Home loans slump to decade lows

From

Housing finance; Weekly Petrol Price; New Car Sales The number of new owner-occupier housing loans fell by 1.5 per cent to 44,968 new commitments –marking the lowest result since March

continue reading

CommSec: extended retail slump; building approvals rebound

From

Building Approvals; Retail trade Council approvals to build new homes rose by 9.1 per cent in March after sliding by a revised 5.3 per cent in the prior month. In

continue reading

Investor Signposts: Week Beginning May 8 2011

From

The big picture During the year, the spotlight is rarely thrown on the Federal Government’s Budget position. Certainly there is the handing down of the annual budget statement in May and

continue reading

CommSec Economic Insights: Fruit prices plunge; Manufacturing shrinks; $A soars

From

Weekly petrol prices; TD Securities monthly inflation gauge Inflationary pressures ease. The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge rose by 0.3 per cent in April or 3.6 per cent over the

continue reading

CommSec: Record quarterly fall in home prices

From

House Prices; Private Sector Credit Capital city home prices fell by 0.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in March after a downwardly revised 0.5 per cent slide in February, according

continue reading

State of the States: economic performance report

From

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 growth; housing

continue reading

Investor Signposts: Week Beginning April 17 2011

From

Upcoming economic and financial market events x The big picture Aussie businesses have to cope with a lot. The global environment has been far from stable in recent years, what with

continue reading

Lending at 5-year low; Petrol at 30-month high

From

Lending finance Lending slumped in February. Total lending finance fell by 5.7 per cent in February after sliding by 6.1 per cent in January. Lending totalled $49.3 billion in February –

continue reading

Jobs up, but slowdown clear over time

From

Labour force Employment rebounded in March, lifting by 37,800 people. Economists had tipped job gains of 20,000 (range from +5,000 to +30,000 jobs). The February result was revised to show job

continue reading

Trade account back in the red

From

Trade: New Vehicle Sales Australia has recorded its first trade deficit in 11 months. The trade balance eroded from a surplus of $1,433 million in January to a deficit of

continue reading