There were more surprises for economists today with Retail sales falling 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted for May 2011. Economists had expected a rise of 0.3 percent.
The ABS also released Housing approvals for the month of May showing falls of 7.9 percent in contrast to economist predictions of a minor 0.5 percent decline.
» Debt Bubble Cripples Retail Spending – Who crashed the economy?, 8th June 2011.
» Retail sales in surprise drop – The Sydney Morning Herald, 4th July 2011.
» 8501.0 – Retail Trade, Australia, May 2011 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics
» 8731.0 – Building Approvals, Australia, May 2011 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics
It isn’t the Floods, Bad Weather, Exchange Rate, Two Speed Economy, Prospect or Fear of Interest Rate Rise, nor is it Deleveraging. Its’ many people have no money after servicing too much personal debt.
Are homes still being used as ATMs, or have the banks turned them ones off?
Retailers aren’t expressing a 0.6% seasonally adjusted decline (that’s a sneeze in a cyclone), they’re screaming “NO CUSTOMERS”. There are better bargains and discounts now than at the “End of Financial Year Fire Sale”.
Well I think it all confirms what we already know. The suburban Aussies are carrying the highest debt in record, much of it tied up in housing. Wonder where the next six months will go ? But I believe it will only get worse. I am a proud Aussie, and I really don’t wish to see that, but we just got so caught up in a belief that extra debt will make us rich, that I feel we will ( or already have ) started to pay.
It’s a money shortage and the weakest extract the least quantity of existing money… discretionary retail, under utilised dwellings, new cars… etc. The strongest extract the most… tax, government utilities, petrol, banks, depositors, medical costs.
Someone should send this to BIS from the previous article. To much debt in Australia. China is all spent out as well. Now the million dollar question is when is the crash going to happen.
Surprise Surprise wrong again. At least they are right in getting it wrong consistently.
Maybe Australians are sick of shopping? How much crap can one person accumulate? Or is it the lenders?
I love the buy now pay later SCHEME by retailers where they can get rid of the old crap off the shop floor, to make way for new crap.
Australians are addicted to debt. Its only the lenders that control how much of the drug (credit) they will create.
The banks create the drug by fractional reserve banking (fraud), but they can also take the wealth away when they restrict the issuance of the drug. Hence falling house prices and depression in retail.
Can’t wait for the carbon tax to come in, might see some protests in Australia like Eygpt, Greece. Is this a SCHEME (ETS) that will aid crashing the economy. Or is it’s pure intention to save the planet. Ha…. good one
Inflation or Deflation?
Deflation in all that you own, Inflation in all that you buy?