CommSec State of the States

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January 2016 – Overall results 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;

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Business caution on global jitters; Biggest fall in petrol price in 7 years

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NAB Business survey; Weekly petrol prices Business survey: The NAB business conditions index eased from +9.5 points to +7.0 points in December. And the business confidence index eased from +5.2

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Federal budget position stalls

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Monthly budget statement Budget worsens: In the twelve months to December 2015, the budget deficit stood at $42.0 billion (around 2.5 per cent of GDP), up from $40.7 billion in

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Consumer spirits merely deflated by weaker $A

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Consumer confidence Consumer confidence: The weekly ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating fell by 0.8 per cent to 113.2 in the week to January 17. Confidence is down 0.4 per cent

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Cheaper airfares; Record home purchases

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Housing finance; Airfares Airfares: In smoothed terms, discount fares fell by 6.1 per cent over the year. But business class airfares rose at a 6.2 per cent annual rate in

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Unemployment rate at a 26-month low

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Labour force Jobs ease slightly: Employment fell by 1,000 in December after rising by 75,000 in November (previously reported as a rise of 71,400 jobs). Full-time jobs rose by 17,600

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A million Chinese tourists; Credit card check

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Credit & Debit cards; Tourism; Consumer confidence A million Chinese tourists: Tourist arrivals from mainland China totalled 1,013,700 in the year to November – the first time annual tourist numbers

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Job ads flatten; Subdued Chinese prices

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Job advertisements; Chinese inflation Job advertisements: Job advertisements fell by 0.1 per cent in December after lifting by 1.1 per cent in November. It was only the first fall in

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US Federal Reserve – Lift off!

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Economic issues US Federal Reserve meeting: The Federal Reserve policymaking committee – the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – has decided to raise interest rates for the first time in

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Strong China data: Production fastest in 5 months;

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Chinese economic data Chinese retail sales rose at an 11.2 per cent annual rate in the year to November. The result was above forecasts (+11.1 per cent) and the fastest

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