Business investment continues to slide

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Capex – QIII 2015 The 4th estimate of 2015‑16 capital spending came in at $120.4bn, slightly better than expected. Mining plans came in at $56b and non‑mining plans are now

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Stronger iron ore prices lift export receipts

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Balance on Goods and Services – September 2015 The goods and services trade deficit came in at $2.3bn in September. Total exports rose by 3.4% and total imports rose by

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RBA’s Kent on the labour market

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Kent reiterates the RBA’s view that the unemployment rate should be “little changed from recent levels over the next 18 months”. The labour market has been “adjusting more smoothly over

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How far through the mining jobs decline are we?

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The RBA estimates that mining construction related job losses will total 90K from the mining capex peak (end 2012) to trough (end 2018). On our calculations, we are around 20%

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Retail trade disappoints in May despite positive influences on consumers

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Retail spending rose by a modest 0.3% over May with annual growth now sitting at 4.7%. Spending rose in food (+0.7%), household goods retailing (+0.8%), other retailing (+0.3%).  And retail

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Jobs figures – employment falls in April

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Labour Force – April 2015 Employment fell by by a small 2.9k in April following an upwardly revised 48.1k lift in March (previously reported as +37.7k). The fall in employment

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CBA Economics: State and Territory Perspectives

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Most economic commentary is focussed on the national outcome. The State and Territory Perspectives report digs below the surface and compares outcomes across various regions and covers the macroeconomic trends in

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Credit growth steps up, again

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Private Sector Credit – January 2015 Total credit to the private sector rose by 0.6% in January.  Annual growth stepped up to 6.2%. Housing credit was up 0.6% over the

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Capex Preview – First estimate of 2015-16 spending is key

From

Capex Preview – QIV 2014 The RBA’s latest downgrade to growth forecasts were based on a more negative outlook for non‑mining capex.  In this context, the first estimate of 2015‑16

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Retail spending disappoints over December

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Retail trade rose by a soft 0.2% in December.  Annual growth has come down to 4.1% The volume of retail spending still remains high.  In volume terms, retail trade increased

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