What will it take to cheer up Aussie consumers?

From

Aussie consumers are still moderately pessimistic…the Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence rose by 2.4 per cent in January to a reading of 97.1 and sentiment levels are still down 7.2

continue reading

China successfully engineers ‘soft landing’

From

Chinese economic data was generally firmer than expected. The Chinese economy grew at an 8.9 per cent annual rate in the December quarter (consensus 8.7 per cent) down from 9.1

continue reading

Tame inflation but petrol pain ahead

From

Inflation is under control: The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge rose by 0.5 per cent in December and stands 2.4 per cent higher than a year ago. Excluding volatile

continue reading

Friday 13th…should investors be nervous?

From

Over the past 15 times that the 13th has occurred on a Friday, the Dow Jones has fallen 7 times and the All Ordinaries has fallen 5 times. So on

continue reading

Job vacancies slide to 18-month lows

From

Job vacancies fell by 3.3 per cent in the December quarter (November reference month) to 181,000 vacancies – marking the lowest result in 18 months. Across the sectors the bulk

continue reading

Slower Chinese imports points to stimulus

From

China’s trade surplus expanded from $14.5 billion to $16.5 billion in December, well above forecasts centred on an $8.78 billion surplus. Imports slower than expected: Exports rose 13.4 per cent

continue reading

2011 year in review…Europe, politics and natural disasters

From

The year 2011 will be remembered for the European Debt Crisis and a spate of natural disasters. Asian economies generally held firm but so-called “advanced nations” continued to struggle. In

continue reading

RBA: Global growth risks outweigh investment boom

From

Downside risks to global economy prompted Reserve Bank to cut interest rates and minutes of the last Reserve Bank Board meeting confirm that policymakers were concerned about the strength of

continue reading

The big issues for 2012

From

Murphy’s Law states: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. And clearly 2011 could be best described as the year when Murphy’s Law reigned. First there were significant floods across

continue reading

RBA takes out insurance in an uncertain world

From

The Reserve Bank Board has cut official rates for the second consecutive month, trimming the cash rate by 25 basis points (quarter of a percent) to 4.25 per cent. The

continue reading