Mining investment leads the way

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Private New Capital Expenditure New business investment rose by 6.2 per cent in the September quarter – the biggest increase in three years. Mining dominated investment plans with investment in

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Biggest housing slump in a decade

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Construction work done Construction work done fell from record highs, down by 2.1 per cent in the September quarter. In real terms the value of construction work done fell to

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Weaker Aussie drives petrol to three month highs

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Petrol price According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum the national average retail pump price rose 0.5 cents a litre last week to 124.3 cents a litre – a three

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Resource states shift into fourth gear

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Average weekly earnings; ABARE Mineral & energy major projects Average weekly earnings rose by 0.4 per cent in the three months to August with private sector earnings up just 0.2

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Healthy wage growth to boost consumer activity

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Labour Price Index Wages lift driven by the minimum wage increase. Wages rose by 1.1 per cent in the September quarter. In annual terms wages are up 3.5 per cent

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RBA highlights pressure on bank funding

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RBA Board minutes At the last Reserve Bank board meeting members took some time to consider bank funding costs. Members explicitly stated that there was a possibility that banks would

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Credit card balances edge higher

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Credit/debit cards Credit card balances rose in September. The average credit card balance stood at a $3,261.60 in September, up $7.90 on August. The average credit card balance is up

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More looking, but not all finding work

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Labour force; Chinese data Employment rose by 29,700 in October, in line with forecasts centred on job gains of around 20,000. Fulltime employment fell by 14.100 and part-time jobs rose

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Confidence falls to five month low on rate hike

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Housing finance; Consumer sentiment As expected, the Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence fell in the latest month in response to the latest interest rate hike. The index fell by

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Stronger Aussie dollar outpaced by gains in oil price

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Job advertisements; Petrol price Petrol prices are set to rise – but modestly. The rally in the Australian dollar has been outpaced by gains in regional oil prices. According to

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