Australia News
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AUSTRALIA, 2016/06/20
Sydney is imposing new taxes on foreigners buying homes as concerns grow that a flood of mostly Chinese investors is crowding out locals and killing the “Great Australian Dream” of owning property.
Ownership rates across the country are part the highest in developed nations, with having your own home long viewed as a key aspect of Australian identity.
But as prices rise to record levels — Sydney is ranked only second to Hong Kong as major cities with the world’s least-affordable housing — new potential homeowners have been increasingly forced out of the market with foreigners blamed as a key factor.
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AUSTRALIA, 2016/03/08
Subdued wage increase is likely to keep inflation low and monetary policy very accommodative, Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Philip Lowe said Tuesday.
"It is possible that wage outcomes will remain very subdued even in nations with strong labor markets," Lowe said in a speech Adelaide.
If this turns out to be the case, again it is likely that inflation rates will as well continue to be very low and monetary policy very accommodative, he added.
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CHINA, 2016/03/04
Before this month, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop visited Tokyo, where she outlined an increasing emphasis on security cooperation between Japan and Australia. The next day she was in Beijing, where she reportedly received a frosty reception. The two are not unrelated — Beijing is not thrilled about Australia’s growing security ties with Japan.
Because Australia is concerned about China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, but at the same time benefits from China economically, we find ourselves in somewhat of a foreign policy pickle. In this very complex situation, it is critical that Australian policymakers respond with both immediate and long-term outcomes in mind. To understand the long-term implications for Australia’s interests of policies drawing Japan and Australia closer together, we need to understand how Chinese policymakers view the world and China’s role within it.
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AUSTRALIA, 2016/02/19
The Australian dollar is again too high and there are increasing risks that the currency may climb if additional central banks adopt the negative interest rate route to boost increase, Reserve Bank of Australia board member John Edwards said in an interview published Friday.
"It does look like it [the Australian dollar] has found a base, and I guess I would say I still think it is a bit too high," Edwards told the Wall Street Journal.
"If it was driven entirely by commodity prices, it certainly should be lower," he said.
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AUSTRALIA, 2016/02/16
The Reserve Bank of Australia said the record low interest rate is supporting household spending increase and housing investment , and the weaker currency boosts request for domestic production.
The increase in employment as well supported household consumption increase, RBA said Tuesday in the minutes of February monetary policy conference.
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AUSTRALIA, 2016/01/28
he business sentiment index published by the National Australia Bank (NAB) fell from five points in November to three points in December. Despite of the monthly decrease, the indicator is still above the 0-point threshold, which means that Australian businesses are optimistic regarding economic conditions in the coming months.
Although the index weakened, The NAB felt that the decrease was not significant enough to show a fundamental deterioration in business confidence. The Bank elaborated that external conditions, inclunding the slowdown in China and a wider pessimistic outlook of the world economy, weighed on business confidence in December.
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AUSTRALIA, 2015/12/26
The Australian economy continued to struggle in October, the new survey from the Conference Board said on Thursday as its leading economic index dipped 0.1 % on month.
That follows the downwardly revised 0.3 % contraction in September (originally -0.1 %).
Part the individual components, the positive contributors to the index included share prices, money supply, the yield spread and gross operating surplus.
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AUSTRALIA, 2015/12/11
Inflation expectations in Australia increased in December, survey data from the Melbourne Institute showed Thursday.
The expected inflation rate rose to 4 % in December from 3.5 % in November.
The proportion of respondents expecting inflation to reach within the 0-5 % range fell by 4.2 % points to 74.2 %.
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BRUNEI , 2015/11/18
Increase among the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies softened to 3.1 % in the second quarter of 2015, down from 3.2 % in the initial quarter and 3.4 % a year ago, according to an APEC economic analysis released on Tuesday.
The statement said the increase slowdown reflected the prolonged weakness in world economic activity as the modest recovery in advanced economies was matched by a general slowdown in emerging market economies.
The moderation in GDP levels could be attributed to declining investments and lacklustre exports, according to the statement.
"Economies across the Asia-Pacific continue to grow but find themselves in a holding pattern of lower increase in the absence of high trade volumes," said Alan Bollard, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.
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INDONESIA, 2015/11/15
Australian Prime Minister (PM) Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to choose Indonesia as his initial national visit next his inauguration has signaled that Indonesia is still a key partner for Australia and provides a luck to improve bilateral ties, according to international relations experts.
“Australia regards Indonesia as its eternal neighbor. Governments may change with time, but neighbors are forever,” executive director of the Indonesian Center for Democracy, Diplomacy and Defense Teuku Rezasyah.
Turnbull’s 10-hour visit to Indonesia marked Australia’s official attempt to replace the strained bilateral ties inherited from the former PM Tony Abbott’s government. Indonesia, in return, should take each opportunity presented by these strengthened ties, said Teuku.
