The Best Place to Ride Out the Recession

OK, so the recovery is coming. Great. Love it. Can’t wait.

But, um, what do we do in the meantime?

Koala in a tree.
Photo by: Michael Wifall
Koala in a tree.

According to a new survey, the best place to ride out the recession is … can you guess it, mate?

You’ve got it — Australia!

Well hand me a pint of that amber fluid and toss some shrimp on the Barbie, cause this party’s going till Brekkie!

The survey, conducted in April by Servcorp, which makes virtual offices, asked international business people which countries they thought were surviving the crisis the best.

Australia came in first, largely because its businesspeople seemed to be the most unfazed by the recession.

"In my experience working with international businesses around the world, especially during the last six months, I've noticed how relatively unaffected (are) Australian businesses and ... business persons' attitude by the economic downturn," Servcorp executive director Taine Moufarrige told the Syndey Morning Herald.

And, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said, while Australia has been "dragged" into the recession, it's fared better than other developed nations.

After the recent G20 meeting in Washington, he told the AP: "I can tell you one thing — there wouldn't be a finance minister in that room who wouldn't swap places with Australia ... The contraction to growth in the developed world is well in excess of three percent, much greater than the forecast contraction of the IMF for Australia."

China came in at No. 2, followed by India and Singapore, which were tied for third.

The Top 10:

1. Australia
2. China
3. India, Singapore
5. Hong Kong
6. Canada
7. Japan, Qatar
9. New Zealand
10. Malaysia, Sweden, Vietnam

OK, enough of yer yabbering. Time to book me a plane ticket Down Undah.

G’day, mate!

Pony Treats:

Buh-Bye, America. With the US economy on the rocks and jobs in jeopardy, immigrants are increasingly opting to head back home, the Washington Post reports.

How Bad Is It? It's so bad ... Cindy Crawford, one of the most famous supermodels in the world, is now the face of supermarket beauty products. It's so bad ... That a guy in New Zealand tried to knock off a dollar store— and missed.

Oprah Will Save Us! Inspired by CNBC’s “The Oprah Effect,”EW writer Jennifer Armstrong confessed that she once bought a $56 T-shirt — because Oprah said so. Now if that’s not stimulating the economy, I don’t know what is!

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