Tag: Australia

Posted on

Here’s What Will Happen When China’s Bubble Bursts

What would a China slowdown mean for the rest of us? In the main, three things will become evident.

  • First, China will remain committed to letting its currency, the yuan, rise in international foreign-exchange markets. A stronger currency will encourage companies to rely less on exports and more on goods and services consumed domestically.
  • Second, Chinese products will no longer be the cheapest on the shelves in years to come because China’s inflation rate will rise along with its wages. This is natural when any nation climbs a rung on the development ladder, which is what China is now doing.
  • Third, the Chinese market for raw materials and heavy equipment—cranes, bulldozers, factory machinery—will slow….

via Here’s What Will Happen When China’s Bubble Bursts.

Posted on

Iron forward market softens – Phat Dragon | Westpac

The iron ore market is beginning to exhibit some signs of modest
unease, with 3mth forwards giving up significant ground while spot
has moved about 5% lower. From an export profitability perspective,
falls in the Australian dollar and Brazilian real have more than
covered the US dollar spot decline. Even so, to Phat Dragon’s eye
a cyclical correction in the ferrous metals sphere appears to be
underway and price expectations should be ratcheting downwards.

Excerpt from Westpac’s Phat Dragon weekly chronicle of the Chinese economy

Posted on

More on bank funding vulnerability – macrobusiness.com.au

Note the rather large spread that’s opened up between the market’s expectations for the official cash rate and the BBSW rate.

…………To make the point about how unusual this situation is, let’s take a look at the spread over a longer time frame……. As you can see, the GFC is the only other period where this spread has blown out in this way.

………..The US and Great Britain, which led the interbank seizure in the last crisis, have risen mildly. Of the Western markets, only Australia and Europe have spiked in a way resembling the GFC.

via More on bank funding vulnerability – macrobusiness.com.au

Posted on

RBNZ throws cold water on RBA – macrobusiness.com.au

What should be clear…… is that the growth in Australian housing values has been funded, to a large extent, by foreign borrowings, much of it short-term.

A key risk going forward is that the banks’ ability to refinance their borrowings rests with the willingness of foreign investors to continue to lend them money. But in times of heightened risk-aversion – such as the impending European debt crisis – foreign investors can become nervous and less inclined to continue extending credit, which could leave Australia’s banks, house prices, and broader economy exposed to a sudden funding freeze.

via RBNZ throws cold water on RBA – macrobusiness.com.au

Posted on

Rate cuts are coming – macrobusiness.com.au

The recent seasonal adjustments to the CPI and the reduction in the level of underlying inflation blunts the force of the RBA’s recent argument about inflationary pressures. But, absent an offshore catalysing event, that alone won’t make them cut rates.

Rather I think that household retrenchment and saving will lower economic activity in the economy and that the RBA has overplayed the extent that the mining boom induced income will wash through the Australian economy.

Increasingly, we are getting confirmation of this theory. Unfortunately, we are seeing Australians lose jobs at an increasing rate. Data released yesterday by Westpac on consumer unemployment expectations suggests this is going to get worse.

via Rate cuts are coming – macrobusiness.com.au

Posted on

Australia Investor Confidence at Lowest Level Since 2009 – WSJ.com

Australians face rising electricity bills, fuel prices and mortgage rates, and the increasing cost of living has been exacting a toll on the economy.

Neither consumers nor businesses are in the mood to borrow in a major way. Veda’s quarterly Consumer Credit Demand Index, released Monday, showed consumer credit demand has dropped 5.1% since March. Business credit growth was flat in July, after having not posted growth for four straight months, St. George Bank economist Janu Chan said. In the year to July, business credit contracted 1.9%. “Lackluster growth in business credit is consistent with softening business confidence, and adds to evidence that certain sectors of the economy are doing it tough,” Ms. Chan said in a note.

via Australia Investor Confidence at Lowest Level Since 2009 – WSJ.com.

Posted on

The Rolex economy – macrobusiness.com.au | macrobusiness.com.au

My main concern is that frighteningly, the RBA, and probably much of the government, sees Australia’s future as a single bet on mining, and is willing to sacrifice much of the remaining economy for this to happen……. Remember, the minerals will be in the ground if we don’t mine them now, but the decades of production chains elsewhere in the economy are easily destroyed and slow to rebuild.

I acknowledge that the RBA has a single tool in its toolbox, but surely the message we should be hearing is that a strong and stable economy is a diverse economy. Quarry Australia is a very volatile and risky place to want to be.

via The Rolex economy – macrobusiness.com.au | macrobusiness.com.au.

Powered by WordPress / WordPress Maintenance Service By Website Helper