If you think this inflation thing isn't happening in the land down under? Well, let me assure you it is. Forget monetary inflation, we have time inflation. Everything is just taking so much longer. I waited in line for over 30 minutes at Mad Mex at Chadstone on Sunday afternoon just to place my order. Who would wait over 30 minutes in line for a burrito? Generally I wouldn't either, believe me, but I had 2 whinging kids hanging off me, we just spent 3 hours at Lego Land, and man I was hangry. Forget waiting 30 minutes for a burrito, you want a new Tesla? Forget about it. You're waiting 12 months.

From one grinding halt to another. Supermarkets' empty shelves, labour shortages, cars on back order, rail yards clogged, and ships are unable to dock and unload their cargo. One bottleneck follows another. And these bottlenecks are causing prices to spiral out of control. It's not only the bottlenecks themselves that are causing prices to rise, factories and product/service providers are struggling to keep up with surging consumer demand post pandemic.

As Melbourne begins to re-open, having endured the world's longest lockdowns, the stock market has also just gotten through what is historically one of the most volatile periods of the year (Q3), and now we're on the final stretch home - I think I can hear sleigh bells in the distance. Could Santa Claus have arrived a little early this year? It looks like it.

The price of land was soaring. The cost of cotton and slaves rose sharply. Speculative lending standards and a land bubble of the edge of bursting forced interest rates to rise around the world, and crisis followed the economic expansion of 1834 and 1836. After a brief recovery from 1838 to 1839, it wasn't until 1843 following a gold rush, that the economy was booming again by 1850.

In the world of finance, the only free lunch is diversification - so they say. Well, so says famous economist and Nobel Prize winner, Harry Markowitz. The concept that by mixing a number of different investments will, on average, and over the long-term, yield higher returns while reducing the risk. In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket. The strategy has been used for as long as investing has been around, it's as old as the hills.

The project looks like the set of a horror film. Half-finished apartments blocks stand empty and abandoned. Following the credit crisis of 2008, China was booming. And everyone wanted a part of it. Fast forward 10 years, and we're now witnessing what happens when you drive really fast down a windy road.