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 RBA recently noting that “indicators of non-mining business investment intentions suggest that a significant pick-up is not in prospect over the next year or so.” But should this really surprise us? If you ran a company, were a CFO, or were on the board - what would you look at before making a decision to green light major capital investment? Without getting into company, or even sector specifics, i can think of at least 6 areas you might look at - outlook for Australian consumers - outlook for Australian economy - outlook for Global economy - local politics and the budget - monetary settings - hurdle rates Perhaps I’m too pessimistic, but there isn’t one factor above i'm confident on, and a couple i'm very nervous about. Full thoughts (VIEW LINK)