Overall results How are Australia’s states and territories performing? Each quarter CommSec attempts to find out. Now in its 13th year, the report also includes a section comparing annual growth rates for the eight key indicators across the states and territories as well as Australia as a whole, enabling comparisons in terms of economic momentum.... Read more continue reading
24
Jan
2022
Investment markets and key developments Global share markets remained under pressure over the past week on the back of concerns about rising inflation, monetary tightening, Omicron and tensions with Russia over Ukraine. The negative global lead and talk of higher interest rates in Australia also pushed Australian shares down with falls led by health, IT,... Read more continue reading
24
Jan
2022
Key points Inflation is placing increasing pressure on major central banks to remove monetary stimulus. Inflation & rising interest rates will likely contribute to more volatile & constrained investment returns this year. The long-term downtrend in inflation and interest rates since the early 1980s is likely to be over removing a tailwind for investment returns.... Read more continue reading
20
Jan
2022
Consumer confidence; Building activity The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell by 2 per cent to a 16-month low of 102.2 in January. But sentiment – for surveyed Aussies aged 18-24 years – hit a 13-month high of 121.6. The total number of dwelling starts fell by 16.3 per cent – the biggest drop... Read more continue reading
20
Jan
2022
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell by 2.0% to 102.2 in January from 104.3 in December. The 2% decline compares to the 5.2% drop seen in the first month of the delta outbreak in NSW, a 6.1% drop heading into Victoria’s ‘second wave’ outbreak in 2020 and the 17.7% collapse when the pandemic... Read more continue reading
20
Jan
2022
Consumer confidence; Overseas arrivals & departures The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating fell by 7.6 per cent – the biggest drop since March 2020 – to a 15-month low of 97.9 points. It was the weakest January consumer sentiment reading since 1992. According to preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were... Read more continue reading
19
Jan
2022
Key points Global economic recovery from COVID – lowest hanging fruit already harvested Central banks to increasingly jump on the rate-hike bandwagon in 2022 China growth rate forecast downgraded to just 5%, but investment case remains intact European equities in a sweet spot & a better prospect than US share markets The transition to a... Read more continue reading
09
Dec
2021
The RBA Board meeting on Tuesday is unlikely to elicit much by way of policy announcements or even changes to the policy roadmap. That will come at the next meeting in February when a decision on quantitative easing (QE) will need to be made. However, unlike most other developed countries, Australia has not had an... Read more continue reading
07
Dec
2021
Investment markets and key developments Global share markets had another rough week as uncertainty around the impact of the Omicron variant on global growth and Fed Chair Powell flagging a faster taper led to a bit of a roller coaster ride. While Eurozone shares are up slightly for the week and Chinese shares are flat,... Read more continue reading
06
Dec
2021
Frank Uhlenbruch, Investment Strategist in the Australian Fixed Interest team, discusses the key events of 2021 and what to expect in the year ahead. Did the Australian economy present any surprises over 2021? The year began well with the economy re-opening and in ‘catch up’ mode following the lifting of earlier national and Victorian lockdowns.... Read more continue reading
06
Dec
2021
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