Interest rates

[seldomseen]

My wife works in a bank and she had this old pic from1984.
At the time I was trying to build my farm and these rates actually don’t look that bad compared to a few years earlier.
We would have big problems if we had those rates today!

[GDR]

My wife works in a bank and she had this old pic from1984.
At the time I was trying to build my farm and these rates actually don’t look that bad compared to a few years earlier.
We would have big problems if we had those rates today!

Neat picture. If a guy only knew the future. Could sell out and put it all in 11% term deposits would be awesome buy sure wouldnt want to pay for todays land and machinery at those rates.

[macdon02]

We came out of a 5000 yr low and have been increasing since Q4 2015... We aren't going back down.

[ajl]

How high would rates be right now if there was no central bank suppressing them? 7-8%? Under that scenario thing would be changing in a hurry.

[farmaholic]

Interesting to look back. A couple of years later is when I would have started making meager RRSP contributions at rates close to those...then when the rates slipped to 8% on new deposits or renewals I was grumpy and hesitant to do it. And the slope was slippery...down down down they went.

Enter "mutual funds"....



A huge push away from interest rate based investments to stock market based investments were money sometimes only flows from one fool to another and the last fool left holding the bag loses a portion of his investment when he can't find another sucker to buy his.

It was almost like a Saver funded stimulus package or quantitative easing...get the money out of those musty moldy savings accounts into the economy.

Investments were sometimes the frenzy has created more artificial value than the Company's true financial performance.

A system where parasites feed off your returns(or principle/capital), "commissions" to "salesmen" and fund "Management fees" to people who get to play with your money with no incentive or penalty based remuneration. Who looks after "your" money better than YOU?

So instead of regular everyday people playing lenders through banks to other people, people were almost forced to look else where for an ROI on their "savings". Pushed into the volatile stock market via mutual funds. And in some cases into hard asset classes that paid better than any other investment vehicle available.

But money in the bank is almost a liability when inflation erodes it's value....

[macdon02]

19.9 % on credit card purchases after 21 days !

some input supply co's charge Farmers 24 % interest on bills after 30 days !!

They're making money !

Usury laws ..... They got changed so 60% is deemed illegal.... Yes govt is in the banks pocket.

[15444]

Usury laws ..... They got changed so 60% is deemed illegal.... Yes govt is in the banks pocket.

I don't blame companies charging high interest on overdue payments. I charge 4.5% per month on custom work because I am not a ****ing bank. Eastern import neighbor decided to ignore invoice and statements for a few months (a few years ago) after I worked for him - he always paid promptly after that. Better yet, later on, he got his own equipment and finally left me alone.

[bucket]

I don't blame companies charging high interest on overdue payments. I charge 4.5% per month on custom work because I am not a ****ing bank. Eastern import neighbor decided to ignore invoice and statements for a few months (a few years ago) after I worked for him - he always paid promptly after that. Better yet, later on, he got his own equipment and finally left me alone.

Interesting comment....what about grain dealers or companies that can't stroke a cheque on the scale?


Shouldn't they also be paying interest?

[the big wheel]

Interesting comment....what about grain dealers or companies that can't stroke a cheque on the scale?


Shouldn't they also be paying interest?

Ya exactly it's a one sided game.

anyone charging 4.5 per month shouldn't be hired at all

[15444]

Interesting comment....what about grain dealers or companies that can't stroke a cheque on the scale?


Shouldn't they also be paying interest?

I guess there are enough guys out there that don't give a shit, and need whatever they will give them. I am guessing you haven't demanded to be paid on the spot and then left with your load when it didn't happen? If you did, would they care? How many times can you do it before you are completely black-listed? Can you organize all your neighbors to do the same thing and withhold all the grain to a specific elevator? Can your neighbor's afford to withhold their production for 6 months or longer? Will the elevator call your bluff and just close rather than bow to the whim of the producer?