Tag: Australia

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the right decision to keep interest rates on hold at it’s September board meeting yesterday, says the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

Australia’s construction industry continues to contract, with the latest AiG/HIA Australian Performance of Construction index at 43.2 for the month of August.

Job ads in Australia are up 36.1 percent in the year to August, with the latest ANZ Job Advertisements Series data showing the total number of jobs advertised up to an average of 176,239 per week (seasonally adjusted).

In the latest Dun and Bradstreet Business Expectations survey finds the confidence of Australia’s executives on the way up, with expectations for five of six key indicators of business strength rising significantly.

The performance of the Australian services sector continues to be uninspiring, with political uncertainty surrounding Australia’s hung parliament impacting on demand in August.

Job vacancies remained unchanged in August following a 13.9 percent spike in July, with concerns raised over a hung parliament influencing recruitment intentions amongst employers.

Dun & Bradstreet Corp has bought the privately held Dun & Bradstreet Australia Holdings Ltd in a deal worth $233 million ($AU).

The Australian economy grew by 1.2 percent in the June quarter, with growth through the year to June at 3.3 percent in figures released today by the ABS, placing pressure on the RBA to increase interest rates before the end of the year.

Retail trade continued to improve in July, with ABS Retail Trade figures up 0.7 percent in July, seasonally adjusted in addition to Australia’s Current Account Deficit shrinking on the back of an increase in exports.

Home prices across Australia remain stagnant, increasing by 0.4 percent in July after falling by 1 percent in June, compounding the lowest new home sales volumes seen in 18 months.