RBA: Interest rate cut on agenda next week

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The Reserve Bank Governor has delivered a speech at the Anika Foundation in Sydney. The Reserve Bank Governor has provided the clearest message yet that while super low interest rates are

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Barrage of economic data

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There is a barrage of economic data coming out… Retail trade: Retail spending fell by a surprising 0.8 per cent in July after lifting by 1.2 per cent in June.

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Weakest lift in investment plans in 19 years

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New business investment rose by 3.4 per cent in the June quarter, in line with forecasts. Spending on buildings rose by 4.8 per cent in the quarter while spending on

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Retail stimulus

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Retail spending rose by 0.5 per cent in May after lifting by an upwardly revised 0.1 per cent in April. Annual spending growth rose from 2.4 per cent to 3.5

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Profits barely budge in 2011 while inflation is subdued

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Company profits slumped by 6.5 per cent in the December quarter to stand 2.2 per cent higher than a year ago. In 2011 profits rose by just 2.1 per cent

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Job vacancies slide to 18-month lows

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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

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Discouraging outlook for business as more Aussies head overseas

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Business confidence improves…the NAB business confidence index improved from minus 1.2 to +1.8 in October in response. Business conditions fell from +2.3 to minus 0.8 in October. The survey of

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Weekly economic and market report

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Weekly economic and market report for week commencing 17 July 2011 Headline developments of the past week European debt problems took centre stage yet again over the last week. Until

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State of the states – state & territory performance report

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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

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CommSec: Unemployment rate is a good indicator of job market health

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Labour force The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 per cent in June. The participation rate edged up from 65.5 per cent to 65.6 per cent. The working age population

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