Businesses subdued: NAB business survey

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The NAB business confidence index weakened from +3.1 points to +0.7 points in February and the business conditions index weakened from minus 1.8 points to minus 2.7 points. The survey... Read more continue reading

Australian profits, growth, interest rates and shares

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This edition of Oliver’s Insights looks at the outlook for Australian shares and interest rates given the just concluded profit reporting season and the December quarter national accounts. The key points are... Read more continue reading

One minute update: Chinese economy

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China surprisingly reported a trade surplus in February. The data shows the Chinese economy continues to strengthen with exports leading the way. What do the figures show? The Chinese trade... Read more continue reading

Weekly economic & market update

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While the past week started on a rough note with stepped up property tightening measures in China, it turned around pretty quick with the US Dow Jones index making it... Read more continue reading

Australian Housing: Eighteen months of improving affordability

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The December quarter of the Adelaide Bank/REIA Housing Affordability Report has found that housing affordability continued to improve slightly.  “All Australian States recorded an improvement with Queensland and South Australia... Read more continue reading

Savers & borrowers cheer stable rates

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The Reserve Bank Board has left the official cash rate at 3.00 per cent for the third straight month, so both borrowers and depositors have reason to cheer another month... Read more continue reading

Cost cutting is the new black

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Each profit reporting season CommSec tracks all the earnings results of ASX 200 companies to obtain a comprehensive picture of the aggregate health of Corporate Australia. It’s clear that the... Read more continue reading

Weekly economic and market update

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Shares had a volatile ride, getting hit earlier in the week following the poor outcome from the Italian election only to then rebound to varying degrees as worries about Italy... Read more continue reading

The Italian election and European risk

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This edition of Oliver’s Insights looks at the implications of the Italian parliamentary elections. The key points are as follows: An inconclusive election in Italy, which has put a cloud... Read more continue reading

RBA explains dollar policy & Italy in the spotlight

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Reserve Bank assistant governor Guy Debelle has reiterated that the RBA has scope to cut rates further to offset the effects of a stronger Australian dollar. What does it all... Read more continue reading