State of the states – economic update

From

How are Australia’s states and territories performing? Each quarter CommSec attempts to find out by analysing eight key indicators: economic growth; retail spending; equipment investment; unemployment, construction work done; population

continue reading

RBA maintains holding pattern, inflation the key

From

The latest Reserve Bank Board minutes confirms that the decision to leave rates on hold in July was largely due to a modest improvement in economic conditions and also given

continue reading

Australia’s richest towns

From

The latest release of Census data permits comparisons to be made across states, regions and even postal areas (postcodes). While more data is still to be released, the comparisons that

continue reading

Business confidence slides to a ten-month low

From

The NAB business confidence index fell from -2.2 to – 2.7 in June – a ten-month low. Business conditions improved from a 3-year low, up from -3.9 to -1. The

continue reading

Chinese inflation sidelined

From

China’s annual inflation rate fell from 3 per cent to 2.2 per cent in June – a 29-month low. The June result was marginally better than forecasts centred on a

continue reading

Reserve Bank maintains a watching brief

From

The Reserve Bank Board left the official cash rate on hold at 3.50 per cent. The cash rate is at the lowest level in 2½ years (December 2009). The next

continue reading

The year that was – 2011/2012

From

The Australian sharemarket fell by 11.1 per cent with total returns down 7.0 per cent. But bond returns rose 14.6 per cent – the best gains in 15 years. Telecommunications

continue reading

Hopes for a lift in Aussie spending

From

A measure of economy-wide spending posted solid growth in seasonally adjusted terms in May, raising hopes that rate cuts may lift activity in the retail sector. The Commonwealth Bank Business

continue reading

Biggest job gains in 18 months

From

Over the three months to May, employment across Australia rose by 60,400 – the best quarterly jobs growth since the three months to November 2010. What does it all mean?

continue reading

Property back in favour, while personal finance outlook down

From

In the latest survey concerning the wisest places to put new savings, 25 per cent of respondents said “real estate”, up sharply from just over 18 per cent in the

continue reading