Weekly market & economic update Friday 08 October 2010

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Headline developments of the past week The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised many by leaving interest rates on hold, but it made it quite clear that it retains a tightening

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Asian and Australian bond markets hold strong opportunities for investors, Western Asset says

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‘Kangaroo effect’ sees Australia as destination of choice for foreign issuers Asian bonds more attractive as governments put their houses in order As fears of a sell-out of fixed interest

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Fund managers say Aussie sharemarket is no longer overvalued: Russell survey

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Australian fund managers more wary of global concerns than their US counterparts Opportunities exist in resources sector but managers cold on Telcos Now could be a good time to get

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Manufacturing contracts to nine-month lows

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Performance of Manufacturing The Performance of Manufacturing index fell by 4.4 points in September to a nine-month low of 47.3.  Any reading below 50 means the manufacturing sector is contracting.

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Weak data raises doubts about imminent rate hike

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Latest economic data The outlook for home builders remains sluggish. New dwelling approvals fell for the fourth time in the past five months – down by 4.7 per cent in

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Baby-boom! Migration levels ease

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Population statistics Australia’s population grew by 403,082 people over the year to March. Population growth consolidated, increasing by 1.8 per cent over the past year, however continuing to ease from

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Budget outcome: Better than expected… again

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Federal budget update The Federal Budget deficit stood at $54.8 billion in 2009/10 (4.2 per cent of GDP), an improvement of $2.3 billion on the estimate made just four months

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Cash holdings rise to record highs

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The proportion of super funds (pension funds) assets held in cash rose from 14.3 per cent to 15 per cent in the June quarter, well above the decade average of

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Weekly market & economic update

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Headline developments of the past week While the risk of a double dip back into recession may be waning, the prospect of sub-par growth in key developed countries suggests that

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning September 26 2010

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The big picture Finally one of the great myths has been debunked. The Reserve Bank has finally acknowledged that housing affordability is not a major problem in Australia. Neither is

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