Business conditions near two year lows

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NAB Business Survey; Migration & Tourism The NAB business confidence index rose from -2.7 to +4.0 in January. The business conditions index slumped from +5.8 in December to -5.8 in... Read more continue reading

Petrol prices limp, not leap, higher

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Weekly petrol prices Petrol prices are limping, not leaping higher. According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by just 0.2 cents... Read more continue reading

Frugal shoppers stay home with a good book

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Retail trade; Job advertisements; Performance of Construction Weak consumer spending. Retail spending grew by just 0.2 per cent in December, below expectations centred on a rise of 0.5 per cent.... Read more continue reading

Investor Signposts: Week Beginning February 6 2011

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The big picture China is now the second largest economy in the world. Australia ranks as 13th biggest. But Australia is regarded as an advanced economy whereas China is defined... Read more continue reading

Weekly market & economic update – 4 February 2010

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Headline developments Nature continued to wreak havoc in Australia, with Cyclone Yasi smashing into North Queensland as a category 5 storm (the highest they get) leaving a trail of devastation.... Read more continue reading

Risk that La Niña could persist over 2011

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La Niña update The current La Niña weather event is responsible for the flooding across eastern and southern Australia as well as the severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi. The current La... Read more continue reading

Reserve Bank signals rates on hold

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RBA Statement on Monetary Policy The recent floods and softer-than-expected economic data have caused the Reserve Bank to tinker with short-term forecasts, but the longer-term forecasts are unchanged. Given the... Read more continue reading

The threat of inflation in Asian & emerging markets

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Key points Rising inflation is becoming a major concern in Asia and other emerging countries. So far it’s largely due to higher food prices. Non-food inflation remains reasonably benign. However,... Read more continue reading

House approvals remain at 18 month lows

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Building Approvals; Trade; New Vehicle Sales; PSI Approvals to build news homes rose by 8.7 per cent in December. However all the gains were centred on apartment approvals – which... Read more continue reading

Food prices fall; Housing remains depressed

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New Home Sales; Average Retail Prices A raft of supermarket items fell in price over the past three months. On average almost half of regularly surveyed grocery items were cheaper... Read more continue reading