Latest economic data New dwelling approvals rose for the first time in seven months – up 9.3 per cent in October. The RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Australian Home Value Index – the largest property database in Australia – reported that home prices rose by 0.3 per cent seasonally adjusted terms in October. House prices outside capital [...]
continue readingTestimony of Reserve Bank Governor In delivering testimony to the House of Respresentatives Economics Committee, the Reserve Bank Governor has given clear signals that interest rate settings are on hold for now. The Governor didn’t want to dissaude people of the view that while rates could rise in the future, it would “not imminently” occur. [...]
continue readingKey points Australian housing is not in a bubble but it is very overvalued, and combined with high debt levels leaves Australian households vulnerable should anything significantly threaten house prices. It is a reason for the RBA to tread carefully in raising interest rates. Poor and worsening affordability will likely lead to soft house prices [...]
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The equinoctial gales seem to have come late, but come they have. Issues surrounding sovereign risk and the sustainability of current fiscal policies in peripheral Europe have also returned to centre stage with a vengeance. This has induced a sharp bout of risk aversion. This Snippet looks at what might lie ahead. Perhaps one of [...]
continue readingCredit/debit cards Credit card balances rose in September. The average credit card balance stood at a $3,261.60 in September, up $7.90 on August. The average credit card balance is up just 3.7 per cent on a year earlier – the slowest annual growth in seven months. The number of credit card cash advances in September [...]
continue readingHeadline developments of the past week Shares, commodities and commodity currencies like the Australian dollar have had a tough week partly on renewed European debt concerns and worries that further Chinese monetary tightening in response to rising inflation will threaten China’s economy and hence the global recovery. European sovereign debt problems have reared their ugly [...]
continue readingKey points The GFC has ushered in a period of more cautious consumers in the US and to a lesser extent in Australia. Household savings rates are likely to be higher than over the last decade as households seek to cut debt ratios in the face of reduced credit availability, greater economic uncertainty and constrained [...]
continue reading25
Oct
2010
Zenith Investment Partners Pty Ltd (Zenith) has just announced the release of its 2010 Diversified Sector Report and also confirmed that the study was structured to address a number of specific issues raised by the national research provider’s adviser client base. In releasing the Diversified Sector Report, Zenith Investment Analyst Graeme Miller said from an [...]
continue readingImport & export prices Prices of export goods rose by a record 7.8 per cent in the September quarter, courtesy of higher coal and iron ore prices. Export prices are 27.7 per cent higher than a year ago Prices of imported goods rose by 0.7 per cent in the September quarter, but driven largely by [...]
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The GFC and subsequent volatility has increased the number of market presentations my team and I have been asked to do for the clients of financial planners. I thought you’d find it useful if I shared with you the Top Five Most Asked Questions from these presentations. Is the World about to collapse due to [...]
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