Budget 16 Property & Tax Changes

Budget

Negative gearing has thankfully been ruled out as an area the coalition will be attacking to provide budget savings. Any policy which creates a disincentive to self-fund your retirement is a ludicrous one in our view. Not to mention the net tax result of a diminishing property market.   So what has changed in the…

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RBA Meeting Minutes March 2013 – Construction Activity

Construction Activity

The RBA’s March 2013 meeting minutes were issued today and with respect to the property market, the minutes stated “non-residential building approvals remained low and office vacancy rates had risen over recent quarters, reflecting softening demand for office space.” Members also observed that “dwelling construction activity had picked up further in the December quarter. Forward-looking indicators…

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Consumer House Price Expectations Index Moderates in January 2013

Consumer House Price

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer House Price Expectations Index moderated in January, all but reversing a spike in October. The Index indicated that 26.7% of respondents expect house prices to rise over the year ahead. This is a fall of 7.7pts from October, following a rise of 9.1pts between July and October. This reversal of consumer’s…

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May RBA Minutes point to weakness in housing market

housing market

May’s RBA board meeting minutes outline the rationale behind their 50bp reduction of the cash rate. The minutes note that the domestic economy had been growing at a modest rate in early 2012 however, the activity varied across industries. The mining sector remains strong with a number of large projects underway and on the drawing board.…

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RBA April Meeting – Cash Rate Left on Hold

RBA Cash Rate

In the Reserve Bank’s April board meeting today, the cash rate was left on hold at 4.25%. This was in line with economists’ expectations, but there is growing support for an easing in the cash rate based on recent data such as poor dwelling starts and retail sales.The board pointed to a potential downward movement,…

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RBA February 2012 Board Meeting Minutes

RBA Minutes

Much to the surprise of most economists, the RBA kept the cash rate steady in February. Information available since the December meeting confirmed that economic  conditions in Europe were weakening late last year, with significant downside risks. In line with this, most forecasters have lowered their forecasts for  world GDP growth this year to a below trend…

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RBA Commentary on the Investment Boom in the Resources Sector

Investment Boom

In his speech today to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, RBA Deputy Governor Philip Lowe gave some interesting commentary on recent developments within the Australian economy. Specifically interesting were his comments regarding the indirect effects of the investment boom in the resource sector:

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Reserve Bank December Board Meeting Minutes

RBA

In its last meeting on the 6th of December, the Board decided to lower the cash rate to 4.25 per cent citing a potential slowdown in China’s growth, sovereign credit and banking problems in Europe and precautionary behaviour by firms and households. Today the detailed board minutes note that the decision was a difficult one,…

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