Australian Economy

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released new motor vehicle sales for the month of April 2014, which registered no change seasonally adjusted change in the number of sales, but a 1.9% decrease over the year (see next table).

A comment from one Chad Padowitz of Wingate Asset Management has caught my eye.

The RBA has released its March credit card figures and the great roll over goes on.

Roy Morgan/ ANZ weekly consumer confidence index has tanked again: ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell a further 2.4% to 103.7 in the week ending 11 May.

From Westpac’s Justin Smirk: There are many business surveys out there and most have questions, in some shape or form, that are applicable to the labour market.

Here’s more Monday entertainment from The Pascometer who today offers a pretty decent summary of things despite his nuclear smugness.

By Leith van Onselen It seems that I may have been too hasty in claiming that the former head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Graeme Samuel (now head of Victoria’s Taxi Services Commission), has moved to block greater competition against taxis by discouraging ridesharing applications like Uber.

From Bill Evans, Westpac Chief Economist: In its Statement on Monetary Policy (SoMP) the Reserve Bank has lowered its near term forecasts for core inflation; raised its near term forecast for economic growth but lowered its growth forecasts for 2015.

Cross-posted from The Conversation The Abbott government is about to unveil a new A$10 billion infrastructure package in its first budget.

By Leith van Onselen It seems the investment community does not hold the RBA’s view that Australia’s unemployment rate will hold at around its current level, with a number of analysts fearing a jobless “tidal wave” over the next two years.

Find below the overview of the RBA’s Statement of Monetary Policy, which outines how the RBA expects fairly benign economic conditions ahead, with unemployment steady, growth a little below trend for the next year or so, and inflation remaining within the Bank’s target (suggesting stable interest rate settings).

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Institute of Company Directors’ has released its biannual Director Sentiment Index (full report here), which has revealed dissipating faith in the Abbott Government.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released visitor arrivals and departures data for the month of March, which registered a significant fall in net long-term and permanent migration into Australia.

By Leith van Onselen As summarised earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today released labour force data for the month of April, which registered no change in the headline unemployment rate (still to 5.8%).

Cross-posted from Martin North’s DFA Blog.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its April Labour Force survey and news is not much: Employment increased 14,200 (0.1%) to 11,572,900.

The Australian economy is unique. Perhaps its closest peer is Chile or Norway (though they are better managed), not Canada.

  From the Department of Employment and Education today: The Department of Employment’s Monthly Leading Indicator of Employment (the Indicator) has fallen for the seventh consecutive month in May 2014.

By Leith van Onselen While today’s retail sales result disappointed analyst’s expectations, they are still likely to add to the country’s March quarter GDP.