What a week! Massive protests at the G8 and G20 Summits in Toronto as world leaders battled to come up with clever plans to box on through the global uncertainty. It’s unlikely the top dogs would have witnessed first-hand the protestors’ rioting, police car burning and shop front smash-ups apart from their cloistered view of their TV screens , securely locked away as they were, far from the madding crowd.

Toronto's my hometown - I visit at least once a year to get my mandatory hit of family, friends, maple syrup, Mounties and that good old Canadian hospitality. I adore my native land.

As a kid growing up in Toronto, every weekend would see thousands of Americans pouring across the US-Canada border from urban warfare cities like Buffalo and Detroit to savour the safety and civility of Canadian towns. They called it "Toronto The Good."

My dad, during his term as Chairman of the Toronto Police Commission which represented 7,000 proud police officers, once told me the story of Toronto hosting the International Chiefs of Police Convention. 12,000 police chiefs from around the world congregated.  My dad recounted how the then head of the FBI regaled him with tales of how he and his wife would set their alarm clock for midnight, get up and walk the streets until 4 a.m...just because they could! No muggings, no murder, no mayhem. Magic. Mmmmmm.....

And on another occasion, as my father strolled out of his office with the German Chancellor beside him, the politician turned to him and said, "You know, Mr. Westcott, it's the first time in 15 years I haven't had to have a security guard next to me." He delighted in his new-found freedom.

That was then...

“Money Talks” guest Bernard Hickey of interest.co.nz explored the battle going on behind the G20 boardroom doors as the USA’s President Obama  pushed for continued stimulus, warning American consumers weren’t ready to go it alone, while European leaders like Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron pushed for a “slash and burn” approach, carving a whopping 25% of the UK’s state sector spending in a tough new budget.

And there’s talk now the banking reforms will be delayed until 2012 and that could see banking capital dry up globally. That’ll be bad news for farmers in the long term – kiss that cheap, easy money from the banks goodbye!

Bernard Hickey’s advice? Farmers need to watch out for a restriction on credit over the next 2 years.

ASB Rural Economist James Shortall pointed out despite the instability in world markets, dairy prices continue to lead growth here in New Zealand, and they’ve been stable for the past 6 weeks. Great news! However, he’s picking that while whole milk powder prices will remain strong, they’re unlikely to hit the record 2008 levels.

But U.S. beef prices are struggling, he says, and have been that way for the past couple of months because American chickens – banned from Russia – have flooded American ovens and barbeques – with probably no end in sight for the next couple of months.

As for South Canterbury Finance? Bernard Hickey argues it’s time for the government to wind it up. He says it’s taxpayers’ money shoring the troubled company up through the guaranteed government loan scheme – and he figures the risks now are just too high.

What do you think? Drop me a line!

- Genevieve Westcott, Host, "Money Talks"