Let’s Stop The Doom & Gloom! How About Some Good News?

For the past few weeks, the world’s media seems to have been dominated by two unfolding dramas:

  1. The extraordinary and rather amateur performance in Washington, as the US government lurched towards potential default.
  2. The concerning spike in euro-region yields, against the backdrop of their apparently insoluble sovereign debt issues.

However, as Amy Auster reported in Saturday’s Financial Review, there was also a really positive development last week (certainly for Australia), which seems to have simply “snuck under the radar”. [Read more…]

The Spectre of
Rising Interest Rates

Interest rates still to rise
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is not seeing the Australian flood disasters as having a prolonged effect upon the national economy.

It certainly expects the March quarter GDP to decline by 0.5%. But it is then projecting a 4.25% surge, over the remainder of this year. [Read more…]

Retail Property Facing Challenges

Retail challenges.


Having weathered the recent rate increases, consumer confidence seems to have risen just a measly 0.3% during November — according to the latest Westpac/Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index.

Households still appear to prefer paying down debt, rather than spending — with Australia’s saving level hovering around a record 10.5% of its disposable income.
[Read more…]

September Growth Figures
Just a Pothole in the Road

Growth will continue.

Growth will continue.


Relax, it hasn’t all come to an end.

Sure, the Australian economy may have grown by only 0.2% in the September quarter. And retail sales might have actually fallen by 1.1% for October.

However, the overwhelming consensus is that this is merely an aberration.

And the underlying growth projections remain very favourable — with the full effect of the mining boom having resumed, due to be felt by mid-2011.
[Read more…]