RBA Board meeting week and it was steady as she goes. A change in RBA Governor from Philip Lowe to Michele Bullock made no difference at all… and I suspect that was the point. There was all sorts of talk in the lead up to the meeting about whether Michele would stamp her own unique… Read more »
You know how ropeable I am about the Reserve Bank’s comments two years ago reassuring Australians to go out and borrow with the comfort of knowing interest rates would not rise until 2024. It was negligent for them to make those comments. Financial markets were warning of a then-imminent breakout in inflation and the need to… Read more »
This week’s quarterly inflation figures are the lowest since September 2021. After last week’s very low unemployment figure, we knew this week’s quarterly inflation figure would play a critical role in the next RBA decision… it had to offset the tight labour market. And it did. The June quarter CPI was 0.8 per cent and… Read more »
Yes, it’s that time of the month when the Reserve Bank decides your mortgage repayments. This time they’ve given us a breather. On Tuesday, the RBA kept official interest rates on hold at 4.1 per cent. BUT (yes, I deliberately put this in capitals) don’t think this is the end of the rate hike cycle.… Read more »
Yes, rising interest rates stealthily reduce your borrowing capacity. Fortunately there are a few simple things you can do to increase it. I’ve talked about this a few times over the last couple of months. Not only do rising interest rates increase loan repayments, they also reduce your borrowing capacity because the so-called “serviceability test”… Read more »
Existing bank home loan customers are being financially screwed like never before. But it’s up to you to fight with your bank. For example, if someone took out one of the big four banks’ lowest variable rates this time just last year they would now be on a rate that is, on average, 0.44 per… Read more »
A big week for getting a temperature on the economy leading into Tuesday’s RBA interest rate decision… and that pesky Aussie inflation figure looks to be heading in the right direction. Consumer prices, CPI, rose 0.2 per cent in October and 6.9 per cent over the year, which is slowing down and came in well… Read more »
Everyone wants to get the best possible interest rate from their bank. And this is the best home loan bargaining tool you’ll ever get. Okay, listen up if you have a home loan or know someone with a mortgage. I constantly encourage you to negotiate with your financier to get a better deal, to ask… Read more »
Here are two clear signs that things are looking pretty good for the Australian economy right now. 1. We’re coping with the interest rate increase impact on our home loans When Westpac declared their disappointing earning result this week – which hammered its share price – I was interested in the page summarising the state… Read more »
When it comes to money, this week was ruled by Central Banks and interest rates. The Reserve Bank (RBA) on Tuesday and the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) yesterday morning. Big decisions… big reactions. So first our Reserve Bank’s decision to lift official interest rates by another 0.25 per cent to 2.85 per cent. That’s… Read more »
