Petrol price war keeps pump prices low

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Weekly petrol; PMI The national average terminal gate or wholesale price of petrol currently stands at a 26-month high of 124.2 cents a litre. Fortunately for motorists, increased competition has

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Slowest housing lending growth on record

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Private sector credit (Lending) Private sector credit rose by 0.3 per cent in November to stand 3.6 per cent higher than a year ago. Housing lending to owner-occupiers stands 7.3

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning December 19 2010

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The big picture One of the biggest furphies in 2009 was the claim that Australia had a ‘bubble’ in the housing market. It didn’t and still doesn’t but to some

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Wealth rebounds; Aussie companies cashed up

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Financial accounts; Imports Australian companies are maintaining very liquid balance sheets. Corporate Australia held a record $271.4 billion in cash and deposits as at September. As a proportion of total

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Tougher times for business; Dwellings slump

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NAB business survey; Dwelling starts The NAB business confidence index eased from +8.1 to +6.2 in November. The business conditions index rose from +1.6 in October to +3.7 in November.

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Petrol hits 25-month high; Consumers slash debt

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Credit/debit cards; Weekly petrol; Lending finance Petrol prices to lift further. The terminal gate or wholesale price of petrol rose by another 3 cents a litre last week to 25-month

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Big issues for 2011

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Has consumer spending fundamentally changed? Is the US economy about to take off? Will China continue to dominate? Will the Aussie dollar be stronger for longer? How high will interest

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China tightens again to stem inflation

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Chinese economic data Chinese consumer prices rose at a 5.1 per cent annual pace in November – the fastest pace in over two years but driven by higher food prices.

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning December 12 2010

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The big picture Economists of all descriptions rely on models to predict where the economy is going. Unfortunately most are based on past relationships and events, and of course that

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Employment soars; productivity now in focus

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Labour force Employment rose by 54,600 in November, well above forecasts centred on job gains of around 20,000 (range from +5,000 to +35,000 jobs). The October result was revised up

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