Weekly market & economic update 07 January 2011

From

Headline developments In a move that had been anticipated for some time, China raised one year lending and deposit rates by 0.25% as part of an ongoing effort to keep

continue reading

Almost 250,000 families hit by unemployment

From

Labour market statistics New figures raise questions about how tight the job market really is. As at June 2010 there were almost a quarter of a million families (244,900) where

continue reading

Encouraging pickup in car sales

From

Car sales In December, 86,587 vehicles were sold, down by 2.4 per cent compared with a year ago. In seasonally adjusted terms CommSec estimates that sales rose by 1.5 per

continue reading

Investor Signposts: Week Beginning January 9 2011

From

The big picture One thing we can never escape here in Australia is natural disasters. Whether it is drought, floods, bushfires, cyclones or hail storms, natural disasters are part and

continue reading

Home approvals slump but renovation in vogue

From

Building Approvals; PSI The outlook for home builders is gloomy. Approvals to build news homes slumped by 4.2 per cent in November. The slide in approvals marked the seventh decline

continue reading

Petrol price war keeps pump prices low

From

Weekly petrol; PMI The national average terminal gate or wholesale price of petrol currently stands at a 26-month high of 124.2 cents a litre. Fortunately for motorists, increased competition has

continue reading

‘Noughties’ over; ‘Teens’ begins

From

Look back at 2010. Look ahead at 2011. Contrary to the expectations of the gloom and doomsters, 2010 turned out to be a positive year. The global economy expanded by

continue reading

Slowest housing lending growth on record

From

Private sector credit (Lending) Private sector credit rose by 0.3 per cent in November to stand 3.6 per cent higher than a year ago. Housing lending to owner-occupiers stands 7.3

continue reading

Quarterly Chief Investment Officer Investment Index

From

Index reveals growing optimism among Chief Investment Officers The latest ‘Financial Services Council Chief Investment Officer Investment Index’ shows Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) are growing more optimistic about investment performance

continue reading

MySuper promises the gift of lower fees

From

The Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation this week released the government’s response to the comprehensive review of the superannuation system chaired by Jeremy Cooper. Robin Bowerman, Head of Retail,

continue reading