“We expect prices to stagnate, if not fall outright, in the second half of this
year,” Jamie Dannhauser , a London-based economist at Lombard, wrote in a note
today. “Effective housing demand remains heavily constrained by a lack of
mortgage credit, particularly for first-time
Central banks may need to become more pro-active in dealing with dangerous
asset bubbles before they become destabilising to the financial system, the
Reserve Bank said today. In a paper co-authored by RBA Governor Glenn Stevens,
the central bank argued that keeping official interest rates
“We expect to be around the center of the inflation range a year from now,”
Fischer said in an interview in Sydney where he is attending a symposium
organized by the Reserve Bank of Australia to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
“Growth looks to be reasonably well based. So it
* Kiwi NZD=D4 eases to $0.6863/73 from opening level around $0.6890/00, but off
$0.6807 struck in Friday's offshore trade, its lowest since Sept. 4. *
High-yielding currencies like the kiwi are under pressure as concerns over the
fiscal health of the euro zone dominate currency
Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned the banks not to use the government's
withdrawal of its bank deposit guarantee as an excuse to slug consumers with
higher interest rates. The federal government said today it would withdraw its
guarantee for banks deposits of more than a $1 million from the
The Federal Government announced today it would withdraw its guarantee for
banks of deposits more than $1 million from the end of March. The program to
help banks borrow funds overseas, otherwise known as the wholesale bank funding
guarantee, will also be phased out at this time. Mr
Australia's financial regulators say the guarantee scheme for large deposits
and wholesale funding – introduced at the height of the global financial crisis
to help the nation's banks borrow funds overseas – can now be phased out
because of improved funding conditions. The
The federal government is withdrawing its guarantee scheme for banks as it is
no longer needed given the strength of the Australian financial system.
Australia's financial regulators say the guarantee scheme for large deposits
and wholesale funding - introduced at the height of the
Wayne Swan says without the guarantee, interest rates would have been higher.
(AAP: Alan Porritt, file photo) Related Story: RBA flags further rate rises
Related Story: Big bank dominance to continue in 2010 Related Story: Bank
guarantee has 'built in' exit
Australia's benchmark ASX200 share index extended its recent falls, losing 2.3
per cent - or more than $25 billion in value - closing at a three-month low.
The Australian dollar also touched levels close to the lowest in a half a year.
While the index is about 45 per cent higher than its lows
“We expect prices to stagnate, if not fall outright, in the second half of this
year,” Jamie Dannhauser , a London-based economist at Lombard, wrote in a note
today. “Effective housing demand remains heavily constrained by a lack of
mortgage credit, particularly for first-time
