After 27 years, the Australian economy is finally facing a recession. Neither monetary nor fiscal policy look set to save it and yet again we appear highly dependent on a Chinese surprise.The outlook for the Australian economy is bleak. Gross domestic product and consumption growth are expected to fall. The... Show More
The Australian economy performed well during 2018 with rising GDP, lower unemployment and stable inflation. Despite this, the outlook for 2019 is not as positive, as a number of factors are beginning to point to downside in the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) achieving their policy mandate including low inflation,... Show More
I always think of periods of market volatility as manageable brush fires - while still causing market nervousness they’re actually better for the long-term market structure as they lower the risk of a serious bush fire. For the Australian market the latest ‘brush fires’ were the result of market nervousness... Show More
Chris Rands, Portfolio Manager at Nikko Asset Management, believes that rates are unlikely to rise significantly from current levels. With debt at very high levels across the world, servicing that debt would raise major challenges, which could steady the hand of central bankers. “In Australia, it’s the household sector; in the... Show More
Mortgage interest rates in Australia have increased in recent months, despite a steady cash rate. Domestic mortgage rates are heavily influenced by a combination of factors in addition to the official cash rate, and two we’re going to focus on in this paper are the banks’ exposure to domestic and... Show More
In this short interview, Charlie Jamieson from Jamieson Coote Bonds discusses his outlook for Australian mortgage rates, and explains the impact that the Fed is having on them. He also touches on what he expects from the RBA, and one potential driver of much tighter lending. Show More
In any discussion of the Australian housing market, it’s impossible to avoid discussion of a catalyst. “We see no immediate catalysts for a crash,” has become the cry of the perpetual housing bull. But Dr Philipp Hofflin from the Lazard Australian Equity Team believes a catalyst is unnecessary. “When we look... Show More
The Royal Commission into Banking. My lord! But rather than opine over the content, we are interested in the potential impact. Several months ago our economist Tim Toohey estimated the impact on consumer spending when interest only loans switched to principle and interest. We were pleased to see Deputy Governor... Show More
While the global economy is seeing its fastest growth in years and the US Federal Reserve has increased rates five times since December 2015 and is on track for more hikes this year, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has now left interest rates on hold for a record 21... Show More
The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25% as expected to the upper band target of 1.75%, 0.25% higher than that of the RBA cash rate. The Fed rationalised the increase noting the strengthening of the economic outlook in recent months. Show More
The volatility genie has now been released and is unlikely to go back in the bottle as late cycle fiscal expansion in the US combined with higher global funding rates from the US Federal Reserve will have markets on their toes going forward. Show More
Rates are rising in the US, but it is less clear when Australia will follow suit. At our recent Investment Forum, we hosted six of Australia’s top investment strategists to discuss when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) might hike, and to ask several other key questions, including where they... Show More
If Australia has an Achille’s heal it’s the high and still rising level of household debt that has gone hand in hand with the surge in house prices relative to incomes. Whereas several comparable countries have seen their household debt to income ratios pull back a bit since the Global... Show More
Higher wages growth in the United States seems to have caused the sell-off and subsequent sharp lift in volatility in global bond and share markets. Annual growth in in US average hourly earnings accelerated to 2.9% y-o-y moving in to territory that has presaged higher inflation in the past and... Show More
The average variable home loan rate in Australia has fallen from 8.3% to 5.1% in the past ten years, enabling households to borrow more and drive house prices higher. Despite higher levels of household debt, Australians’ level of mortgage stress is quite low. But what if interest rates go up?... Show More
Each week we produce a topical piece on what economic factors are driving the markets in Australia. Our senior economist Stephen Roberts also produces a podcast where he discusses these topics in greater detail. You can listen to Steve's dulcet tones HERE. Show More
A number of popular scapegoats emerged in the aftermath of the financial crisis: conflicted credit rating agencies, a corporate culture and regulatory environment that encouraged risk taking over risk management, lax lending standards, rapid growth in credit, and what some considered to be excessively loose monetary policy from the U.S.... Show More
In this short video we discuss the challenges facing investors as the interest rate cycle globally continues to normalise, over the medium term, transitioning higher from the ultra-low settings that prevail in most developed economies at present. Range of choices on offer for the average investor seeking to add fixed... Show More
The Reserve Bank has left the cash rate on hold at 1.5% in July as widely expected. CommSec expects rates to stay on hold throughout the 2017/18 financial year. Show More
EOFY Series: The Australian sharemarket Show More