President John welcomed Club Members present and Guest Speaker Bevan then opened the meeting and asked Past President Rod to say grace.
 
Weekly Club-Raffle - No Raffle tonight, we are out of Raffle Tickets!
 
Sergeant Robbie and Corporal Mark advised since there is no Raffle to buy tonight the Fines cost more now! Members were fined across the board and fines ranged from working on a new Covid Vaccine to trying to get an old car going again.
 
3-Minute Talk by Neil Dickson who talked about his memories of the Springbok Rugby Tour protests in Palmerston North. Neil said he was keen to make a stand about these issues at the time and went along to the Protest March. As he is a tall man he ended up in the front row of the march and found himself looking into the eyes of the Policemen who were deployed to block the Protest March. Neil found it an interesting experience but promised his wife not to get involved in protests again.
 
Chairman Paul Hewitson introduced Bevan O’Sullivan who spoke to us about Investment Opportunities in today’s low interest environment. Bevan is a South Canterbury man, originally from Albury he studied at Lincoln and after graduating lived and worked overseas. Bevan now works in the Finance Industry for a business called Jarden which keeps offices around New Zealand. Bevan illustrated and explained how interest rates changed and developed over the last few decades. Depending on the state of the economy the Reserve Bank is required to adjust the availability of cash to curb inflation or stimulate the economy. To help the economy the Reserve Bank “creates” money by way of buying Government Bonds and making that money available to the Banks at low interest who in turn lend it to their customers at a low rate. This is fine for some but not good for investors and pensioners who have some savings because the banks pay no or very little interest on Cash Deposits. Bevan explained that it is the Equity Market that paid good returns on investments in the last decade. This will likely continue as it is not expected that interest rates start climbing soon. The higher interest rates climb, the lower the returns from the Equity Market will be. Bevan also pointed out that depending on the type of investment in the Equity Market the Taxation will be different and if overseas Shares are part of the investment, the exposure to Foreign Currency movements should be considered.
 
Paul Hewitson thanked Bevan for a very interesting and topical address.
 
President John closed the meeting with some History Questions about Timaru
 
Just of a laugh:

A politician visited a village and asked what their needs were.

“We have 2 basic needs, sir,” replied the head of the village. “Firstly, we have a hospital, but there’s no doctor.”

On hearing this, the politician whipped out his cell phone, and after speaking for a while he reassured the village leader that the doctor would be there the next day.

He then asked about the second problem.

“Secondly sir, there is no cell phone coverage anywhere in this village.”

================================================

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard.

I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home.

He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep on the couch.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, resumed his position on the couch and slept for an hour.

This continued for several weeks.

Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: “Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.”

The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar: “He lives in a home with four children – he’s trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?”

==============================

I asked my Grandpa, “After 65 years you still call Grandma darling, beautiful, and honey. What’s your secret?!

He said, “I forgot her name 5 years ago, I’m too scared to ask her.”

===========================================

This morning at about 7:45, I was in a long line at a grocery store that opens at 8:00 for senior citizens only.

A young man came from the parking lot and tried to cut in at the front of the line, but an old lady beat him back into the parking lot with her cane.

He returned and tried to cut in again but an old man punched him in the gut, then kicked him to the ground and rolled him away.

As he approached the line for the third time he said, “Look, if you don’t let me unlock the door you’re never going to get in there!”