In Australia the month of November finishes with a raft of housing data releases. And a key focus for investors will be the private capital expenditure quarterly data which feeds into the Australian economic growth (GDP) report the following week. Show More
It is fast approaching the time of the year when annual company reports will be coming in thick and fast. With so much information on hand, one is quickly drawn to the financial reports which include the income, balance sheet and cash flow statements. This reporting season, we encourage you... Show More
CommSec Senior Economist Savanth Sebastian takes a look at the economic events scheduled for the week ahead, including building approvals, private sector credit, retail trade and US non-farm payrolls. 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
CommSec Chief Economist Craig James takes a look at the economic data due out in the week ahead, including business investment, construction work done, and US GDP growth For more economic insights, please visit https://www.commsec.com.au/market-news/the-markets.html Show More
Matt Haupt, Portfolio Manager at Wilson Asset Management, believes that the recent bounce in markets is a short term relief rally and expects the RBA to step in with more rate cuts later in the year. Haupt says the recent rally has been supported by short covering, flows in to... Show More
The ABS capital expenditure survey for the September quarter, released last week, contained the all-important official update on private business investment intentions for the current financial year. There is both good and bad news in the latest report. But overall it continues to suggest the economy faces a major slump... Show More
This week, the focus has squarely been on policy makers, with meeting minutes released for the RBA; FOMC; and ECB. In short, rates are firmly on hold in Australia; a December first hike is penciled in for the US; while the ECB is set on delivering further accommodation before the... Show More
China was certainly the focus of financial markets this week. It a fitting time then for the release of the August edition of the Westpac-MNI China Consumer Sentiment survey. The detail on employment and family finances was an interesting contrast to the volatility apparent in China's equity markets. Households' views... Show More
This week, Chief Economist Bill Evans considers the implications of the impending US Fed tightening cycle for US and Australian yields. Data out this week includes our Westpac-MNI China consumer sentiment survey; the all important investment partials for Australian Q2 GDP; Australian CAPEX expectations for the year ahead; and in... Show More
Financial markets might not be happy about it, but the FOMC minutes continued to point to a likely September start to interest rate normalisation in the US. Many Committee members expect remaining slack to be eliminated in the near term, and core inflation is tending toward their 2.0% medium term... Show More
If the panic selling of the GFC, and the corollary moves in currencies over that time period are anything to go by - we're likely very close to a bottom in Aussie Dollar Gold. Show More
Soft business capex data surprised the market yesterday with a chorus of commentators suggesting further rates cuts are now likely. John Sevior, Portfolio Manager at Airlie Funds, has shared his insights into what he believes is holding back expenditure from Australian companies. “The forces of destruction are at the strongest... Show More
That a lack of business investment is holding back the Australian economy is hardly news. And whilst the country has 'priced in' the end of the Capex boom in mining to some degree, the bigger concern is the lack of appetite amongst the rest of the economy, with even the... Show More
Quantifying the mining CAPEX cliff - 2017 looks ugly. Lower commodity prices are expected to contribute to a big fall in spending on major projects over the next three years, adding to the drag on the economy from poor business and consumer confidence. With big mining and energy projects being... Show More
Crispin Murray says one trend he is observing is the shift in corporate attitudes to meet the demands of a more cautious investor. Murray says investors are reluctantly being forced into equities because returns on cash are low and credit is less attractive than in the past. The result has... Show More
Hand wringing about the collapse of Australian mining sector investment is premature. Spending on mining industry construction, equipment and exploration in Australia amounted to $101.0 billion in 2013, according to data from the ABS, only $882 million less than in 2012 but still $32.6 billion more than in 2011. Profits... Show More