RBA exhibits quiet confidence

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The Reserve Bank Board has left the official cash rate at 3.00 per cent at its first meeting in 2013. The variable housing rate is applying modest stimulus to the... Read more continue reading

China and the Aussie dollar

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Will the Australian economy continue to be dependent on China? And what will drive our Aussie dollar?... Read more continue reading

Japan approaching a tipping point

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On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its first statement for 2013 and the first since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took power in December. Two things to note about... Read more continue reading

Weekly market & economic update

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January has wrapped up with strong gains in shares. There’s an old saying, “as goes January so goes the year” which is often referred to as the January barometer. While... Read more continue reading

Floods & the economy

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The floods across Queensland and northern NSW are currently estimated to cost the insurance industry around $126 million so far. And while estimates will change over time, these floods need... Read more continue reading

Businesses cautiously optimistic

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The NAB business confidence index improved from minus 8.8 points to +2.9 points in December – the best result since July 2012. The business conditions index improved from minus 6.0... Read more continue reading

Weekly economic and market update

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The flow of good global news continued over the past week. Good news included: flash manufacturing conditions PMIs rising in the world’s big 3 regions, ie China, Europe and the... Read more continue reading

Disappointing Christmas spending

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Economy-wide spending softened in December, extending the zig-zag run witnessed over the past seven months. According to the Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI), spending fell by 1.9 per cent... Read more continue reading

2013 – a list of lists

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The attached edition of Oliver’s Insights provides a summary of key views on the economic and investment outlook in simple point form. The key points are as follows: – 2013 is likely to... Read more continue reading

State of the States January 2013

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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... Read more continue reading