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Talk about globalization. Thanks to demand from China, a town in Australia is booming. That is, until an explosion cut off natural gas supplies.

Hotels are turning off heaters, dirty laundry is piling up and restaurants and bars expect shortages of beef and draught beer. The crisis may shave a quarter point off Australia's gross domestic product as mines and processing plants cut production, slowing the state's commodities-driven boom, estimates Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Sydney.

It’s a nightmare deciding what stays on and what stays off. My favorite quote:

”When it gets to the stage where you can't pour a beer in a pub, you know this crisis has the potential to affect every aspect of business,” says Bradley Woods, CEO of the Australian Hotels Association's West Australian branch.

Posted by edelfenbein at June 23, 2008 2:40 PM