China: Recovery firmly on track

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The Chinese economy grew at a 7.9 per cent annual rate in the December quarter (consensus 7.7 per cent) up from 7.4 per cent in the previous quarter. In the

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Sharemarket: Closer to the peak than you thought

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The ASX 200 Accumulation index – measuring total returns on shares – has lifted by almost 20 per cent over the past year. The index is 12.2 per cent from

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Record fall in credit card debt

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If the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates again, would the impact be positive on the economy? It is an interesting question and one that the Reserve Bank probably didn’t think

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Property beats cash

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In the past, buying and selling property was considered an attractive way to make money. The theory was that home prices would rise around 8 per cent a year, almost

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The year in review, the year ahead

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CommSec has been heartened by developments in recent months and is hopeful of further settling of global economic conditions and improvement in confidence levels at home and abroad. The deal on the so-called

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RBA: Softening employment justifies rate cut

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The latest Reserve Bank Board minutes suggests that the decision to cut interest rates in December was largely due to the softening in labour market conditions and confirmation of the

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The Big Issues for 2013

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For the best part of the past decade, CommSec has produced “The Big Issues” report – a report that has sought to highlight issues that are expected to influence on

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The Santa Claus effect

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Is there a Santa Claus effect? CommSec has always been sceptical about research showing whether there is a ‘right’ time to be buying shares. But we decided to re-visit the

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Onward & upward Australia

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The record-breaking economic expansion has notched up another quarter of growth. The Australian economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter to stand 3.1 per cent higher than

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Interest rates fall: Are we there yet?

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The Reserve Bank Board reduced the official cash rate by 25 basis points (quarter of a per cent) to 3.00 per cent. The next Board meeting is on February 5

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