Real Time View

Australia is a big country offering many options – we need to talk to others before deciding where to go; isn’t this true also of how we deal with the new, bigger NonStop product offerings? With as much time as we have spent these past few weeks in and around Sydney it seems we are still only scratching the surface when it comes to all that the city has to offer. Ask anyone what place or event is worth attending and the responses vary as widely as the landscape itself. Australia is truly “the big country” and if there are any Texans curious about the relative size of the states making up Australia, at 1,021,478 square miles Western Australia could be home to three and a half Texas size states. Even the state of Queensland could house two and a half Texas size states (and seven Great Britains, not to forget, five Japans). Making sure you see the best of Australia quickly becomes a head-scratching exercise for many visitors to its shores unfamiliar with the size of Australia.  ...

The ubiquitous ATM has been around a very long time but it is morphing to better serve the changing needs of its users. What’s not changing is the rise in transaction volumes from ATMs and equivalents and this is good news for NonStop! There is so much about Sydney’s shopping and banking scene that continues to raise an eyebrow or two, especially for those stalwart Aussies who just happen to have been out of the country for an extended period of time.  There has been so much published in the local press about the shameful pursuit of business by all the major banks, with a Royal Commission set up to examine business practices that today have found bank executives wanting when it comes to integrity and honesty. The axe has fallen on some of them even as others have taken extended leave over the holiday season. However, moving past the flamboyant headlines there is so much that is taking place with banking that it’s no exaggeration to say that more mature markets like the U.S....

Every time we approach the end of the year there are lots of opportunities to look back at all that took place and 2018 is proving to be a bumper year for those who follow NonStop! Having spent several weeks in Australia and now New Zealand as well, there is much to be said about the great “Aussie Lifestyle.” It’s a lot different from living in the U.S and it’s a lot different from living in Europe. And yet, there are elements of both continents visible everywhere you turn. There are still Starbucks coffee shops and there are more than a handful of places happily selling donuts. There are plenty of stores specializing in Mediterranean foods as well as some of the best Thai food places in the world just happen to be in Sydney. Walking into a Belgium pub in Wellington, New Zealand, that sold magnificent muscles in a lightly-curried sauce was something Margo and I will remember for quite some time. However, the events of the past couple of weeks are already beginning to fade from...