Wealth rebounds; Aussie companies cashed up

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Financial accounts; Imports Australian companies are maintaining very liquid balance sheets. Corporate Australia held a record $271.4 billion in cash and deposits as at September. As a proportion of total

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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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Business inflation narrowly based

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Producer price index; Weekly petrol price The broad measure of business inflation – the producer price index (PPI) – rose by 1.3 per cent in the September quarter, well ahead

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Consumer bonanza

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Import & export prices Prices of export goods rose by a record 7.8 per cent in the September quarter, courtesy of higher coal and iron ore prices. Export prices are

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Parity! Aussie dollar hits 28-year high

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Economic trends The Aussie dollar hit parity with the US dollar – one Australian dollar equalling one US dollar – overnight. The Aussie hit US$1.0002 very briefly at 11.17pm Sydney

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Healthy trade; petrol prices to creep higher

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International trade; Job advertisements; Petrol price The trade surplus widened in August. The trade surplus rose by $603 million to $2,346 million. Exports fell by 2.4 per cent while imports

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Petrol to fall as wholesale price hits 11-month low

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Petrol price Petrol prices have risen for the second consecutive week. The Australian Institute of Petroleum reports that the average Australian petrol price rose by 0.5 cents a litre last

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China engineers a soft landing

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Chinese economic data; Mobile phone sales Chinese trade surplus eases as imports surge. China recorded a trade surplus of US$20.03 billion in August – below forecasts centred on a result

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