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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Spending slumps; Trade surplus with China soars

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Retail trade, International trade Retail spending slumped by 1.1 per cent in October, below forecasts centred on a rise of 0.4 per cent. Nonfood retailing fell by a much larger

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Record economic expansion moves into 20th year

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National accounts The current economic expansion began in the September quarter of 1991. The 19th year of the expansion was completed in the June quarter 2010 and the 20th year

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Puritan Australia? Alcohol and gambling shunned

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Consumer spending trends Aussie consumers are making fewer trips in the car but travelling more on planes and trains. And while we are spending more on little luxuries like shoes,

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RBA signals pause on rates

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Testimony of Reserve Bank Governor The Reserve Bank Governor has delivered testimony to the House of Respresentatives Economics Committee. Transcripts of the testimony have been released. Selected comments from the

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Spending remains sluggish across Australia

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CBA Business Spending index A recovery in spending across the Australian economy remains elusive according to a key gauge.The Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI) was unchanged in October after

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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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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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