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Australian Economy

Is the Eurozone Crisis really over?

A plan announced on Thursday to address the Eurozone debt crisis has bouyed markets around the world. But questions remain if it will go anywhere near fixing the problem. Eurozone leaders have formed an agreement with private banks and insurers to accept a 50 percent loss on Greek’s bonds. Long

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Australian Housing

Jeremy Grantham on Bubbles

The Financial Times has an interview with Jeremy Grantham, founder and chief strategist at GMO, on bubbles. Mr Grantham has identified over 34 bubbles over the years based on the 40 year event based from price and volatility. At present 32 of the 34 bubbles have moved back to trend

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United Kingdom Economy

UK : Bank of England cuts rates to the lowest since 1694

The Bank of England has today reduced the benchmark interest rate by 0.5% to 1.5%, the lowest rate since the Bank of England was established in 1694. » BOE Cuts Rate to Lowest Since Bank’s Creation in 1694 – Bloomberg, 8th January 2008.

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Australian Economy

It’s official – The USA is in recession

The US National Bureau of Economic Research has released data confirming the USA is in recession. The peak of the cycle was a year ago in December 2007 and the US economy has been crumbling ever since. Confirmation the US is in recession saw the Dow Jones shed almost 7%

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Australian Economy

China facing rapid economic slowdown

China has received more evidence that its economic growth is slowing drastically. The growth in China’s industrial output slowed to 8.2 per cent in October, compared to 11.4 per cent a month earlier. » China facing rapid economic slowdown – Yahoo 7 Finance, 13th November 2008.

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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

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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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

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

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United Kingdom Economy

Dexia gets 6.4b euro three-state bailout

Dexia has become the latest European bank to need a state bailout with Belgium, France and Luxembourg pumping 6.4 billion euros ($A11.54 billion) into the group so that the financial crisis would not claim another victim. » Dexia gets 6.4b euro three-state bailout – The Age, 1st October 2008.

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United Kingdom Economy

The most dangerous financial cliché in history; Nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley’s toxic portfolio.

‘You can’t go wrong with bricks and mortar.’ This may go down in history as the most dangerously mistaken cliché ever uttered. Over the weekend, another British high street bank has been nationalised. US politicians have been debating non-stop over an emergency bail-out that effectively part-nationalises the entire banking system.

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United Kingdom Economy

UK : House price falls ‘accelerating’

The fall in house prices has accelerated in England and Wales, according to the Land Registry. .. with prices falling sharply in August, its monthly survey is starting to catch up fast with the surveys of lenders such as the Halifax and the Nationwide who have both reported that prices

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Australian Economy

UK house prices fall 11% in August

House prices in Britain fell by 10.9 per cent in August compared with the corresponding month a year earlier, the biggest drop in 25 years, home loan provider Halifax said in its monthly report. Halifax, part of British banking group HBOS, said it was the sharpest 12-month drop since the

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United Kingdom Economy

UK economy in ‘worst crisis’ in 60 years

Britain’s Treasury chief has told a newspaper that the country is suffering its worst economic crisis for 60 years, and more pain is yet to come. » UK economy in ‘worst crisis’ in 60 years – The Sydney Morning Herald, 30th August 2008. » UK in ‘worst downturn since WWII’

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Australian Economy

Economic turmoil ‘as bad as the 70s’: banker

A senior banker in the UK says the economic turmoil gripping the world is at least as bad as that seen in the 1970s, and will drag on for considerable time. Charles Bean, the BoE Deputy Governor said “the downturn was at least as bad as the 1970s oil shock

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United Kingdom Economy

UK: Britain’s economy stops growing in second quarter

Britain’s economy saw zero growth in the second quarter compared with the first three months of 2008, official data showed Friday, leaving the country on the brink of recession, analysts said. » Britain’s economy stops growing in second quarter – The Age, 22nd August 2008.

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Australian Economy

The faster house prices fall, the better off we’ll all be

Something must be done! This is something. Therefore it must be done. Following such logic, governments have blundered into all sorts of interventions which they have subsequently lived to regret. … But don’t prop up house prices. They have got wildly out of line with the economic fundamentals. They can

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United Kingdom Economy

UK House prices falling at fastest rate since records began 50 years ago

Eariler in May we reported US house prices were falling at the fastest rate since records began. Now it’s the UK’s turn : House prices are falling at a rate not witnessed since records began in the 1950s, according to the latest report from banking giant Halifax. Its figures show