News Articles for Reserve Bank of Australia

Consumer confidence has continued its strong national performance since the elevation of Malcolm Turnbull to the prime ministership.

Personal bankruptcies in Western Australia were almost 23 per cent higher in the September quarter than in the same period last year, while business related personal bankruptcies were up 54.3 per cent.

Unemployment has hit its highest level in Western Australia in more than a decade, at 6.4 per cent, despite the state's employment reaching its highest level on record, in trend terms.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens has pointedly refused to endorse the decision by the banks to protect their profits by jacking up home loan rates.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has resisted temptation to slash interest rates to another historic low, but has flagged the possibility of cuts in the near future.

Businesses are benefiting from the "Turnbull effect" but that won't necessarily stand in the way of an interest rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australia holds its Melbourne Cup day board meeting.

Westpac expects a pickup in business lending to help prop up earnings this year amid a slowing housing market.

As much as Australia might benefit from a cut in official interest rates, it would definitely benefit from encouraging a new industry, such as the nuclear-fuel processing facility being championed by the South Australian government, and supported by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Tame inflation figures have given the green light to the Reserve Bank of Australia for an interest rate cut, but it remains unclear whether the central bank is inclined to step on the accelerator at its next monthly meeting.

The unemployment rate in Western Australia was unchanged at 6.1 per cent in September, however it disguised a fall in employment as the number of people working fell by over 9,000 during the month.

The Reserve Bank is expected to look through recent market turmoil and keep the cash rate unchanged for the foreseeable future.

Is it greed, ignorance or stupidity that prevents bankers from knowing when they have overstepped a moral and ethical boundary, if not a legal one?

While it's a close call, chances are the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut rates again before year end reflecting the poor business investment outlook, greater than expected weakness in commodity prices, and the $A remaining too high.

Banks and their customers are eagerly awaiting the next move on official interest rates in the US.

A passion to improve productivity, as well as keep people safe, has proved to be a formidable force for a local manufacturer.

The average home price dropped 0.3 per cent, to $545,000, in Perth in the 12 months to March, against a national average gain of 6.9 per cent, to $576,100.

Former federal Treasury secretary Ken Henry will take the helm of National Australia Bank's board when chairman Michael Chaney retires at its next annual general meeting in December.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2 per cent, saying the outlook for inflation helped shape its decision to reduce rates to a new historic low.

Long-term low interest rates have added further complexity to the issue of superannuation and the aged pension.

Can interest rates rise and fall at the same time? They can if you're looking at different markets, because just as the Reserve Bank of Australia considers a fresh cut in its prime rate to try and boost the local economy, interest rates in other markets are starting to rise.

Not every economist buys the theory that that deflation leads to deferment of consumption, and is inherently a ‘bad thing'.

It is a long time since Western Australia had its own finance industry and while shadow banking, the hottest game in the money world, could be just another fad that fades as quickly as it has grown, there is the potential for home-grown finance to make a return to Perth.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent after cutting it in February.

A surprise fall in home loan approvals in November shows the national housing market is starting to moderate and a rate cut should be on the cards early in 2015, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia.

In a recent interview, RBA governor Glenn Stevens suggested the Australian dollar might fall to US75 cents in 2015. And he intimated that it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Western Australia's unemployment rate has remained at 4.9 per cent in April, in line with the national rate which has held steady at 5.8 per cent.

The lack of competition for small business lending needs to come under scrutiny at the federal government's financial system inquiry.

WA's population growth rate has slowed, but the state and the country as a whole is still growing fast and in ways that have profound implications.

High debt levels and rising interest rates are an unpleasant combination, but everyone with an interest in the retail, property and share markets would be wise to see that one factor has arrived and the other one is on its way, potentially producing a pincer-squeeze on spending and growth.

The Australian dollar appreciated by about 50 per cent in trade-weighted terms during the past decade. The appreciation was an important means by which the economy was able to adjust to the historic increase in commodity prices and the unprecedented investment boom in the resources sector.

With the RBA hinting at sub-trend growth, there's little chance of a change in interest rates in the near term.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has moved as expected, cutting the official cash rate to a new record-low 2.5 per cent.

Buckle up.

Last week's interest rates cut by the RBA could be part of a concerted move by central banks around the world to take more chances to boost growth.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points at its monthly board meeting today, taking rates to a historically low level of 2.75 per cent.

The rising Australian dollar took the gloss off another strong performance by WA exporters in the 2009-10 financial year.

The Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia has joined other finanical experts in suggesting the Asian region had been largely insulated from the economic downturn and would aggressively outperform other global economies in the medium term.

THE Reserve Bank was expected to lift official interest rates after its board meeting this week.Whether it moved this week, or next month, it is inevitable that rates will increase over the rest of the year.

THE Reserve Bank is applying a heavy-handed approach to the economy, warned CPA Australia after the recent announcement of a further 0.25 percentage point increase in interest rates.