How & where we spent in 2013

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Consumer spending perspective Retail trade in 2013: Over 2013 as a whole, Australians spent $264.2 billion at retail outlets. Spending was up 3.2 per cent over 2012 – the strongest calendar-year

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CBA Economics: Retail trade subdued in May

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Retail trade grew by 0.1% in May to stand at a lacklustre 2.3% higher through the year. Spending was strongest at department stores and on clothing and footwear. Subdued retail

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Disappointing Christmas spending

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Economy-wide spending softened in December, extending the zig-zag run witnessed over the past seven months. According to the Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI), spending fell by 1.9 per cent

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New Carbon Tax: More or less certainty?

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Details on proposed Carbon Tax The Federal Government has proposed a new tax on carbon emissions of $23 a tonne to apply to 500 of the biggest corporate emitters from

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CommSec: Population growth hits 5-year low and cash is now king

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Demographic data; Financial Accounts Australia’s population grew by 69,703 people over the December quarter to 22,477,378. Annual population growth slowed from 1.57 per cent to 1.47 per cent – the

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RBA confirms that it is ‘wait and see’ mode

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In a speech by RBA Assistant Governor (Economic) Philip Lowe entitled “Inflation: The Recent Past and the Future”, Mr Lowe has reiterated that the RBA believes underlying inflation will lift

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CommSec: Improved conditions for retailers

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CBA Business Spending Index There appears light in the tunnel for retailers. A key measure of economy-wide spending is now edging slightly higher after contracting for most of the past

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CommSec: Petrol set to fall as global oil price slides

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Weekly petrol prices According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by 1.1 cents per litre to 140.2 cents a litre in

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CommSec: Lending near 5-year low; Credit cards shunned

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Lending finance; Credit & debit card statistics Lending slides again. Total lending finance fell for the third time in four months, dropping by 3.8 per cent in April to near

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CommSec: Home loans rise but investors stay clear

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Housing finance The number of new owner-occupier housing loans rose by 4.8 per cent in April after falling by 1.1 per cent in March. The number of loans is 3.1

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