Australia

Comment: RBA raising rates because they can?

08 Oct 2009

The announcement by the Reserve Bank of Australia that it is raising interest rates by 25 basis points is stupefying. This is a strong statement from an author who generally has a lot of respect for the monetary policy system in Australia, which doesn’t use inflation as its sole target. The objectives of the RBA in terms of legislation are to ensure exchange rate stability, maintain full »»

Australia's economy back into positive territory

20 Jul 2009

After a brief foray into the red, Australia’s GDP is up on the same quarter a year ago (by a measly 0.4 percent). This was thanks to a strong March quarter in which GDP grew by the same percentage. The main factors driving the resurgence were reduced imports and stronger exports, as the A$ plummeted (from 85c to 65c against the greenback in three months) along with oil prices. These factors »»

Australia stumbles into negative GDP

30 Apr 2009

Australian GDP is shrinking despite continuing strong business investment. Exports are still surprisingly resilient, but consumption spending has flattened. Signs of the sharp slowdown include the $3.2bn decline in imports for the quarter, house price growth turning negative after another burst of growth in the last year, and a downward turn in labour force participation. Unemployment is »»

Australia raises its cash rate to 6.75 percent in November 07

09 Nov 2007

The Australian cash rate is up again. At the same time, contradictory data on house prices and the number of loans being issued create uncertainty on the likelihood of another increase in the near future. At their Board meeting on 6 November, Australia’s monetary authorities decided to raise the cash rate to 6.75 percent. This was the second increase in three months as the Board sought to reduce the risk of inflation breaching »»

Electioneering Aussie style

17 Oct 2007

Election season has arrived, not unexpectedly, in Australia. With it come the usual carrots for voters, as well as a side-dish of further good news. Unfortunately, some of this may be bad news for New Zealand. On 14 October, Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced that parliamentary elections will be held on 24 November, giving him just five and a half weeks to reverse the gap, which all polls point to, between himself and his »»

Aussie GDP grew by 4.3%
US credit problems to have minimal effect on Australia
Unemployment and participation steady in July 2007
Aussie's annual wage growth slips in June '07 quarter
Aussie CPI increases in June 2007
Australian economy growing strongly - BERL Forecasts June 2007

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