State of the States July 2014

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How are Australia’s states and territories performing? Each quarter CommSec attempts to find out by analysing eight key indicators: economic growth; retail spending; equipment investment; unemployment; construction work done; population growth;... Read more continue reading

Australia’s latest economic problem?

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Australia’s economy pleasantly surprised most analysts when it grew at its fastest pace in two years over the March quarter, to sustain an expansion that dates to the last quarter... Read more continue reading

Weekly market & economic update – week ending 11 July, 2014

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Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets retreated over the last week on worries that problems at some European banks might spark a return of its... Read more continue reading

Business outlook improves; Petrol set to rise

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NAB Business Survey; Weekly Petrol Petrol prices drop: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of petrol fell by 4.0 cents per litre to 151.3... Read more continue reading

Weekly market & economic update – week ending 4 July, 2014

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Headline developments of the past week America’s payroll employment report for June provided a positive surprise. There was robust job gains of +288,000 and the US unemployment rate fell to... Read more continue reading

Declining commodity prices and an elevated AUD weigh on exports

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Trade Balance – May 2014 The May trade figures showed a large deficit of $1.9bn Declining commodity prices and an elevated AUD over the month weighed on export receipts. Exports... Read more continue reading

2013/14: A very good year

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Economic & financial perspectives A good year: Total returns on Australian shares (All Ordinaries Accumulation index) rose by 17.6 per cent in 2013/14 after lifting by 20.7 per cent in 2012/13... Read more continue reading

No signs of Budget fears in May credit data

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Housing credit lifted by 0.5% and is running at 6.2% over the year.  Investor housing credit rose by 0.8% (8.3%pa) and owner‑occupied credit increased by 0.4% (5.2%pa). Business credit increased... Read more continue reading

Weekly market & economic update – week ending June 27, 2014

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Investment markets and key developments over the past week Despite mostly good economic data, global share markets fell back slightly over the last week amidst ongoing uncertainty regarding Iraq and... Read more continue reading

Where the Big Employers are

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What do the figures show and what does it all mean? When you think of big employers, you tend to think of major banks, retailers or mining companies. But if you... Read more continue reading