RaboDirect 5 year term deposit rate highest in market at 7.15% p.a.

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1 year RaboDirect TD rate already market-leading RaboDirect, the online savings and investments bank, has again turned up the heat on the term deposit market, this week announcing a market-leading

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Europe’s reversal of fortunes: core trumps peripherals

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Until recently, the defining theme of European economic monetary union since its introduction in 1999 was the convergence of the peripheral economies (ex-Soviet bloc and outlying countries) and core Europe

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Can Indonesia be Asia’s star bourse for a third straight year?

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Indonesia’s stock market in 2010 was the star performer among the 10 countries in the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index for a second straight year.1 So far, however, 2011 hasn’t been

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Lending slides; Futures market bets on rate cut

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Lending finance; RBA Board minutes; New Car Sales Lending slumped in January. Total lending finance fell for the first time in the five months – down by 6.0 per cent

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Credit cards on the outer; Petrol on the rise

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Credit card lending; Weekly Petrol Price Credit card balances are growing at the slowest annual pace in 16 months. The average credit card balance in January was up just 0.8

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China: Food inflation remains high

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Chinese economic data Inflation prints above forecast. China’s annual inflation rate held steady in February at 4.9 per cent, but was above expectations centred on a result near 4.8 per

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Biggest fall in jobs in 18 months

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Labour force Employment fell by 10,100 people in February – the biggest decline in 18 months (since August 2009). Economists had tipped job gains of 20,000 (range from -10,000 to

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Aussie travellers ahead in new Global Airfares Index

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Global price comparisons The Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation has released new airfares data covering routes across the globe: http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/ (select airport, then click Fares and select route). CommSec has

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning March 13 2011

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The big picture One of the biggest issues currently is rising food prices. Food prices began rising in the second half of 2010 and hit record highs in January. The

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Construction lending hits two year low

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Consumer sentiment; Housing finance Lending to build new homes slumped in January. Loans to build homes fell by 9.4 per cent in January to their lowest level in two years.

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