Hot on the release of the Murray report, the Australian banking regulator (APRA) and the Australian investment and security regulator (ASIC) has today exposed teeth as they start growling and barking at our reckless banks. Both regulators have launched an attack on prevalent risky residential mortgage lending practices, targeting in …
Contrary to popular belief, Australian Banks are not the safest in the world and should hold more capital to protect against future shocks. David Murray, chair of the Financial System Inquiry who released their final report yesterday, said Australian banks should be in the top 25 per cent of global …
Brent crude plunged 6.7 per cent last night after the OPEC oil cartel decided against intervening in the market to quell steady price declines. The cartel agreed to keep their output ceiling at 30 million barrels a day, sending the futures price to a four year low of $71.12. Brent …
Australians are compelled to believe banks that produce super profits are some of the safest banks in the world. But is super profits really a sign of safety or an indication of dangerously high leverage and risk taking? As we wait for the release of the David Murray Financial System …
No doubt regulators, today, wish they were not sleeping at the wheel as the challenge on what to do with the world’s second largest residential property bubble start to mount. The Council of Financial Regulators – comprising of the Reserve Bank of Australia (Chair), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the …
New lending finance data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today show the Sydney property bubble is now undeniable as it continues its dangerous acceleration – unchecked. Investors are starting to feel the strain as they fight each other for tenants in an oversupplied marketplace. With August figures …
On Sunday, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released residential property price statistics for most developed countries around the world – (‘Australians struggle with world’s second largest housing bubble’). The data confirms Australia has the second most overvalued residential property market in the world, second only to Norway. The data, …
Treasurer Joe Hockey has once again demonstrated ignorance toward issues effecting everyday Australians, this time denying Australia is amidst the grips of a credit fuelled housing bubble. His comments come almost a month after he said the fuel excise increase won’t effect the poor. The out of touch Treasurer told …
Australians have enjoyed the second fastest wage growth of any developed economy over the past 13 years according to the OECD. Interest rates are now at record low levels not seen in almost 60 years. You would think the average Australian would be on easy street. But a survey from …
In an ominous sign for the global economy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said a sudden drop in oil demand for the second quarter of 2014 is “nothing short of remarkable.” The second quarter saw demand slow to below 0.5 million barrels per day, the lowest level in two …
Coca-Cola Amatil has this week closed a pay deal that will see wages frozen for current Victorian warehouse employees and new employees will be paid 38 percent less for carrying out the same job. A spokesperson for Coke said the deal will bring wages closer to market rates and restore …
After a fruitless attempt to talk down the high Australian dollar, Glenn Stevens has today embarked on a new project – talking down house prices. The jawboning comes after overwhelming evidence suggests Australia’s property bubble, already one of the biggest bubbles in the world, is accelerating out of control fuelled …
Grave fears are mounting for the future stability of the Australian economy as new data released today shows the Reserve Bank of Australia’s housing bubble is surging at records not seen since 2003. The RP Data statistics confirms reports of investor led irrational exuberance in the Sydney and Melbourne markets. …
The latest annual QBE report into mortgage and property market sentiment shows Australian’s perceptions towards the residential property market is deteriorating rapidly amid concerns the market is overvalued. The survey found only 36 percent of respondents now believe it is a good time to buy property in the next twelve …
The Australian has today reported on an emerging wave of subprime repossessions in Australia as times start to get tough. On Saturday, we reported how Australia has one of the largest property bubbles in the world, significantly larger than the USA subprime bubble. While evidence is emerging, our politicians are …
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently reported Australia has, based on price to income ratio, the third most overvalued property market in quarter 4, 2013. Since then, according to the Australian Financial Review, we have leap frogged Canada to take second place honours, behind Belgium who has honours as the …
Australia’s official cash rate has remained at record emergency lows for twelve months now, a setting not seen in over five decades. But signs are now emerging a hike in interest rates is imminent to quell the dangerous and unsustainable Sydney property bubble. Former RBA board member Warwick McKibbin, now …
The Financial System Inquiry’s Interim Report released yesterday confirms what we already know – Australia’s tax system is broken as it encourages risky leveraged and speculative investment that will one day come back to bite Australia hard and “compromise the speed of a subsequent recovery in economic activity”. The report …
It’s the age old question that’s bound to attract heated debate from those with vested interests. Is it cheaper to rent or buy? The bulk of comparisons have, to date, been flawed – deliberately – to swing the outcome in the way the author so chooses. A cursory glance normally …
A crackdown of money laundering in China is expected after the predominant state owned CCTV (China Central Television) aired undercover footage showing the Bank of China offers these services for a fee during a 20 minute bulletin. A Business Spectator article republished in The Australian reports: “We don’t care where …
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