10 August 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                                  Australian interest rates                        Source: Reserve Bank of Australia’s statistical tables F1 and F2. Australia’s Reserve Bank of Australia…

31 July 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                      European industrial production                                  Sources: Eurostat and Thomson Reuters Datastream. European industrial production has improved over recent years. For the year…

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 attention…

25 July 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                                       US inflation vs interest rates   Sources: Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis and Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes for June 2018.  US’s price…

Highlights: US core consumer prices lifted in line with the Fed’s 2% inflation target, vindicating June’s rate hike. Slowing credit growth and infrastructure spending is pointing to softer Chinese growth for the June quarter. Australia’s labour market continues to tighten, but employment growth and hours worked have lost momentum and wage growth is subdued. US…

5 June 2017 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                    Australian dollar vs interest rate gap                   Sources:  Reserve Bank of Australia and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Australian dollar (AUD) has been surprisingly resilient against…

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. The Chinese economy continues to grow solidly, with the authorities paying increased attention to the risks in…

25 June 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                                         Australian home prices Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 6416.0 – Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, March 2018. Australia’s housing boom over the past…

Highlights: Inflation continues to creep higher and is close to or at 2% in major developed markets, although core measures of inflation remain below target. Despite slower-than-expected March-quarter growth in the US, there are signs of a stronger June quarter, including improved consumer spending and business investment. Tariff threats between the US, China and Europe…

7 June 2018 Bob Cunneen, Senior Economist and Portfolio Specialist                                             Global economic activity *The countries collectively known as the Group of Seven (G7) consists of  the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and…