Trade account back in the red

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Trade: New Vehicle Sales Australia has recorded its first trade deficit in 11 months. The trade balance eroded from a surplus of $1,433 million in January to a deficit of

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning April 3 2011

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The big picture The Reserve Bank Board meets again on Tuesday to decide interest rate settings. But this month – as was the case last month – there is no

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RBA: Resilient financial system

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Financial Stability Review The Reserve Bank has given a clean bill of health for the Australian financial system, highlighting the strength of domestic banks compared with their overseas peers. The

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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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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning March 6 2011

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The big picture The Reserve Bank Governor isn’t one to gloat. But you can certainly sense from the latest interest rate decision that Glenn Stevens is pretty pleased with the

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RBA: Start of an extended rate pause?

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Reserve Bank Board meeting The Reserve Bank Board has left the cash rate at 4.75 per cent at its second meeting for 2011. The next meeting is on April 5

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Building slumps; but renovations in vogue

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Construction work done Construction work done rose by 0.8 per cent in the December quarter, due solely to higher engineering activity. Residential building fell by 1.1 per cent in the

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Lending lifts but consumers still cautious

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Lending finance; ABARE Crop Report; RBA Board minutes Lending rose in December. Total lending finance rose for the fourth consecutive month up by 2.4 per cent in December. Lending totalled

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RBA Testimony – Rates solidly on hold

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Semi-annual testimony The Reserve Bank Governor has delivered the clearest message yet that interest rates are on hold for some time. The tone and comments from the testimony is consistent

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Reserve Bank signals rates on hold

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RBA Statement on Monetary Policy The recent floods and softer-than-expected economic data have caused the Reserve Bank to tinker with short-term forecasts, but the longer-term forecasts are unchanged. Given the

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