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Australian Economy

Economists warn 200,000 jobs may go by end of 2009

National Australia Bank economists predicted growth would drop to 1.25 per cent by the middle of next year, with an interest rate cut to 4.5 per cent and unemployment at about 6 per cent by the end of the year, meaning the loss of 200,000 jobs, Fairfax newspapers report today.

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Australian Housing

Perth house price falls hit double digits.

The Perth medium house price is now 10 percent lower at $426,000, down from $472,000 in December, the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) reported today. With falls of this magnitude, the increased capital contribution from the FHOG announced by the government will disappear in a month and a

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Australian Economy

BBC: Australia’s house price fears

BBC news has an story on Australia’s Housing Bubble and concerns have been raised that it could be about to burst. The story is centered around Sydney’s Western Suburbs which has the Highest Repossession Rates in the country and where they claim prices have already fallen 30%. It interviews two

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Australian Economy

PM says crisis entering danger phase

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that economic growth and job security could be in jeopardy as the global financial crisis entered a “new and dangerous” phase. As he equated the current financial turmoil to a national security crisis, Mr Rudd signalled the jobless rate for next year was likely

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Australian Housing

Housing prices not safe – Rudd

In an Interview for 60 minutes, Prime Minister Mr Rudd has indicated the current downturn will effect the Housing Market. With Australian Housing costing 7.5x the average wage, one of the highest multiples in the world, a downturn in the Housing Market is probably something Rudd doesn’t need to guarantee,

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Australian Economy

Rudd guarantees all financial deposits

Australian’s should be able to sleep better tonight, knowing that PM Rudd has today decided to guarantee all deposits (of any size) in ADIs (Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions) for three years. Rudd has also gone further to guarantee all money Australian banks borrow internationally and instructing the Australian Office of Financial

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Australian Economy

Crisis worse than first thought: Smith

THE government’s cabinet budget committee will meet later today to take any action deemed necessary from key meetings of the International Monetary Fund and Group of 20 finance ministers in Washington today. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said there was a growing realisation that the international financial crisis was worse than

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Australian Economy

World on brink of meltdown, warns IMF

Only last week the IMF was quite conservative on this crisis. Today the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is saying “Intensifying solvency concerns about a number of the largest US-based and European financial institutions have pushed the global financial system to the brink of systemic meltdown.” umm, on the

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Australian Economy

House Price Predictions Discussion

With a turbulent couple of weeks on global financial markets, credit around the world freezing up and with the RPdata Rismark Hedonic Index for August 2008 (prior to recent carnage) showing a fall in house prices in every Australian state (missing data for Tassy), I’m willing to endure egg on

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Australian Economy

Big four eye more backing

AUSTRALIA’S big four banks have warned they may need extra backing from the Rudd Government and the Reserve Bank to prevent Australia from being sucked into a global credit-crunch recession. The chief executives of the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ all agree that the world’s finance ministers and central

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Australian Economy

G7 vows to fight credit crunch

THE G7 nations have vowed to take all necessary steps to unfreeze credit markets and ensure banks can raise money but have offered no collective course of action to avert a deep global recession. » G7 vows to fight credit crunch – The Australian, 11th October 2008.

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Australian Economy

G20 ‘vital’ to easing global market turmoil

Well what a turbulent week it has been. On Friday the All Ords fell through 4000 points for the first time to close at 3939.5 down -8.93% for the day. The All Ords peaked on the 1st of November 2007 with a high of 6853.6 and today’s close is now

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Australian Housing

Expert expects property boom in 2 years

To even all the boom & gloom up, Gold Coast property analyst Bill Morris is predicting a property boom in 2 years time. But he does come bearing bad news. He claims : the value of million dollar homes has halved since 2006 and prices for more modest properties have

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United States Economy

US debt clock runs out of digits

It seems US debt is still spiraling out of control. The debt clock ran out of digits last month after US debt exceeded 10 trillion U.S. dollars. » US debt clock runs out of digits – The ABC, 10th October 2008.

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United Kingdom Economy

UK house price fall steepest in 25 yrs – Halifax

New data released shows UK house prices fell 12.4% for the year to September. This is the biggest annual fall in over 25 years. » UK house price fall steepest in 25 yrs – The Guardian, 12th October 2008.

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Australian Economy

Zimbabwe inflation rises to 231 million percent

While it would appear this week that the ceiling is caving in, it is always good to take a moment to benchmark our economy with that of others. Official stats just released show Zimbabwe has a July inflation rate of only 231 million percent! » Zimbabwe inflation soars to new

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Australian Economy

Jobless rate jumps to 4.3pc

Official figures show the jobless rate climbed in September. The Bureau of Statistics says the unemployment rate jumped from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent in September, as employers’ demand for workers eased against the backdrop of a slowing economy. » Jobless rate jumps to 4.3pc – The ABC,

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Australian Economy

Central banks cut rates to contain financial crisis

The US Federal Reserve has led a global round of emergency interest rate cuts in an effort to contain the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. The Federal Reserve said it was cutting its key federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1.5 per cent. » Central banks cut