19 October 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                        Budget balance as percentage of Nominal GDP    Source: Final Budget Outcome 2017-18, ‘Appendix B: Historical Australian Government data’, www.budget.gov.au/2017-18/content/fbo/html/, accessed on 18 October 2018. President Trump made extraordinary remarks over the past week suggesting that…

09 October 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist             China’s economic growth vs Reserve requirements Sources: Thomson Reuters.   China’s economy is under pressure. The trade war with the United States has intensified and shows no signs of a ceasefire. Tariffs have now been announced for US$250 billion of…

Highlights: The US economy is set to repeat the robust GDP growth achieved in the June quarter, although the figures may be boosted by short-term effects. The signing of a trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada has managed to settle some nerves, but trade remains a key issue for investors. For the first…

05 October 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist         Australian credit and economic activity Source: Reserve Bank of Australia.   Recent media articles* have suggested that Australia could be facing a ‘credit crunch’. Tighter lending standards for housing appear to be restraining credit availability. If credit has become hard to access,…

 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist           US Fed’s interest rate and inflation projections                         Source: US Federal Reserve                      *PCE – Personal Consumption Expenditures The Federal Reserve (Fed) raised…

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent.   The global economic expansion is continuing. A number of advanced economies are growing at an above-trend rate and unemployment rates are low. Growth in China has slowed a little, with the authorities easing policy while continuing to pay close…