand is so weak, and for the same reason, it is not going to be cutting spending so much. It has no choice but to print money. That equals debasement given that the debt is 200% of GDP. Yes, I know its owed to Japanese. But last time I looked, Japanese investors expected interest, and they don't like to be taxed.

If you are looking for a protracted US recession of the type experienced in the 1930s, think again, it will not be as bad for a number of reasons:

1. There is no huge over-capacity in the world

2. The central banks back in the old days made a lot of mistakes, so the commercial banks lost a lot of credibility. There has consequently been no run on the banks like in decades past. Too soon to say? I don't think so. Most are adequately capitalised, and they are backed by paper money. Worthless? Yep, but so are all the paper currencies, and that is why I'd go for gold for protection against debasement.

3. The global story is not as bad as indicated for several reasons - (a) The trade liberalisation of China, India, Latin America, Africa has resulted in an escalation of commercial activity on an unprecedented level. This is reminiscent of the sugar, coffee, cotton booms of centuries past. We are having the same technological boom, but on so many levels, i.e. Miniaturisation of products, high strength steel alloys, outsourcing to Asia, the internet, voice over the internet (i.e. less travel), work from home. There is more coming in energy saving technologies and solar cells, new steel making technologies like HIsmelt.

If you must buy property in Japan, and we like to help, I'd confine myself to a lifestyle home in the countryside. You can avail of the Japan Rail Pass and travel around the country on a tourist visa from your new-found home base. That is what I do. A $300 gets me a week on Japan trains. I have the odd night out on the far-reaches of the country, but otherwise I return home. i.e. Get up early to get to Shibuya by 6AM. Shinkansen to Yokoyama, overland train to Tottori or such places, staying at some lodge, drinking in some small bar with weird people, then next overland train along some great canoeing/kayaking rivers. Its actually amazing how much forested wilderness Japan has.....if only the Japanese people could afford to see it. But you can with a Japan Rail Pass!

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate GuideForeclosed Japan GuideAuthorAndrew SheldonApplied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com