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: 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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ASIC: corporate insolvencies on the rise

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Official figures released by ASIC today reveal corporate insolvencies have risen 4.4% in the 2010-11 financial year to date. ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader of the Insolvency Practitioners team, Adrian Brown,

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Reserve Bank discovers its dovish side

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Reserve Bank Board meeting The Reserve Bank Board has left the cash rate at 4.75 per cent for the eighth straight month (covering seven formal meetings). The next meeting is

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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: Job ads slump; Inflation eases to 5-year low

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TD Securities monthly inflation gauge; Job Ads; Weekly petrol price Job market slows. The ANZ job advertisement index slumped by 6.5 per cent in May with internet jobs down 6.6

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning May 29 2011.

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Upcoming economic and financial market events The big picture Do you ever get that feeling of déjà vu? A year ago the world fretted about European debt, and more specifically,about

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Home loans slump to decade lows

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Housing finance; Weekly Petrol Price; New Car Sales The number of new owner-occupier housing loans fell by 1.5 per cent to 44,968 new commitments –marking the lowest result since March

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Jobs up, but slowdown clear over time

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Labour force Employment rebounded in March, lifting by 37,800 people. Economists had tipped job gains of 20,000 (range from +5,000 to +30,000 jobs). The February result was revised to show job

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