New home sales: Back to back declines

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New home sales New home sales ease: New home sales declined by 4.4 per cent in May after falling by 4.7 per cent in April. The decline reflected a fall

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Year in Review 2015/16: Solid growth, low inflation

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Economic & financial perspectives Flat year for shares: Total returns on Australian shares (All Ordinaries Accumulation index) are currently up 0.6 per cent over 2015/16 (20-year average +10.8 per cent).

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Steady as you go on the job front

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Labour force Employment rose by 17,900 in May after rising by just 900 people in April (previously reported as a rise in jobs of 10,800). Full-time jobs were unchanged while

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Rural lending and car loans in vogue

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Lending Finance Lending: Total new loans (personal, business, housing & lease) fell by 1.4 per cent in April after rising by 1.3 per cent in March and rising by 2.1

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Chinese tourism boom; Record car sales

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Tourism, Car sales, Services gauge Tourist arrivals/departures: Tourist arrivals rose by 1.2 percent to record highs in April to be up 11.6 per cent on the year. Tourist departures fell

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Fastest annual economic growth in 3½ years

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National accounts Faster growth: The Australian economy grew by 1.1 per cent in the March quarter after an upwardly-revised 0.7 per cent increase in the December quarter (previously up 0.6

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Confidence OK: Good time to spend?

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Consumer confidence Consumer confidence: The ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating fell by 2.2 per cent to 113.2 in the week to May 29. But the reading on whether it was

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Biggest rise in economy-wide sales in 6 years

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Business Indicators; New home sales Sales up: Economy-wide sales rose by 1.5 per cent in the March quarter – the biggest increase in six years (since December quarter 2009). Sales

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Industry winners: Internet, agriculture lead the gains

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Australian Industry 2014/15 Industry data: The ABS has released performance data for Australian industry sectors in the last financial year. Leading the gains in income growth in 2014/15 was “Commission-based

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Wage growth remains low; still outpaces prices

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Wage price index Wage growth at record low: The wage price index rose by 0.4 per cent in the March quarter after a 0.5 per cent rise in the December

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