“It’s in their [The Telco’s] interest to just flick people to the low speed plans as the lower access charge makes a higher margin for them” Nicholas Demos, CEO, MyRepublic. Below are quotes from the week which in our view detail some of the most important and prominent industry trends... Show More
As commodity prices have risen, the Australian economy is set to benefit from these continuing gains. Australia’s improving terms of trade has led to a big increase in nominal GDP, which is now growing at 6.1% year-on-year. As commodity prices have moved higher in the first half of 2017, this... Show More
Historically the Aussie Dollar has been regarded as a play on both commodities (specifically iron ore) and its higher interest rates relative to the rest of the world. In the past 12 months, though, the correlations of the currency with those two key factors has broken down. As iron ore... Show More
GDP surprised to the downside in the September quarter; despite consensus expectations of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth, the actual result was -0.5%. According to FactSet, economists are more bullish this quarter, with consensus estimates sitting at 0.8%. But a recent slew of poor data could be calling this into question. Show More
China has experienced an exceptional GDP growth rate of 12.9% per annum over the past 20 years. Yet over the next 12 to 18 months, Chinese investors will struggle to come up with the funds to meet their obligations arising from off-the-plan apartment purchases. Chinese nationals are facing a double... Show More
After a tumultuous 2016, the share market has had a solid start to the new year prolonging the so-called ‘Trump Rally’ which has seen Australian equities rally more than 10.0% from their intraday lows on 9 November when Trump was elected. With the year now underway and reporting season around... Show More
CBA Chief Economist Michael Blythe takes a look at the risks & issues likely to impact the Australian economy in 2017 https://youtu.be/wY-k9kaSnFI View parts 2-5 at https://www.commsec.com.au/market-news/year-ahead.html Show More
The Australian economy shrunk by 0.5% in the September quarter - the first contraction in 5½ years. Annual economic growth slowed from 3.1% to 1.8% https://youtu.be/BTfUA7n-sLo For more Economic Insights https://www.commsec.com.au/market-news/commsectv.html Show More
The oft-discussed apartment oversupply appears to be coming to a head. Two important pieces of forward-looking ABS data have been released this week and the results are not encouraging. Yesterday’s building approvals saw a massive 24.8% fall in approvals for units month-on-month – though the seasonally adjusted figures can be... Show More
The Australian economy is in reasonable shape as 2016 draws to a close. Real GDP growth is around three per cent, inflation is 1.5 percent while the unemployment rate is hovering near 5.75 percent. To be sure, it would be desirable if growth was a little stronger and unemployment lower,... Show More
The recent labour market data threw up a few disconcerting facts about the economy. Since the July 2016 election, employment has fallen by 25,650 people despite growth of over 70,000 in the working age population. The Coalition government plan for 1 million jobs in 5 years is in tatters. Since... Show More
The interest rate cutting cycle appears to be over. This is not because inflation is accelerating – on the contrary, inflation remains low and looks like staying low for some time. Rather, interest rates are on hold is because the RBA is looking at a range of indicators that are... Show More
The commodity price cycle is turning into a major upside risk to the Australian economy into 2017. Since the low point at the start of 2016, in US dollar terms, the iron ore price has risen 60 per cent, coking coal is up over 100 percent, thermal coal up 45... Show More
Expensive housing and high household debt leave Australian housing vulnerable. But without a recession or much higher interest rates a property crash is unlikely. However, the surging supply of apartments and the continuing strength of the Sydney and Melbourne property markets pose an increasing risk. Average dwelling prices in these... Show More
Investors and the media have a tendency to focus on real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth, but after two decades of low inflation, Sam Ferraro, Founder of Evidente, says it’s nominal GDP we should be watching. Fund managers and analysts forecast nominal cashflows and households earn nominal wages, not inflation-adjusted wages. "It's... Show More
There’s only a small number of women in top economic roles in Australia’s financial markets but that’s still a lot more than there was a decade ago and today, their views carry more than some serious weight. Financy interviewed four of these women on rates, growth and property ahead of... Show More
Nick Griffin, Head of Investments at Munro Partners, has been living in the UK for the last two years, and it’s given him a unique perspective on the Australian economy. “We have an office in Edinburgh, the second largest financial centre in Europe. Scotland is a country that’s trying to... Show More
Employment fell by 3,900 in August after rising by 26,200 people in July. Full-time jobs rose by 11,500 while part-time jobs fell by 15,400. Economists had tipped a 15,000 increase in jobs. The jobless rate eased from 5.7% to 5.6% https://youtu.be/_2aJb1kjQUU For more Economic Insights, visit https://www.commsec.com.au/market-news/the-markets.html Show More
The Australian economy has just completed 25 consecutive years of growth. The economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the June quarter with annual growth lifting from 3.0 per cent to 3.3 per cent https://youtu.be/ZSAXVHLAucI For more Economic Insights, visit https://www.commsec.com.au/market-news/the-markets.html Show More
The mostly gloomy debate around the Australian economy often gives the impression we are in a constant state of crisis. But economic growth is pretty good, the economy has rebalanced without the ("inevitable") recession, the worst of the mining bust looks to be behind us, public infrastructure spending is ramping... Show More
