The new consumer environment filled with caution is here to stay according to Westpac CEO Gail Kelly

The new consumer environment filled with caution is here to stay according to Westpac CEO Gail Kelly. She urged businesses to brace for a prolonged period of sluggish growth, low interest rates and cautious consumers. This prognosis appears reasonable, given the credit boom of the last 2 decades was driven by structural factors such as a deregulated financial market, baby boomers moving to their peak earnings period and low interest rates. Household debt has now stabilised at a high level and the savings ratio has risen back to historically higher levels. To compound this, Australia's workers to dependents ratio likely peaked in 2010, with an aging population a further drag on the economy. (VIEW LINK)