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Two big recession warnings we can’t ignore

- April 17, 2026 3 MIN READ

The red flags of an economic downturn are flying high. As the conflict in the Middle East continues, Australian eyes are firmly on the economic fallout. We’re already feeling it through eye-watering fuel prices, which will flow through into higher costs across the economy. But now there are two major warning signs that we could… Read more »

Economic figures are ugly
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Economic growth figures out this week were ugly

- June 7, 2024 6 MIN READ

Leading into COVID we were on a world record-breaking run of consecutive quarters of positive economic growth. Since the lockdowns finished the Australian economy has been tough going. Economic growth figures out this week were ugly – up just 1 per cent for the quarter and just 1.1 per cent for the year. Remember, this… Read more »

RBA board announcement
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A noteworthy change in this week’s RBA Board announcment

- March 22, 2024 3 MIN READ

Reserve Bank Board meeting week and, as expected, official interest rates were kept on hold. But there was an important change in the statement explaining the announcement. The words are now more important than the actual decision. From saying “a further increase in interest rates cannot be ruled out” in September, this week’s statement said… Read more »

Governments need to help fight inflation
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Governments need to step up and help the RBA fight inflation

- February 23, 2024 3 MIN READ

Interest rates are a blunt instrument, but governments have more options to help fight inflation. They’re just not using them. The Reserve Bank boss, Michele Bullock, recently said interest rates were a “blunt instrument” when it came to fighting inflation. In other words, the impact of interest rate rises can be a bit of a… Read more »

RBA interest rates
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A hefty dose of RBA financial therapy

- February 9, 2024 3 MIN READ

A tumultuous week for finance nerds like me who for years have excitedly marked the first Tuesday of the month in our calendars as “Reserve Bank Board Meeting Day”. This week was the last RBA board meeting on the first Tuesday of the month… the next one will be Tuesday March 19 as the RBA… Read more »

Interest rates on hold
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No more rate hikes — but they won’t come down anytime soon

- February 2, 2024 3 MIN READ

For weeks I’ve been pointing toward Wednesday’s December quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) announcement as being crucial to setting the tone for interest rates this year.  Well, the result was really encouraging and basically signalled the top of this interest rate cycle. The headline CPI rose 0.6 per cent for the December quarter and 4.1… Read more »

Australian households reduce spending
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Australian households put the brakes on the economy

- December 8, 2023 3 MIN READ

This week gave us some critical economic signposts. The RBA decided to keep interest rates on hold and the latest economic growth figures were pretty anaemic – without the impact of migration the economy would be in recession.  As expected, at their meeting on Tuesday, the RBA Board decided to keep interest rates on hold… Read more »

Inflation is heading in the right direction
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Inflation heading in the right direction at last

- December 1, 2023 2 MIN READ

I’ve said over the last couple of weeks that I reckon the December quarter CPI figure (released on 29 January) will be lower than most people think and that we are at the top of the interest rate cycle. Just as the September CPI surprised everyone by being higher than expected, the December quarter will… Read more »

Impact of inflation on households
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Behind the headlines: what rising interest rates really mean

- November 17, 2023 4 MIN READ

The Reserve Bank has been constantly saying that as it monitors the economy for any further need for interest rate increases, apart from inflation its focus is on jobs, household spending and the property market. This week we received key data on all these areas. First up jobs. Unemployment up but job creation still strong… Read more »