The truth about the economy & optimism on China

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An upbeat Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens delivered a speech “The Lucky Country” – in the question & answer session, the Governor reportedly said that monetary policy settings are about

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State of the states – economic update

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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

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RBA maintains holding pattern, inflation the key

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The latest Reserve Bank Board minutes confirms that the decision to leave rates on hold in July was largely due to a modest improvement in economic conditions and also given

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Australia’s richest towns

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The latest release of Census data permits comparisons to be made across states, regions and even postal areas (postcodes). While more data is still to be released, the comparisons that

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Job losses and murky outlook

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Employment fell by 27,000 in June after a revised 27,900 (previously 38,900 in May). Economists had expected a flat result. In June part-time jobs rose by 6,600 after falling by

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Business confidence slides to a ten-month low

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The NAB business confidence index fell from -2.2 to – 2.7 in June – a ten-month low. Business conditions improved from a 3-year low, up from -3.9 to -1. The

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Chinese inflation sidelined

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China’s annual inflation rate fell from 3 per cent to 2.2 per cent in June – a 29-month low. The June result was marginally better than forecasts centred on a

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Retail stimulus

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Retail spending rose by 0.5 per cent in May after lifting by an upwardly revised 0.1 per cent in April. Annual spending growth rose from 2.4 per cent to 3.5

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Reserve Bank maintains a watching brief

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The Reserve Bank Board left the official cash rate on hold at 3.50 per cent. The cash rate is at the lowest level in 2½ years (December 2009). The next

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The year that was – 2011/2012

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The Australian sharemarket fell by 11.1 per cent with total returns down 7.0 per cent. But bond returns rose 14.6 per cent – the best gains in 15 years. Telecommunications

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