Ok, I can’t say for sure that the economic recovery is underway but public confidence definitely seems to be improving. Just 2 months ago I was writing about fireworks being a good economic measure as people will be reluctant to spend money on something they are going to set fire to and watch shoot off into the sky when times are tough. Back in November I saw very few fireworks, but last night there were plenty to welcome the new year.

It seems people are desperate for the recession to end and go back to the old borrow and spend model we had pre-boom. Further evidence of this can be seen in the number of people that were queuing into all the major shopping centers today looking for bargains. Many say more people than ever are flocking to these shrines of consumerism to take advantage before VAT returns to 17.5% but my personal opinion is people are desperate to shop and the sales means they can do this guilt-free.