Santa leaves investors only lumps of coal as markets have their worst start since 1896

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Angst about China has seen the worst open to markets since records began, with a higher than expected contraction in manufacturing and weaker than expected currency fix versus the U.S... Read more continue reading

State and territory perspective

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Most economic commentary is focussed at the national level. This report digs below the headline numbers and compares outcomes across Australia’s States and Territories. CBA Economics analyses how the states and... Read more continue reading

Consumer spirits merely deflated by weaker $A

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Consumer confidence Consumer confidence: The weekly ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating fell by 0.8 per cent to 113.2 in the week to January 17. Confidence is down 0.4 per cent... Read more continue reading

Weekly market update – week ending 15 January, 2015

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Investment markets and key developments over the past week It’s been more of the same over the last week with worries about China, global growth and falling commodity prices led... Read more continue reading

Cheaper airfares; Record home purchases

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Housing finance; Airfares Airfares: In smoothed terms, discount fares fell by 6.1 per cent over the year. But business class airfares rose at a 6.2 per cent annual rate in... Read more continue reading

Unemployment rate at a 26-month low

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Labour force Jobs ease slightly: Employment fell by 1,000 in December after rising by 75,000 in November (previously reported as a rise of 71,400 jobs). Full-time jobs rose by 17,600... Read more continue reading

The Euro area in 2016: Solid growth, low inflation, easier policy

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We expect the recovery to continue in 2016, but growth is unlikely to be strong enough to generate a sustained increase in core inflation. In which case, the ECB is... Read more continue reading

A rough start to the year, which could have further to go

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Key points Financial markets have started the year on a rough note as last year’s worries about China and global growth in the face of US monetary tightening continue. This... Read more continue reading

A million Chinese tourists; Credit card check

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Credit & Debit cards; Tourism; Consumer confidence A million Chinese tourists: Tourist arrivals from mainland China totalled 1,013,700 in the year to November – the first time annual tourist numbers... Read more continue reading

US business surveys highlight a two-speed economy

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The US economy continues to expand, but the pace of growth varies greatly between the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing (service) sectors. While the manufacturing sector has hit stall-speed, the service sector... Read more continue reading