Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers is a self-confessed disciple of Paul Keating. My challenge to Chalmers is to step up from being a disciple of, arguably, Australia’s greatest-ever treasurer to being this generation’s economic reform messiah. In the 1990s Keating (with the support of PM Bob Hawke) reformed the Australian economy and 30 years later we… Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Comments in the latest RBA Board minutes shows they don’t just want inflation to slow, they want it down at a faster rate. Mark this Wednesday in your calendar. That’s the day the September quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be released at 11.30am. That single figure will determine whether the Reserve Bank lifts interest… Read more »
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 »
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 »
